He said Mara Liner currently provided 174 bus trips a week from Kuala Lumpur to Kuala Perlis to support the Langkawi tourism bubble, which was launched on Sept 16.

For this purpose, Mara had made it compulsory for all Mara Liner bus drivers to complete their Covid-19 vaccination.

“With some states moving into Phase Two or Phase Three of the national recovery plan, I am confident that eventually when we are allowed to make interstate travel, we can revive the tourism industry,” he said after the handover ceremony of Mara Liner buses here today.

He said when the tourism industry recovered, it would give new life to the country’s transportation industry and allow operators to return to normal operations.

Meanwhile, Mahdzir said the Mara Liner bus services continued to operate, especially in rural areas, although it was also badly affected by the spread of Covid-19 as well as by the movement restrictions prescribed by the government to curb the spread of the virus outbreak.

He said that in 2019, 83,000 passengers used Mara Liner bus services nationwide, but the number dropped to 52,000 passengers last year before dipping further to only 12,000 passengers as of August this year.

Mahdzir said it was important to ensure that rural communities get the same quality transportation services as their urban counterparts, adding that Mara Liner had taken over the responsibility of providing bus services in areas lacking in public transportation.

On today’s ceremony, Mahdzir said two new buses were handed over to the Mara Liner workshop here.

The buses will serve more than 200,000 residents as well as improve services between Kuala Nerang and the Naka Bus Terminal here.