Coach operator Aeroline temporarily suspends trips between S’pore and Malaysia from Nov 6 to Dec 5

SINGAPORE - Malaysian coach operator Aeroline, which provides trips between Singapore and Malaysia, will temporarily suspend all its trips between Nov 6 and Dec 5.

The suspension was directed by Malaysia’s Land Public Transport Agency (Apad), and is because the operator continued dropping off passengers at its own locations instead of at a centralised bus terminal, according to a notice on Aeroline’s website and social media pages on Nov 1.

Passengers who have booked tickets during that period can either obtain a full refund, or hold on to their ticket for another date, it said, adding that it is appealing against the suspension, which could affect some Singaporean travellers, given that the year-end school holidays begin on Nov 22.

“We hope it will give the government some time to realise the contribution Aeroline provides to society by enabling our passengers to experience seamless and convenient point-to-point journeys, which we have done in the past 23 years,” the notice said.

The centralised bus terminal – Terminal Bersepadu Selatan, which translates to southern integrated terminal – is located almost 13km away from Kuala Lumpur’s city centre.

Google Maps indicates that it takes close to an hour to get from the bus terminal to the city centre using public transport.

In a statement on Nov 2, Apad said its investigations found that Aeroline had picked up and dropped off passengers at unapproved locations and had operated outside the approved bus terminal on Feb 3, May 21 and Oct 10.

“The company was advised and given a warning to change its service permit to an approved terminal, but it refused to do so,” said Apad.

The agency said it issued three show-cause letters to Aeroline for the same offence between March 13 and Oct 10, before the company admitted wrongdoing in an official response.

Given Aeroline’s repeated offence, the company was issued the month-long suspension on Oct 21, to take effect from Nov 6.

Apad said the measure aims to ensure passenger safety and reduce traffic congestion in the city centre.

The locations that Aeroline had cited as drop-off points on its social media pages gave passengers greater choice, depending on where they alighted.

Corus KLCC is located right in Kuala Lumpur’s city centre, while 1 Utama and Sunway Pyramid are located in different parts of Petaling Jaya. All three locations are well-known to Singaporeans and popular with visitors.

Such locations, however, are not meant for bus services to carry out passenger pickups and drop-offs, Apad said in a notice issued on Oct 15, which The Straits Times has seen.

The authority said such practices violate the terms of the permit issued to operators, and from Nov 1, it would forbid them from picking up or dropping off passengers at any location in Kuala Lumpur that is not a terminal, including places in Bukit Bintang and Jalan Imbi or in front of Berjaya Times Square. The Bukit Bintang area is a top draw for visitors to the city, with its many hotels, shopping malls and eateries.

Failure to comply could result in a suspension or bus operators having their permits revoked, it said.

Aeroline, meanwhile, included the e-mail addresses linked to Apad in its notice, requesting the public to send in appeals on its behalf.

Netizens on various social media platforms were mostly sympathetic, although some expressed confusion as they said they were not notified of the suspension, and had noticed it only through the operator’s social media posts.

Malaysian netizens on the country’s dedicated subreddit were more critical, with one comment stating: “This is so irritating. People want to go to the north (of KL), the government says to go to the south.”

ST has contacted Aeroline and other popular bus operators for more information.