Coach operator Aeroline to resume services from Singapore to malls in Malaysia for 3 months
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Aeroline had been suspended for using locations that were not approved for picking up and dropping off passengers.
PHOTO: AEROLINE/FACEBOOK
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SINGAPORE – Coach operator Aeroline, which runs bus services between Singapore and Malaysia, has been given the green light to resume operations on Nov 28, a spokeswoman for Malaysia’s Land Public Transport Agency (APAD) told The Straits Times on Nov 27.
The bus company, which had been serving a month-long suspension until Dec 5
“Your trust carried us when our buses could not,” it said in the post.
It had previously sought public support after it was directed by APAD to temporarily cease its services from Nov 6.
APAD had said on Nov 2 that Aeroline’s suspension came after the company was found to have picked up and dropped off passengers at locations that were not approved terminals on at least three occasions in February, May and October.
Aeroline, which is managed and owned by operator Zulco and operates services within Peninsular Malaysia, was warned to change its services to an approved terminal.
Checks on its website showed that it was selling tickets for services departing from Singapore’s HarbourFront Centre for Kuala Lumpur on Nov 28, with Corus Hotel near the Malaysian capital’s city centre as the destination.
Bus services to and from the 1 Utama and Sunway Pyramid shopping malls in Petaling Jaya will continue for a three-month moratorium granted by the government, said Aeroline in a Nov 29 Facebook post.
Being allowed to use its existing boarding and drop-off points allows the company to honour tickets that had already been sold, it added.
APAD will evaluate Aeroline’s applications for more stations during the three-month transition, after which only approved points can be used.
An Aeroline spokeswoman had said earlier on Nov 27 that coach services will run from all its existing locations in KL’s city centre.
APAD said earlier in November that the use of approved terminals was aimed at ensuring the safety of passengers and reducing congestion in the city centre.
The centralised bus terminal serving KL – Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (TBS), or Southern Integrated Terminal – is some 15km away from the city centre. Non-driving tourists need to take a taxi or use a ride-hailing service or the LRT to get to the city’s main attractions.
Following Aeroline’s suspension, local stakeholders including hotel operators, shopping malls and the tourism association had lobbied for mall-based coach services to be allowed, to facilitate inbound tourists’ shopping and hotel access.
Aeroline customers such as healthcare professional Ong Wee Chee welcomed the news of the resumption of operations. Mr Ong has been relying on Aeroline coaches for his monthly work trips to KL from Singapore, and is happy that he is rid – for now – of the need to spend more time and money to get to the city centre from TBS, the drop-off point for most other operators.
