Express bus operators caught increasing ticket prices illegally ahead of Aildilfitri could lose licence – MoT

The ministry of transport says it will take action against any express bus company that deliberately increases ticket prices for economy-class buses illegally ahead of the Hari Raya Aidilfitri festive season, including revoking their licence. According to a report by Bernama, the ministry had received complaints from the public regarding fare hikes imposed by express bus operators, particularly for routes from the capital to the East Coast.

“I have instructed the land public transport agency (APAD) to investigate the companies involved in these fare hikes. There are two categories of bus services, economy and executive. For economy-class buses, fares are regulated and cannot be raised arbitrarily,” said transport minister Anthony Loke.

“The other category is executive buses, which offer additional services, and their ticket prices are not regulated. However, even for executive buses, if the price increase is excessive, we will take action. So, we need to investigate first to determine the category of these fare hikes,” he added.

Bus operators are only permitted to impose a 10% surcharge during festive seasons, considering factors such as increased service capacity and bus rental costs. Loke noted that this surcharge was not a new policy and had been in place for the past 20 years, applying from one week before to one week after major celebrations.

On a separate matter, Loke said integrated enforcement operations for Aidilfitri would be conducted nationwide from March 24 to April 8 to monitor, detect and take action against road users who violate traffic laws. “We have identified hotspot areas, with 36 locations in Pahang alone. We will deploy road transport department (JPJ) officers to these hotspots,” he said.

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