Stage buses to hit the roads in Kangar and Seremban

Coming soon: The myBAS, which is expected to have a carrying capacity of 65 people.

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s new stage buses are set to hit the streets, with more than 130 plying 40 routes in Perlis and around Seremban by the end of the month.

The Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) told The Star that 24 myBAS buses would cover 15 routes in Perlis through Kangar, Arau, Padang Besar and even Wang Kelian from 6am to 9pm daily.

In Seremban, 107 buses would run on 24 routes covering much of the town, its immediate outskirts and Nilai.

The routes are expected to stretch to Senawang, Tampin, the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Broga and Port Dickson.

The buses are expected to pick up 7.47 million passengers in Seremban and 870,000 in Perlis per year.

A spokesman for SPAD said myBASes would take up between three per cent and five per cent of traffic initially and up to 15% after eight years of operation.

Although The Star had reported that the myBAS service would appear in Seremban by April, the spokesman admitted to the delay.

“Almost 90% of the myBASes to be used in Seremban are brand new, and the procurement and assembly of the buses took longer than anticipated,” he added.

He said the setting up of electronic ticketing machines in all the buses and trial runs were also taking longer than expected.

“However, we are still confident that the service will start by the end of this month,” he added.

The myBAS project is part of the Stage Bus Service Transformation programme, which aims to put buses on many Malaysian streets that have been without public transportation for years.

Source: The Star | Nation | 10 June 2015