KUANTAN: The Pan Malaysia Bus Operators Association will make sure drivers can plan their work days ahead and get enough rest when they are off.
Its president, Datuk Mohamad Ashfar Ali, yesterday said, however, it was beyond the operators’ control if drivers came to work without rest or chose to be involved in other activities on their rest days.
“Express bus drivers have their rest days, and their working timetable is fixed earlier, allowing them to plan their activities, including having proper rest before returning to work.
“For long trips, we have a second driver, and the pair will be informed much earlier about their trip.
“There has been no issue of drivers being told to spend long hours on the road,” he said.
Ashfar said he hoped the government would hand over a copy of the Pagoh accident investigation report to the association so that the group could scrutinise it and brief its members on how to increase the safety of its buses.
A senior driver who works for Konsortium Transnasional Bhd, the country’s largest operator of public bus transportation, said most drivers were given a day off after a long road trip and, sometimes, they worked only on alternate days.
The 47-year-old, with more than 15 years’ working experience in the industry, said it was a nightmare when human error (bus driver) led to an accident that resulted in the loss of lives.
“Express bus drivers plying the east coast stretch always give priority to safety and ensure that they have proper rest before returning to work. Whenever we (bus drivers) feel sick or sleepy, we will speak to the superior to swap places with another colleague so that the other can have extra rest.
“There is no issue of overworked bus drivers on long-haul trips during peak seasons as our operator will have to provide the bus trip timetable to the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) for approval before the buses hit the road.
“If the trip is more than 300km, there will be a second driver on the bus, and the pair of drivers will not handle the bus during the return trip,” he said at Terminal Sentral here yesterday.
He said unlike before, most bus operators nowadays
were more flexible and reminded their drivers to give priority to
their passengers’ safety, and did not mind if there was a 15- to 20-minute delay in the departure and arrival time.
In Kota Baru, a former bus driver said a majority of express bus drivers were normally assigned one trip a day for long-distance routes to avoid untoward incidents.
Che Ibrahim Che Ismail said this had long been a standard practice by many bus operators in the state.
“I’ve worked as a bus driver for almost 10 years, and was allowed to make only one long-distance trip a day, particularly to destinations that were over 300km.
“This was to ensure we had enough rest, as well as the safety
of the passengers,” said the 62-year-old, who is now a corporate executive.
Che Ibrahim said each express bus that travelled long-haul distances was assigned a driver and an assistant driver.
“Having two drivers is important because they get to switch
duties when the person behind the wheel gets tired,” Che Ibrahim added.