4 S'pore-based tour bus operators barred from providing coach services in Malaysia

Four Singapore-based tour bus operators are no longer allowed to operate in Malaysia after they were found to have flouted licensing rules.

- Sarah Koh

The four firms had their licences cancelled after they were found offering express bus services and selling tickets online, the Malaysian Land Public Transport Agency (Apad) said in response to queries.

Foreign bus operators are allowed to take tourists on overnight stays in Peninsular Malaysia, but cannot operate express bus services, nor sell tickets online, Apad added.

They must also submit the list of passenger names and the travel itinerary, which must start and end in Singapore, including destinations in Malaysia.

The four firms, which were not named by Apad, were told about the cancellation of their licences on April 29 and May 2.

So far, 23 Singapore bus operators have been granted approval to operate in Malaysia.

Malaysia issues express bus service permits only to companies registered in the country, reported Chinese-language daily Lianhe Zaobao on May 6.

Cityline Travel and Luxury Coach—two of the four bus operators hit by the suspension—said in separate statements that the Singapore-registered buses they operate now cannot provide coach services to and from Malaysia because of regulatory constraints.