KUCHING: Yayasan Sarawak director Azmi Bujang has called on parents to bear with the expected teething problems at the initial stage of the new free school bus service programme.
“The challenge is that once schools re-open, there will be massive traffic jams. Some roads are narrow and buses cannot U-turn in certain areas – so there will be some teething problems,” he said.
He was speaking at the launch of the free school bus service by Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg at the SMA Creative Heritage Innovation Centre here on Wednesday.
Azmi said the programme would initially involve 30 schools from SMK St Teresa to SMK Bako, covering the districts of Kuching and Padawan.
He said that there were 18 zones within these two districts, comprising of 22 routes. He added that the programme involved 46 buses and vans.
“The buses will travel along designated routes, with each bus accommodating 40-44 passengers,” he said. He added that certain areas could not accommodate long buses so the vans, each with a capacity of 13-20 students, would be used for such areas.
“Overall, there will be 178 trips per day. With full capacity and considering that students would ride twice a day, the total ridership for a whole day can reach up to 2,800 to 3,000 students,” he said.
He highlighted the tracking system implemented in this free school bus service, whereby users and operators could monitor the buses. This tracking system application can be downloaded via the App Store or Google Play Store.
Azmi hoped that bus drivers would comply with the routes and schedules to ensure that students were not late for school.
He disclosed that the Bumiputera School Bus Operators Association Kuching-Samarahan Division was the operator of the free school bus service programme.
“I have met with all the bus operators and drivers with Transport Minister Datuk Lee Kim Shin, whereby we briefed them on the system. Also, we have installed 46 trackers in all the buses, so they are monitored ‘live’,” he said.
According to him, the programme would be improved from time to time and Yayasan Sarawak would collect feedbacks on the implementation of the routes.
“There are certain routes which need to be covered, and our mandate is to cover as many schools as possible in Kuching, Padawan, and Samarahan. So, we need to expand and we will do the necessary when the time comes,” he said.
“Once this programme takes off, bus operators which want to join can request to Yayasan Sarawak, and we can see how we can accommodate a larger number of members,” said Azmi.
