Transport Ministry Will Improve Welfare, Benefits Of Bus Drivers - Loke

The Ministry of Transport (MOT) will improve the welfare and benefits of bus drivers in an effort to attract more people to the field and thus have enough bus drivers in the market according to its minister, Anthony Loke. "Other than that, Prasarana is going on roadshows to recruit more bus drivers, and we hope more people come forward to take up the job," he told Bernama.

Loke made the statement in response to a recent media report in which the Transport Workers Union urged the government to address the country's shortage of bus drivers.
According to an FMT report, union secretary-general Zainal Rampak explained that high operating costs, low revenue, and fierce competition make it difficult for bus operators to recruit drivers, let alone pay them competitive salaries.

Bus drivers, according to Zainal, earn around RM2,500 per month, including overtime. The recent launch of the national-level MyPSV programme for 2023 is intended to help address the current shortage of bus drivers, with the government allocating RM2 million to provide free vocational public service vehicle (PSV) licences. The Class E PSV licence was issued to 500 of the total 500 PSVs.