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PETALING JAYA: An association of school bus operators expects many of them to close next year after school closings amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The president of the Federation of School Bus Associations of Malaysia, Amali Munif Rahmat, said that for many it will not be feasible to continue operations as they have to shell out RM7,000 a month to maintain their vehicles even during school holidays.
He said this got worse during the conditional motion control order (CMCO) with some parents unable to pay the full monthly fees.
“In general, from the beginning of the year, we only receive a maximum of six months of fees. We will not receive anything for the other six months, ”he said.
The school closed when the MCO was enforced in March, but even when they reopened in July, there was a 30% drop in students taking school buses, Amali said.
He said that many parents had chosen to send their children themselves due to Covid-19 fears.
“Some operators have sold their buses and if schools don’t reopen by January 20, we expect many more or around 30% to close stores,” he said, adding that many operators have moved to look for other sources of support. income.
Amali hoped Putrajaya would be able to help school bus operators, including a one-time payment of 600 RM.
He also called for a moratorium on the repayment of loans from banking and credit leasing companies to buy buses.
He said authorities should give school bus operators, which on average provide transportation for 1.5 million students from 700,000 families a day, the same treatment as taxi drivers and taxi drivers.
“It bothers us that the government seems to have ignored our role,” he said.
School bus operator Mohd Ridzuan Hadis said he has now switched to driving a truck to transport fish to make ends meet.
He said that even though the schools were closed, the operators still had to pay the drivers’ wages and pay their contributions to the Employee Provident Fund.
“We cannot save money, much less find it. The funds we have are exhausted, ”he said.
Ridzuan also hoped that Socso’s wage subsidy program could be extended to bus drivers.
