GEORGE TOWN: School bus operators are looking forward to schools reopening as a means to business revival, but thorny payment issues with parents remain a setback.

       Federation of Malaysian School Bus Operators Association president Amali Munif Rahmat said it was good that schools were finally reopening, but many of the operators were facing issues with monthly payments.

       “Only 40% of the 16,000 school bus operators or roughly 6,000 operators nationwide will continue to operate.

       “However, only 30% of the 6,000 will be operating in the beginning as parents are still apprehensive about their children using school buses due to Covid-19 physical distancing concerns.

       “These operators are facing payment issues as some parents are refusing to pay the monthly payments, citing that schools will only be opened for three weeks and it is unfair for us to ask for the full monthly payments.

       “This is the quandary we are in as parents are still afraid although buses are running only at 30% capacity with all the drivers fully vaccinated,” he said.

       Amali Munif said the bus operators would remain in the doldrums unless these issues were resolved.

       “If only 30% of the operators are in business, what is going to happen to the others who do not have any students to fetch?” asked Amali Munif.

       He lamented the parents’ refusal to pay the monthly fares, reiterating that rental or fees needed to be paid in full although services were not rendered for the full month.

       He said it was the same principle as collecting bus fees for November and December every year although it was the school holidays.

       “However, things changed during the pandemic with parents becoming very choosy and demanding, and when we didn’t agree on the payments, we had no choice but to discontinue the service to some of them,” he said.

       Amali Munif said many of the operators had left to do their own business or to work as food delivery riders during the movement control order period.

       “Only those within the 40 to 60 age range are still around as the younger ones do not see a future in this industry anymore,” he said.

       “I am 56 and still drive a school bus as this is all I know since I started in 1987.”

       The Education Ministry has announced that educational institutions under the ministry in Perlis, Perak, Penang, Sabah and Kedah will resume operations today and tomorrow, in accordance with the regulations stipulated under Phase Four of the National Recovery Plan.

       In Kedah, schools will reopen today, while those in Perak, Perlis, Penang and Sabah tomorrow.

       Meanwhile, Penang School Bus Association chairman Ang Beng Teong said 10% of its bus operators had left the profession during the lockdown and those who remained were gearing up for the reopening of schools.

       “All of the 300 operators on the island are fully vaccinated and most of them have already had their booster shots, too.

       “Although the issue of parents not paying exists in Penang, it is not acute as after discussions, both the parents and operators will usually come to an agreement.

       “We are looking forward to better times and hope that bus operators will be able to earn a decent living again,” he said.