THINKING it would be more economical to travel via an express bus to visit his sick child in Penang, MOHD IZHAM MOHD JAYA bought tickets from Plusliner for him and his wife to travel on Feb 12.
"Not wanting to miss our 8.45am bus, we waited at the Putrajaya Sentral Station from 8.15am.
"At 8.50am, I went to the counter to ask on the bus' whereabouts but was told the bus had just left!
"Earlier, I did notice a Plusliner bus parked at the side of the road but there was no driver in sight and the doors were closed. The bus wasn't parked in an allocated space, so it didn't occur to me that that was the bus I was suppose to board," he says.
MOHD IZHAM says he noticed the bus had departed right after its driver finished smoking a cigarette near the counter.
"There was no announcement and the doors were not opened. I didn't know where the bus was headed.
"The counter staff was not helpful at all. He couldn't tell me when the next bus to Penang would be nor suggested a solution to my woes. Another bus driver who was aware of the situation offered to 'chase' the bus for me, but the counter staff could not even provide him with the contact number of the Plusliner driver, so that was futile.
"Furthermore, the counter staff did not seem bothered with my problem. He said their system was down and currently being repaired," he says.
MOHD IZHAM says his wife then contacted Plusliner Penang to get the bus schedule. "When we enquired, we were told their system was not down."
He says things didn't perk up when he called Plusliner Infoline (1 300 888 582) as the customer service blamed him for not searching for the bus driver, as that was the "norm" at the station.
"How on earth was I to know of this so-called practice? We weren't informed of such things when we bought the tickets."
There was also no enforcement officer at the station to ensure that express bus operators adhere to rules, says MOHD IZHAM.
"My wife and I had to wait till 11.10am for the refund. We ended up driving to Penang that day."
He wants Plusliner to explain the incident and poor service.
● PLUSLINER Express & Nice Executive Coach head Rosli Md Dali says: "We regret over the incident that happened to MOHD IZHAM and his wife on Feb 12.
"We acknowledge our mistakes and plan to improve our ticket counter operations nationwide, especially at Putrajaya Sentral Station.
"We have also provided an explanation to the Road Transport Department, Land Public Transport Commission and Putrajaya Corporation on the incident.
"Plusliner is extremely grateful for MOHD IZHAM's views as it gives us the opportunity to improve our service."
When contacted, MOHD IZHAM says Plusliner has been in touch with him and he has accepted their apology.
