Express bus operators' subsidised diesel quota increased to 6,000l per month

KUALA LUMPUR: It is untrue to claim that the operational expenses of express buses have increased due to the rationalisation of diesel subsidies, says Anthony Loke.

The Transport Minister said express bus operators recently had their monthly quotas for subsidised diesel increased from 2,880 litres to 6,000 litres a month.

“This will help them keep their operational costs under control,” he said during Question Time in Parliament today.

Loke also said express buses are given subsidised diesel under the Subsidised Diesel Regulation System (SKDS).

“Diesel is priced at RM1.88 per litre under SKDS 1.0,” he said.

Loke was responding to a supplementary question raised by Mohd Azizi Abu Naim (Independent-Gua Musang), who had asked about measures to assist bus operators burdened by increased operation costs due to diesel subsidy rationalisation.

The minister said joint enforcement operations on express and tour buses have been held across the country to ensure compliance with traffic rules and regulations.

According to Loke, express buses are complying better with traffic rules and regulations compared to tour buses.

“Non-compliance involving tour buses is way higher than express buses.

“Some drivers are found to be involved in drug abuse, some are not taking enough rest and some do not have a second driver,” he said.

“Joint operations are being held from time to time to ensure that traffic rules are complied for public safety,” added Loke.

Another ministry also spoke on targeted subsidy.

Bernama reported Deputy Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Fuziah Salleh as saying his ministry had not detected any unusual price increases following the diesel subsidy rationalisation on June 10.

Fuziah said that through "Ops Kesan", the Enforcement Division had conducted 14,195 inspections of premises to prevent profiteering.

"Additionally, the National Price of Goods Division monitors 418 types of daily necessities and has not observed any abnormal price fluctuations,” she said during the question-and-answer session.

She was responding to a question from Datuk Rosol Wahid (PN-Hulu Terengganu) about the impact of diesel subsidy rationalisation on the prices of goods and the cost of living.