KUALA LUMPUR, April 13 — The Ministry of Transport (MoT) today signed off on contracts for RM169.9 million worth of subsidies under the Interim Stage Bus Support Fund (ISBSF), which helps stage bus operators to run routes that are less profitable, especially in rural areas.

During the signing ceremony at the ministry today, its minister, Anthony Loke, said the programme involves 37 bus operators with 439 buses that will provide services for 252 routes across Peninsular Malaysia over the next three years.

"Twenty-six companies got a contract of three years because their performance has been good, and 11 companies were given contracts for a year to see if they can improve their performance, then we can give them a longer contract,” he said.

"We know that without these subsidies, many bus operators cannot afford to run operations on these routes because many of them are uneconomical or not profitable, due to lack of passengers and so on.

"So, this program is a social responsibility taken on by the government to make sure that citizens living outside of cities also have public transportation services,” he added.

The ISBSF initiative has been ongoing since 2012.