THE state Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (LPKP) is not solely responsible for revamping public transport because other ministries are also involved.

People tend to think it’s the job of LPKP but such a mindset need to change, according to the Board’s secretary Wan Samsulri Wan Hasbi.

Traffic management, infrastructure and the like did not come under the Board but were handled by other agencies, he clarified.

“Revitalising public transport is not just about changing buses — we need to change bus terminals and bus stops as well,” Samsulri told thesundaypost.

He said the Board’s present scope of duty was confined to acquiring new buses while other ministries had jurisdiction over building infrastructure like bus stops and terminals.

“If roads and related facilities are not there, how can the buses pick up passengers,” he asked.

On the ministries involved, Samsulri said there were many but did not elaborate.

The suggestion to improve public transport in the state is not new, having been raised on and off for several decades.

Former LPKP chairman, Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, had frequently urged bus companies to upgrade their fleet but the response has been slow.

To speed up the process, the Kuching City Bus Services Sdn Bhd (KCBS) consortium was set up to act as co-ordinator for its five member companies — Chin Lian Long Motor Vehicle Company Bhd, Petra Jaya Transport (Sarawak) Sdn Bhd, Regas Transport Company Bhd, Sarawak Transport Company Bhd and Bau Transport Company Bhd.

Only Kuching Matang Company Bhd is not included in the consortium which is not under any ministry.

The five companies operate a combined fleet of more than 100 buses — about half between 15 and 20 years old — and transport between 20,000 and 30,000 passengers everyday.

According to Samsulri, when MP for Petra Jaya and Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Fadillah Yusuf, was Board chairman last year, the KCBS put forward a lot of plans to him and he agreed with the suggestion to buy 100 new buses.

“This is just the first stage because we cannot revamp in one go. It will be another one and a half years before the system gets a new look.

“We don’t want to do things in haste because we don’t want a repeat of Rapid Penang here. They have new buses there but the system is chaotic,” he said.

Rapid Penang, a government-owned company set up to run bus services in Penang, began operations on July 31 last year.

The Penang state government revamped the entire system in the hope of improving the bus service but the plan fell short.

The drivers went on strike and the buses no longer stopped at the Komtar interchange after one of its captains was threatened with a parang and received multiple threats and harassments from drivers of former operators.

For Kuching, the first stage of revamp entails the replacement of old buses with 39 new ones.

“We issued KCBS 100 permits for new buses in October last year but its loan application seems to be holding things up. RM7.5 million was approved a month ago but the consortium and the bank are still negotiating the terms and conditions.”

Samsulri stressed the government was keen to improve the public transport system here.

“They have a Public Transport Development Fund for the whole of Malaysia and when launched, this fund already had RM200 million in hand with another RM100 million to be allocated soon. Out of this amount, RM7.5 million has already been approved to KCBS,” he said.

As of January, 107 permits have been issued for stage buses, 104 for express buses, 400 for school buses, 135 for kereta sewa and 507 for taxis.

Samsulri assured all the permits were active.