KUALA LUMPUR (July 13): Prasarana Malaysia Bhd president and group chief executive officer Datuk Azmi Abdul Aziz reminded global bus service providers to strike a balance between social values and revenue generation to earn the public's respect.

Prasarana owns and runs Malaysia's light rail transit and KL Monorail networks, besides bus services under the RapidKL, RapidPenang and RapidKuantan banners.

In a statement today, Azmi said bus operators should focus on serving commuters to earn the public's respect and instilling enthusiasm in their governments to provide further support to public bus services.

"Social values are the heart and soul of public bus services. Yes, watching our bottom line is important, but it should be done by looking at the human side of the services as well.

"We are talking about giving services to the people, it should not be just about profitability," Azmi said in his speech at the International Bus Benchmarking Group (IBBG) annual meeting here.

According to Prasarana's statement, IBBG comprises 15 medium and large bus organisations located around the world.

"The group (IBBG) is jointly owned and driven by the members, with project management, administration, and research carried out by the Imperial College London.

"Established in 2004, the IBBG is set up to provide a confidential forum to share experiences, compare performance, identify best practices and learn from one another in order for member organisations to improve performance," the statement read.