Express bus fares will be raised by 10 percent starting July 8, ahead of the Hari Raya Aidilfitri which is expected to fall on Aug 8, the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) said.

According to Sinar Harian, express bus operators are allowed to raise their fares by that quantum until Sept 8 in order to ease cost of operations due to higher demand during the festive season.

However, it warned that under the Competitions Act 2010, action can be taken against operators that withhold tickets within the period.

Earlier it was announced that the Malaysian Competition Commission (MyCC) has been instructed to probe the Pan Malaysian Bus Operators Assocation (PMBOA) for its plans to limit tickets sold if the government does not allow it to raise the price of express bus tickets by 30 percent.

National news agency Bernama quoted Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Hasan Malek as saying that the MyCC has been instructed to start the probe and PMBOA could fall foul of Section 14 (2) of the Competition Act 2010.

NONE"Should this (the plans to limit the number of express bus tickets on sale) happen, it will seriously affect consumers, particularly Muslims who will usher in Ramadan," Hasan (left) was quoted as saying.

This is in contrast to his statement on Saturday when he reportedly said that consumers could boycott the bus services in protest if they do not agree with plans to raise the fares by 30 percent.

According to Bernama, PMBOA president Ashfar Ali said that the price hike was not meant to coincide with the holidays, but was in line with regular reviews as operating costs have risen by 36 percent since the last hike.
Bus operators have also lamented the fact that they have to endure empty buses in the festive seasons as they cannot get passengers for routes going into the cities.

The express buses is one of the most popular modes of transport for urban dwellers returning to their hometowns for the festive season, especially for those from states without extensive rail service on the east coast.

Quick solutions mooted

Meanwhile, PAS has urged the government not to drag its feet any longer as the price hike had been mooted as early as last December.

In the short term, its Federal Territories Youth wing secretary Nurul Islam Mohamed Yusoff said that the government can revive petrol and diesel subsidies for public transport to ease operating costs.

"Subsidies should also be introduced for tyres (like for taxi operators) and tolls during the festive season, while import tax for spare parts must be cut to bring down the cost of chassis and equipment," he said in a statement.

In the long term, he urged Spad to review the public transport fare structure based on several studies undertaken previously, including one by the Federation of Malaysian Consumer Associations (Fomca) in 2010.

"In 2006, the government announced that it saved RM4.4 billion from petrol subsidy cuts which was supposed to go to public transport.

"In 2009, RM25 billion was announced to (be used to) upgrade public transportation within five years, and another RM500 million was advanced to improve urban public transportation. Are these huge figures mere rhetoric?" Nurul Islam asked.