THE Land Public Transport Agency (Apad) has issued permits for an additional 256 buses to run during Hari Raya to meet balik kampung demand, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said.

He added that the number of buses approved this year under the temporary conversion licence for festivals scheme was 50% higher than last year.

“This increase in consumer demand is a sign of economic recovery, especially in the public transport sector,” he said in Kuala Lumpur today.

Loke said the additional buses had been checked to ensure they met the criteria set by various authorities, including Puspakom.

Meanwhile, he said the Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (TBS) operator had taken measures to cope with the higher passenger traffic between April 18 and 22, including deploying additional staff and opening more ticket counters.

Loke said there were also 24-hour security by the auxiliary police unit, continuous security monitoring through 623 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, additional officers to manage traffic and integrated operations with the authorities.

He said TBS had taken the initiative to update the status of tickets and travel schedule via the consumers information display system, TBS website and social media channels.

Loke said travellers who purchased their tickets online could scan their QR code at the auto gate counter (AGC) to reduce congestion and the main entrance of the departure hall.

“This is expected to overcome the problem of long queues in the terminal during festive seasons,” he said, adding that several major online ticketing agents like GoHub, BusOnlineTicket and RedBus had successfully integrated their systems with TBS in stages.

He said passengers who purchased tickets from these agents would receive the QR code notification together with the GoPass logo and could proceed straight to the departure hall to board their buses. – Bernama, April 19, 2023.