By Brad Rantayy
MIRI,Jan 13: The state government is looking into various ways to improve stage bus services here to encourage more people to opt for public transportation, says Minister of Transport Datuk Lee Kim Shin.
“We are looking into how we can improve the efficiency and reliability of buses so that more people use the bus,” he said.
Lee disclosed this today after chairing a meeting with stage bus servicse providers in Miri at the Resident’s Office here.
Lee believed that one of the ways to achieve this is via Internet of Things (IoT).
“IoT can help us to transform public transportation services, for example by having WiFi in buses, it could attract youths to take buses,” he opined.
Apart from that, bus service providers also can install CCTV inside their buses or use mobile apps.
With the increasing competition between the taxi industry and other public transportation such as Uber and Grab, stage bus services need to be transformed in order to stay relevant, Lee emphasised.
There are two major stage bus services providers in Miri: Miri Transport Company Sdn Bhd and Miri City Bus Sdn Bhd.
Earlier today, around 6.30am, Lee took a bus from Permyjaya to the city centre in order to get public views on stage bus services.
It took him for about 35 minutes to reach the city centre.
“Inside the bus, the passengers told me that there are no bus schedules to indicate the bus operating hours,” Lee revealed.
Hence, Lee urged stage bus service providers to put up the schedules at bus stops or bus shelters so that bus users could easily refer to them. — DayakDaily
