The higher operational costs resulting from the 20 sen increase in the price of RON95 petrol and diesel is likely to be pushed to customers, according to major players in the transport industry. They also ask the public to brace for the chain effect of more expensive goods and services. The Pan Malaysian Bus Operators Association, which has 130 members nationwide, expects fares for stage and express coaches to rise between 5% and 30% “in the near future”. “The hike in diesel price has resulted in an immediate rise of 5% in operational costs and this will have an impact on stage and express bus operators,” association president Datuk Ashfar Ali said. “We urge the Government to act quickly to minimise the impact as operators will find it hard to absorb the increase in fuel cost,” he told The Star. Operators are now given a quota of 1,400 litres of diesel per month for a stage bus and 2,800 litres for an express bus. The quota price is now RM1.68 a litre. Bus operators have to pay the pump price – now increased to RM2 – if they exceed their monthly quota, Ashfar said. Ashfar suggested that the Government increase the diesel quota for stage coaches to 3,000 litres a month, and for express buses to 6,000 litres. The Selangor and Kuala Lumpur Lorry Operators Association said that diesel costs made up 30% to 40% of the entire expenditure of its members. The fuel hike would raise their operation costs by about 5% to 8%, association secretary-general Alvin Choong added. “This is quite a significant increase. Operators will naturally try to pass the extra cost on to the consumers,” he said. He, however, believed the increase in the prices of goods due to the fuel spike “should not be very big”. Choong, who expects the Government to increase diesel prices further in the near future, said it should not be done in stages. Association of Malaysian Hauliers president Datuk Che Azizuddin Che Ismail said “it is natural” for consumers to pay more when operation costs go up. He said the additional costs would depend on the type of vehicle an operator used and the kind of cargo transported. “It is up to the operators how much of the cost they will pass on to their customers,” he said.
Posted on: Wed, 04 Sep 2013 04:54:22 +0000
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