Expand taxi drivers' card to buses, says operator association
KUALA LUMPUR: An association representing express and stage bus operators has urged the government to expand a system presently used to regulate the hiring of taxi drivers to bus companies.
Datuk Mohamad Ashfar Ali, president of the Pan Malaysian Bus Operators Association, said they have for years pushed for the introduction of a "driver's card" for buses.
"Previously, the Land Public Transport Commission's (SPAD) predecessor, the Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (CVLB), accepted our proposal, but nothing materialised," he told the New Straits Times.
Ashfar said that when taxi drivers want to quit one company to join another, they need to obtain approval from the Land Public Transport Agency (APAD).
To get this approval, a driver must submit a letter from their current employer stating that the company has accepted their resignation and a letter of employment from their new company to APAD.
"APAD will do a background check on the driver before issuing a new driver's card," he said.
"This is the system we have asked the Transport Ministry and APAD to introduce for express buses because it can help weed out the 'bad hats'."
Ashfar said the over 100 companies under the PMBOA implement their own vetting system for drivers.
"Anyone wanting to join a company that is a member of PMBOA must be an E-Class licence holder for at least five years, a Public Service Vehicle (PSV) licence holder for at least three years, and have a minimum of two years' experience driving a bus."
He said those who qualify attend an interview, and if they pass, the member companies will request a copy of their police, APAD, and Road Transport Department (RTD) records.
"We will check what summonses they have received. Only then do we test them on the road, with a company staff member sitting in for the journey," he said.
"They also have to do blood sugar and drug tests."
Ashfar said even those who are employed have their records checked for summonses each month, while GPS tracking is done daily for every bus.
On Monday, a bus carrying 42 Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) students from Jertih, Terengganu, to the university's main campus collided with a Perodua Alza.
The accident killed 15 students, sparking calls for improved bus safety.
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