KUALA LUMPUR: The government should create immediate incentives such as special financial assistance and bank moratorium to assist struggling school vans and taxi operators following the closure of schools until the end of the year.
Pertubuhan Kebajikan Solidariti Perpaduan (PKSP) secretary, Prof Dr Sara Chinnasamy said the government should pay immediate attention to these groups as they are severely financially strapped due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
She said it was also important for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to come forward to help operators of school vans and buses as well as taxi drivers to alleviate their burden at this time.
She said the implementation of the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) in all states in the Peninsular except Kelantan, Perlis and Pahang has also compounded the woes of this segment as they are barely surviving.
"These are among the complaints that we have received from school bus operators following the spread of Covid-19 as well as the enforcement of the CMCO and the previous Movement Control Order (MCO), that led to them losing their source of income.
"Our organisation's main target is to advocate the needs of these groups because of the considerable effect the pandemic has had on them. For most of them, their source of income has been hit, while others have not had any income at all.
"With the school term being stopped until the end of the year, we expect that 80 percent of school bus operators will have to end their operations. The school term is important for school bus operators as it is their source of income. They have no other means of income."
Sara said this when presenting donations of daily necessities to school vans and taxi operators in Klang recently.
She said these groups also faced a burden of vehicle loans as they still need to pay the monthly installments as they claim to have no loan moratorium.
She said these school bus and van operators incurred late payment interest charges as many of them could not pay the installments on time during the pandemic.
"These operators also have difficulty in paying utility bills such as telephone bills, internet and office rent, and basic salaries of their employees and drivers due to loss of income," she added.