Procedia Engineering 53 (2013) 167 – 178 1877-7058 © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the Research Management & Innovation Centre, Universiti Malaysia Perlis doi:10.1016/j.proeng.2013.02.022 Malaysian Technical Universities Conference on Engineering & Technology 2012, MUCET 2012 Part 3 - Civil and Chemical Engineering Bus Operation, Quality Service and The Role of Bus Provider and Driver Munzilah Md. Rohani ª * , Devapriya Chitral Wijeyesekera ª , Ahmad Tarmizi Abd. Karim a a Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering a Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia Parit Raja, 86400, Johor, Malaysia Abstract This paper outlined the important role played by public transport to meet the demand of business and social life. The paper reviewed the type of bus services, quality of service in the bus operation that influences the passenger decision and also the role of bus provider and bus driver. An improved understanding of the bus operation is important for a well managed bus services. Maintaining a high stand ard of quality in service and performance is of paramount importance to encourage people to make public tr ansport their preferred choice. © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer - review under responsibility of the Research Management & Innovation Centre, Universiti Malaysia Perlis . Keyword s: Bus operation; quality service; bus dri ver; bus provider. 1. Introduction Across the world, public bus operation play important role to provide transport for commuting passengers. Bus services are provided by different bus agencies with their own specific aims. For instance, in Hampshire, UK, it was reported that 70% of public b uses are operated and run by private commercial companies while 30% are funded wholly or partly by the Hampshire County Council or by local district [ 1 ] . The commercial bus companies need to make a profit from the bus service. However, the funded bus service may not necessarily be commercially viable but they fulfill a social need of the community. In some cases, the buses are operated under the managemen t of multiple agencies. One such example is bus services for student and staff (known as Universiti Bus Link or Uni - Link) that are offered by the University of Southampton (UoS) with BlueStar partnership services. Uni - Link is operated by BlueStar bus compa ny. The bus route connects the airport, University campus, General Hospital, railway station and the city centre of Southampton. Uni - Link provide service not only for UoS student and staff but also for the public. * Corresponding author. E - mail address : munzilah@uthm.edu.my Available online at www.sciencedirect.com © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the Research Management & Innovation Centre, Universiti Malaysia Perlis