KUCHING: Regular bus commuters here agree that the three new bus companies will have plenty to do in order to improve their services.

They can revitalise the flagging public transport industry by starting to improve the reliability of buses, thus picking up the slack that is being capitalised by ‘van sapu’ (pirate taxis).

Limu Budin, 54, an office cleaner, said she had to pay exorbitant ‘van sapu’ fares to go home from work at night, as there was no bus running from her workplace to Bintawa by then.

“Normally I use bus to go to work for a fare of RM1.20 but at night I have to use ‘van sapu’ which costs me RM3. I have no other choice because home is quite a distance away,” said Limu when interviewed at her workplace yesterday.

She said she preferred using bus, not only because its cheaper but it could carry more passengers unlike vans where space was limited.

“But since there is no bus running at night, many have to resort using vans and we have to squeeze in there like sardines in a can. On top of that I have to pay almost three times the fare charged by bus,” she lamented.

She added that the trip usually took half an hour by van but up to two hours by bus because of the time taken to wait for one to arrive.

“Vans will pick up passengers, the more the merrier to earn more money, even if it means cramming us into the van. Using bus is more comfortable because it is roomy. Though I prefer using bus to go home that is not possible at night at the moment.”

When told of the three new bus companies which will start operating next month, Limu jumped up in joy.

“With more bus companies moving in, it means more competition. Existing bus companies will have to buck up and provide better service to stay in business. However, I hope that the fares will be competitive too and not too steep for low income earners like me.

“I also hope that these buses will run at night until 9pm at least so that I can have another option aside from ‘van sapu’,” she said.

Limu’s colleague, Malaya Janting, 50, resorts to walking for the past one and a half year at night after her night shift ends from her workplace in Pending to her house in Sungai Apong.

“When I first started work in 2000, I had no transportation problem because buses then ran until 10pm. There were three buses going to the Sungai Apong area. Now, only one is plying the route and the last bus ends its run at 5.30pm,” she lamented.

She added that this particular bus even stopped running at 1.30pm on Saturdays, what more to say on Sunday and public holidays. As there was only one bus running now, it only came by her place once every hour, albeit, not on schedule, she said.

“Sometimes, I even have to wait for an hour before the bus comes around, even though the trip only takes 20 minutes. If I don’t have any other choice, I will use van sapu to work, which sometime does not arrive on time,” said Malaya.

The only consolation was that the fare was only RM1 one way, she added. When asked on her hope for the new stage bus companies, which will begin operation in August, she hoped that the service would be regular and the fares not too high.

“I also hope that the bus will run until 9pm as my shift ends at 8pm,” she said.

Three bus companies were recently given licence to operate stage bus service in the city starting this August. They will introduce standardised fares and smart cards. One of them is Biaramas Express Sdn Bhd, which will have 19 fully air-conditioned buses. The other companies are City Public Link Sdn Bhd, which has 40 buses and Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd with 60 buses.

During the DUN sitting on May 18, Minister of Urban Development and Tourism Datuk Michael Manyin said three more bus companies would operate here starting August.

He said the Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board had approved 119 new licences for stage buses as an effort to improve public transport in the city and in Petra Jaya.

Another commuter, Atiqah Nadzirah, 19, a tidbit stall operator, said that the current fare of RM1 from Pengkalan Haji Omar (near Kuching Waterfront taxi stand) to the Riverside Shopping Complex was too steep.

“It is just a short distance and if I have the time, I would rather walk and save my money instead.”

Atiqah used ‘bot tambang’ (boat) from her house across the river and hopped on a bus to her stall located opposite Riverside Shopping Complex. She said the fare used to be 70 sen but it went up to RM1 for a trip of about five minutes. She depended not only on one bus as several buses plied the route.

She added that she took the same route home daily when she closed for the day at 6pm.

On her hopes for the new bus companies, she said that the fare should be reasonable and maybe even cheaper than the current rate, and more comfortable.

Over at King’s Centre bus stop, another commuter going by the name Puji greeted the writers with the ease of someone accustomed to striking up casual conversation with fellow commuters.

“I’ve already been waiting for more than half an hour. I am tired of this. There were four others waiting with me earlier but they got impatient and went off. I don’t know where they went to.”

She had a long journey ahead of her in order to get home.

“I take the bus from here to Wisma Saberkas, then switch to another bus that will take me to MJC in Batu Kawa.”

She said that the bus frequency should be increased. “It would be better to have a bus coming every 15 minutes,” she said.

A taxi driver who identified himself as Daniel revealed that he and his fellow drivers normally rest at the King’s Centre bus stop between customers.

“Yes, we have picked up people who were originally waiting for a bus. You cannot wait 30 minutes to an hour for a bus,” he said, as his walkie-talkie squawked for a taxi to pick up someone at the Islamic Information Centre.

He said that pirate taxis were doing brisk business in the area. An office assistant who only wanted to be known as Dayang said that there were a few occasions where she had to resort to a van sapu.

“I don’t like it, but sometimes I have no choice. The bus services need to run on a more orderly schedule. We need to know where they (buses) are otherwise we’ll be sitting here for a long time, wasting time.”

She also complained that sometimes bus drivers stop to eat.

“Don’t they work on shift? There is no fixed schedule, and the buses seem to come and go as they please.”

Dayang thought that a smart card might lead to a more efficient boarding process.

“Sometimes the conductor doesn’t have change. You give them RM2 to pay for a RM1.20 fare, and they forget to return the change to you before you get off the bus.”

She also said that the fares went up with the price of petrol, but did not come down when petrol prices went down.

Ghata Budi, who boards the bus daily to get to her shift at a major hotel here preferred to be cautious.

“A smart card system and standardised fare would be good, but I want to know if it will be affordable and around the same rates as now,” she said. Her main grouse is that the bus services do not run normal hours during public holidays.

“You never know if the bus service is going to stop early or when it will stop running for the day. There shouldn’t be any change in the service because some people still have to get to work.”

At the very least, Ghata is content with a bus every half hour.

“I also hope that they will find a way to either notify us that there will be no bus service, or work on a fixed time. I also hope that they will extend their hours from 6pm to 8pm.”

She related a few stories about people unable to catch a bus.

“I know of an elderly man in my work area who had to walk from the city back to his home in Kenyalang. He finishes work at 7pm and there are no more buses.”

She also encountered two girls who didn’t realise that the bus service had ended for the day.

“They were crying because they could not afford a taxi and they had no way of getting home. We didn’t even know how to help them,” she said.