Tour bus operators to raise rental rates by 20% after diesel price hike

Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association president Mint Leong said its members will adjust the rental rates according to the diesel price fluctuations.

KUALA LUMPUR: Tour bus operators are set to hike their rental rates by up to 20% effective June 17 following the government’s decision to float diesel prices on Monday.

Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association (Mita) president Mint Leong said the operators will adjust the rental rates in accordance with diesel price fluctuations.

However, Leong said the increase could be temporary, as the bus operators would meet tourism, arts and culture minister Tiong King Sing next month about their inclusion in the subsidised diesel control system.

“We can’t afford to wait until the meeting in July as we are refuelling our buses on a daily basis,” she told a press conference here today.

Chairman of Pertubuhan Pengusaha Bas Bumiputra Malaysia Zainal Abidin Mehat said transport minister Loke Siew Fook’s statement that Putrajaya was not extending subsidies to tour bus operators as they ferried mostly foreign tourists was inaccurate.

Zainal said local people also sought his services for weddings and school trips.

He said the decision not to include bus operators under the diesel rationalisation exercise would not only affect their business but also domestic tourism.

On Monday, the government set the diesel price at RM3.35 per litre in the peninsula through the implementation of targeted diesel subsidies, which is expected to help Putrajaya save RM4 billion annually.

The subsidised diesel control system was launched by the government to allow fleet card recipients to purchase diesel at below retail price, as part of efforts to reduce the burden on public land transport and goods operators.

However, tour buses were not included in the 33 types of eligible vehicles for the initiative.

This prompted some 60 tour bus operators and Mita members to send a memorandum to the tourism, arts and culture ministry headquarters on June 11, saying they could face losses of between RM200 and RM250 a day.

Association of Bumiputera Tourism Operators of Malaysia vice-president Imraan Nor said it was unfair to compare the country’s diesel prices, which were lower, with that of Thailand when arguing against price hikes.

Imraan said there were several other aspects that needed to be taken into account.

“There are no tolls there apart from those in Bangkok, and the driver’s wages (there are lower) and spare parts for buses are cheaper than here.

“Let’s not forget the cost of living there is cheap, too. If we pay our drivers RM2,500 or less in Kuala Lumpur, they might not be able to make ends meet.”

Imraan also said there were operators that had signed agreements with airlines, and the sudden price hike would put them in a quandary.

He said if the operators continued to honour these agreements, they would be running at a loss as the rates agreed were based on the previous diesel price, while they risked being fined for breaching the contract.