School bus and van operator Hussin Karam Din, 49, who has been in the business for over 18 years, said he had to sell four of his vans in just eight months.“Giving them up was painful but necessary.“The last one was in December last year. And I may have to sell more vehicles if the situation does not improve soon, ” he said.“I sold the vans for between RM8,000 and RM16,000.
He pointed out that resuming operations after having the vehicles sitting idle for months would also cost money.“This does not include road tax and insurance, ” he added.N. Jagathessun, 58, who operates five buses carrying Malaysian workers to and from Singapore, said he had been trying to dispose of his buses for almost a year.“I cannot reduce the asking price any further as it is already much lower than the actual price, ” he said.
Jagathessun said he had to spend between RM3,000 and RM5,000 to maintain each bus even though they were not used.“Some bus operators who sold their vehicles have bought lorries and ventured into the logistics business.” - R. ThiagarajanJohor Motor Hire Purchase & Finance Companies Association president Lum Chen Fook said dozens of vans had been put up for sale since last year.“It is rare to see people selling buses as most are still trying to pay their loans, ” he said.