Labuan ferry operators told: Have online booking without delay
Published on: Thursday, August 22, 2019
By: Sohan Das
LABUAN: Member of Parliament, Datuk Rozman Isli, wants the Labuan-Menumbok ro-ro ferry service providers to speed up promised online booking facility as this could help ease congestion at the terminal, especially festive seasons and school holidays.
Rozman had urgently called for a meeting with the ferry service companies following an unprecedented chaos during the recent school holidays and Hari Raya Haji.
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He said: “We have already discussed but the ferry operators seem to be reluctant to install the online booking system.
“We would give them a further period to do so and if no steps were taken, we would be left with no choice but to appoint another party to do the booking service.”
He added that the online booking facility is important as commuters could book in advance the travel arrangements from the convenience of their office or home without having to queue at the terminal ticket counters and add to the congestion there.
A factor on what caused the recent congestion was that many even without a firm booking for ro-ro service stayed at the terminal on standby, hoping to be slotted at the last moment.
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The ferry route is being served by four vessels namely Kimans, Putrajaya, Goodwill Star and Galaxy.
At a recent meeting, both the operators Juta Bonus and Labuan Mainland Link agreed to install the online service and also increase the number of trips during festive seasons from five to seven but this was not strictly followed due to some additional trips not having enough load.
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As for the congestion at the International Passenger Ferry Terminal, Rozman said this was because despite the notice of ferries being fully booked, passengers stayed back at the terminal hoping for the best.
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