12-06-2025
- Automotive
- New Straits Times
Bus ticket sales from Kelantan unaffected despite Gerik crash tragedy
KOTA BARU: Despite the recent tragedy on the Jeli to Gerik route that claimed the lives of 15 Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) students, express bus ticket sales from Kelantan to other states including northern destinations remain unaffected.
This is because, for those travelling from Kelantan, express buses are the only available form of public transport to the north, including Perak, Penang and Kedah.
Bus ticket agent Izani Zakaria, 41, who sells tickets for 17 express bus companies, said ticket sales have continued as usual.
"For those in Kelantan, they have no other choice and still need express buses to travel to other states.
"Unless there is another public transport option to the north, such as trains, the demand for express bus services is unlikely to decline, even after such a tragic incident.
"Thankfully, ticket sales so far have not been affected."
Izani said the tragedy has prompted bus operators to advise their drivers to be more cautious and to learn from what happened.
In Monday's accident, 15 UPSI students were killed when their chartered bus, travelling from Jertih, Terengganu, to the university's main campus in Tanjung Malim, Perak, overturned in a collision with a Perodua Alza.
The crash also injured 33 others, including the bus driver and attendant, as well as the driver and three passengers of the Perodua Alza.
