ALOR SETAR- All 224 express bus operators will be required to attend a two-day Safety, Health and Environmental Management (SHE) course as part of the Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board's (CVLB) new regulation.

CVLB chairman Datuk Halimah Mohamed Sadique said the course, starting on Feb 23, is to brief bus operators on the five requirements under SHE.

"SHE was added as part of the new licensing regulation for express buses following the Sani United Sdn Bhd bus accident which killed 10 people in Ipoh late last year."

"We issued a circular asking express bus operators to comply with SHE but later realised that most of them did not know the proper procedure to obtain a SHE certificate," she said after chairing a dialogue with Kedah/Perlis taxi operators here yesterday.

Halimah said under SHE, the operators must properly manage their drivers, know bus trip risk factors and ensure their vehicles were regularly serviced.

"They will be given two weeks to implement what is required under SHE, and those who fail to comply after the given time will have action taken against them," she said.

On another matter, she said that by March 1, taxi operators who failed to fix stickers displaying the new rates and informing commuters that the drivers were using meters would be issued a RM300 (S$124) compound fine.

"If they continue to be stubborn, we will suspend and revoke their permits by the second or third offence," she added.

This article was first published in The Star/Asia News Network.