First here is the news :
- GEORGE TOWN, Nov 10
- Thousands school bus operators may sell off vehicles and close down
- due to conditional movement control order (CMCO)
- 4,000 school bus operators ceased operations during (MCO) this year
- could not pay loans could not survive with zero income
- we have lost 4,000 members since MCO
now CMCO will mean another three months of zero income
federation now down to around 10,000 members
already lost close a third to MCO
- schools ordered closed for duration
- effectively rendering school bus operators jobless
- Education Ministry closed schools for rest of the year
- regardless of when CMCO lifted
- Schools only reopen Jan 20 next year
- so school bus will have zero income
no guarantee another CMCO so operators have little motivation
Many will give up and let (banks) repossess their vehicles
look for other jobs, food delivery or lorry drivers
one-off cash RM600 not enough even for a month
- CMCO in Klang Valley since Oct
- school bus operators jobless
- will face another 3 months zero income
before pandemic, school bus operators had 11 months regular income
MCO extended until Dec 6, all states except Perlis, Pahang, Kelantan
- Many need RM4,000 – RM5,000 each month to pay loans, support families
- must be moratorium on vehicle loans for school bus during CMCO
- so that buses not repossessed by banks
- govt giving aid to affected groups
- school bus operators continue to be forgotten (??)
Parents may have to ferry children to schools next year
school bus gone bust by then
Comments :
My view is it is not going to be easy.
Two issues here –
1. The fate of the school bus operators.
2. If the school bus operators shut down what are the contingency plans to help parents send their kids to school?
We have until January 20, 2021 to sort this out. We have 61 days. But please dont wait until the last minute to sort things out. Unless the virus numbers have gone down by then.