OPERATORS of buses plying between Singapore and destinations in Malaysia are bracing themselves for a drop in business, even as consumers cheer the dramatic jump in the number of budget flights to Kuala Lumpur from today.
Business in the coach industry started wilting in February, when budget airlines began running a limited number of flights between Singapore and KL.
With Jetstar Asia, AirAsia and Tiger Airways running 14 daily flights to KL among them from today, bus operators expect things to get worse. But they are slightly buoyed by the fact that buses remain an important and affordable mode of transport, with many more Malaysian destinations than airlines can hope to have.
As Grassland Express & Tours' managing director Tan Boon Huat put it: 'Our buses drop people off directly, whereas if you take a flight, you still have very far to go to town from the airport.'
Mr Sebastian Yap, the spokesman for the Express Bus Agencies Association, which represents 10 operators, said the 'real pinch' will be felt between the last week of this month and Chinese New Year.
Already, advance bookings for January to March are not as strong as they were last year.
Director Ismail Rahman of Hasry Express said his business has not been hit that badly since February, but it has gone down noticeably: 'During the previous peak period, we would be fully booked a month before departure. Now, tickets are still available two weeks before.'
The peak periods for coach travel are during the school holidays in June and December, and in the week before and after Chinese New Year.
About 100 coaches travel to the Malaysian capital from here every day, making up just over a third of all bus trips between Singapore and Malaysia.
Last year, of the almost 11 million travellers from here who went to Malaysia, about four million travelled by express bus or excursion coach. The industry is estimated to make more than $150 million a year.
Return trips to KL range from about $50 for no-frills buses to $120 for high-end coaches with individual entertainment systems and on-board service.
Bus operators are improving the level of service, and have also tweaked their schedules so the last bus leaves later, or at times convenient to their target market - Malaysian students and workers based here.
Regular coach commuters said that while the low cost of budget flights is attractive, they are sticking with coaches.
A regional manager with a construction firm, Mr Richard Ee, 56, prefers to get to KL by car or coach.
The budget flights will not induce him to fly more often - whether he goes by road or air will always depend on which is the 'most convenient option'.
This article was first published in The Straits Times on December 01, 2008.
