While I welcome the recent announcement to revamp the licensing model of stage bus services, this latest transformation will fall short of its intended goal if open tender and transparency are not the part of the cornerstones of its implementation.
The revamp that was recently announced by the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) would mean the government will take over the liability of the operating cost of each bus route and that the bus operators will be paid a fixed monthly fee for providing these services. The fare box collection will go back to the government to offset the operating cost.
I personally support this model, as one of the reasons for ineffective stage bus services today is the lack of profitability of many routes. This then prevents bus operators from servicing these existing routes properly. In effect the government will reap profit from certain high ridership routes, and the profit of which can be used to offset the unprofitable ones.
However, the above model can only succeed if there is open tender and transparency. It is thus most disturbing when SPAD CEO Mohd Nur Ismal Kamal announced that the “most dominating” existing operator in an area will be given this contract, with no transparency of the contract sum awarded[1].
In fact, agreements were signed between SPAD and Cityliner Sdn Bhd to operate in Seremban, and Mara Liner Sdn Bhd in Kangar, Perlis [2], which is probably the start of many more contracts to come, especially in the lucrative areas in the Klang Valley, Penang and Johor Bahru.
SPAD needs to ensure that each of these 8 year contract are instead given out on an open tender basis, as is done internationally, to ensure that firstly, the best provider who can deliver is selected for the job, and secondly, that the operator would not be overpaid for the services rendered. Without competition, there would be a very good chance that the government would overpay these bus operators, using precious taxpayers ringgit in doing so.
SPAD must also be transparent of the service levels expected from each of these operators for the fixed monthly fee they are going to receive. This will allow more public transport users to participate in monitoring and providing feedback of the services. SPAD must also share the auditing process to ensure that all key performance indicators are met, as operators that don’t meet this indicators should be replaced to ensure consistent and reliable service to all public transport users.