NOW is not the time. That was the opinion of Shah Alam Member of Parliament Khalid Samad, who is also Pakatan Rakyat's shadow Cabinet member for the Transport Ministry.

Khalid, who is currently in the United Kingdom, said "it would have been acceptable had the hike been imposed at any other time".

"Under the current recession, the government should have been more responsible in controlling fares instead
of pushing the costs to consumers.

The government must be innovative in handling rising operational costs for public transportation operators by finding ways to reduce them. I am against the fare hike," he said.

Yesterday, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Abd Aziz announced that passengers
would have to fork out about 30 per cent more in public transport fares beginning Aug 1.

This has raised the ire of many consumers, who said this "cancelled" the goodies that were given by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to mark his 100 days in office.

For transport, the Prime Minister had announced a 20 per cent toll discount for frequent users who pay toll 80 times a month or more via the Smart Tag or Touch 'n Go, effective Sept 1, and reducing the cost of obtaining
a B2 motorcycle licence (under 250cc), including riding lessons, to RM211 effective Sept 1. It currently costs around RM500 to RM700 to attend lessons and do the test.

For starters, the flag-off fare for taxis is now RM3, up from RM2. Passengers will also be charged 10 sen for every 115 metres instead of 150m previously.

For those taxis caught in traffic jams, the fares will be RM3 for the first three minutes and 10 sen for every
subsequent 21 seconds, instead of 45 seconds previously.

Express bus fares are up by two sen per kilometre, while for stage buses in Kuala Lumpur and surrounding
areas, the increase will be between 25 sen to 70 sen according to the zones.

School bus fares in urban areas will also increase from RM21.10 to RM27.43 for the first kilometre and from RM1.55 to RM2.02 for every subsequent kilometre. School bus operators in rural areas will increase fares from RM15.85 to RM20.61.

The last fare increase for taxis, express and stage buses was in 2005, while it was raised again for school buses in 2006.