KUCHING: Long queues, fully booked buses and frantic last-minute ticket searches have become a familiar scene at Kuching Sentral as thousands of Sarawakians rush home for the overlapping school holidays, Hari Raya Aidiladha and the upcoming Gawai Dayak celebration.
For many passengers, especially students and working adults, securing a ticket home this festive season has become a race against time, with buses selling out as early as two weeks before the school holidays began on May 23.
Customer service executive at Kuching Sentral, Najiah Abol, 39, said all buses had already been fully booked since last week due to the extraordinary travel demand.
“As of now, all buses are fully booked. There are no empty seats left,” she told Sarawak Tribune during an interview at the terminal on Thursday (May 28).
According to her, the surge in passengers was caused by several major occasions happening at the same time, including the school holidays, Hari Raya Aidiladha and Gawai celebrations.
“From morning until night, it’s busy because of the school holidays, Hari Raya Aidiladha and Gawai.
“So, there are far more passengers, and tickets keep selling out,” she said.
Najiah revealed that passengers had started booking their tickets around two weeks before the school holidays, leaving many walk-in customers struggling to secure seats.
She said tickets for May 22 night departures were already sold out before the holiday rush peaked, while buses departing on May 23 from morning until night were also completely full.
“The next day’s tickets were sold out too,” she added.
To accommodate the overwhelming number of passengers, some bus operators introduced one or two additional trips in recent days, including early morning departures.
However, Najiah said the extra trips were still insufficient to cope with demand.
“They were still full. Some operators even said they did not have enough drivers,” she said.
Passengers who managed to secure last-minute tickets often had little choice over seating arrangements, having to settle for whatever seats remained available.
This hectic rush has led to a major shift in how the younger generation secures their travel plans. Najiah noted that digital ticketing is becoming increasingly popular among younger passengers, especially students, who prefer buying tickets online and printing their boarding passes at self-service kiosks.
“Students are the ones using it the most. They buy tickets online and print their boarding passes there,” she said.
Meanwhile, elderly passengers still prefer buying tickets over the counter using cash payments, with staff often assisting them through the process.
She also highlighted that Kuching Sentral recently implemented a centralised ticketing system where tickets for all participating bus operators are sold at one location, eliminating the need for passengers to visit from counter to counter.
Among the busiest destinations this festive season are Sibu and Bintulu, with Sibu recording the highest passenger demand ahead of the Gawai celebrations.
Many travellers heading to smaller towns and rural areas would typically stop at major towns first before continuing their journeys through other means of transport.
Interestingly, one of the most sought-after operators this festive season is Bus Asia, particularly among students and senior citizens.
According to Najiah, many passengers favour the company because of its comfort and newer buses.
“Maybe they feel more comfortable because the buses are usually newer vehicles,” she added.
