“It is not true that we are forcing them to TBS. They have tried to create the perception that we are forcing Aeroline and all other operators only to TBS. I said no.

“We are not forcing anyone to go to TBS, but you must operate from a safe area, a licensed area, as a terminal,” he told a press conference after launching Transport Expo Asia 2025 here today.

Zulco Sdn Bhd, which operates the Aeroline fleet of express buses between Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya, Penang, Johor Bahru and Singapore, had been told to suspend its services for a month until Dec 5 on the Land Transport Agency’s (Apad) orders.

This followed Apad’s issuance of three show-cause letters to the operator between March 13 and Oct 10, citing the misuse of its operating licence for picking up and dropping off passengers at unauthorised locations instead of an approved bus terminal.

TBS, located about 13km from Kuala Lumpur city centre, is the main approved terminal.

Loke said his ministry was ready to facilitate licensing for other suitable locations with proper facilities, including shopping malls such as 1 Utama, Lalaport Bukit Bintang and IOI City Mall in Putrajaya.

“I already told Apad to facilitate them and help license them to become a bus terminal,” he said, adding that the previous definition of a terminal was stringent and was being simplified to allow more areas to qualify.

The minister also said that Aeroline’s popular pick-up and drop-off point at Corus KLCC was unsuitable.

“Corus Hotel is in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, just by the roadside. I told them, point-blank, that as far as roadsides are concerned, that is a no-no,” he said.

Loke added that his ministry had met Aeroline’s management to hear their concerns, stressing that the ministry must strike a balance between convenience and public safety.

“Everyone says today, ‘no convenience’, but the moment an accident happens in front of a shopping mall, we will be blamed,” he said.