ALOR STAR: All 232 buses belonging to Konsortium Bas Express Semenanjung have been grounded for a month from Wednesday by the Road Transport Department.

Its enforcement chief, Salim Parlan, said the company's operating permit had been suspended under Section 51(1) of the Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board Act, 1987.

The company was found to have broken many rules and regulations and that its buses were involved in a number of accidents.

"It was inevitable and we just have to ground the company's fleet of 232 buses," he said after leading a crackdown on errant road users, codenamed "Ops Bersama Pengarah Penguatkuasa", here on Thursday night.

Salim said the suspension, until June 13, was reached following a recent inquiry conducted by the Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board.
However, despite the suspension, the department found three of the company's buses on the road - two operated illegally at the bus station in Medan Gopeng, Perak, while the other was operating at Puduraya in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.

In Kuala Lumpur, two more Konsortium Bas Ekspres buses were seized in a joint operation between the RTD and CVLB last night.

CVLB chairman Datuk Mar-kiman Ismail, who stopped the first bus himself, said the drivers were aware that the company's licence had been suspended but claimed to have been ordered to drive anyway.

Last month, the company was asked to explain an accident involving one of its buses near the Seremban toll plaza in which a passenger was killed and 16 others injured.

Salim warned other express bus companies to strictly adhere to the regulations in their permits, failing which they would face the same fate as Konsortium Bas Ekspres.

"We are giving Konsortium Bas Ekspres one month to improve its services and buses.

"We will also station our officers at all the 36 major bus stations in the country to catch errant express bus companies," he said, adding that they would also conduct spot checks to ensure that both buses and drivers were fit.

On the operation, Salim said the department booked 115 motorcyclists and 20 motorists for various road offences. They were fined between RM100 and RM300 each.