KUALA LUMPUR: The public transportation system, especially bus services in Malaysia, has long suffered the negative perception of being dubbed the “poor man’s” mode of travel.
It has also been made worse by the inefficient services rendered by the operators.
However, this image is set for an overhaul, following the Government’s plan to transform the system in the Klang Valley, for a start.
The congestion of city roads was identified as one of the main reasons for poor services, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat said in an interview.
“To overcome this, the Government has come out with three key services to be launched across 12 major city corridors heading into the central business area (CBD), namely Bus Expressway Transit (BET) and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and extending existing dedicated bus lanes system in the Klang Valley,” he said.
The BET service will be launched in the first quarter of this year on four under-utilised highways or four corridors in the Klang Valley with commuters enjoying a 55% reduction in travelling time.
Better ride: The Government also plans to upgrade 4,000 bus stops in the Klang Valley as at present, 40% are unsheltered and have no clear signage. The bus service under the BRT will use priority toll booths to ensure smooth travelling and limited stop stations.
For a start, BET will swing into action tomorrow on two routes from Kota Damansara to KL Sentral and Pasar Seni via the Penchala Link, and from Bandar Sungai Long to Pasar Seni, via the Grand Saga Highway.
The journey from Kota Damansara to Pasar Seni is expected to be reduced from the current two hours to just 50 minutes, while travelling time from Bandar Sungai Long and Pasar Seni, currently taking about one-and-a-half hours, to 50 minutes.
The buses under the BET system will run at 15 to 20-minute intervals during the morning and evening peak hours.
The other two routes which have been identified and would be implemented later with BET, are from Subang Mewah to Pasar Seni via the New Pantai Expressway and from Sri Muda to Pasar Seni, via Kesas.
Ong said the BRT, on the other hand, would be similar to the city public transportation system implemented successfully in Curitiba, Brazil, and Bogota, Colombia, adding that these two systems (BET and BRT) would make it convenient for two million passengers daily.
The BRT provides faster services than the ordinary city bus in other cities in North America, Europe and Australia.
“For the Klang Valley, the BRT system will be launched across three major corridors heading into the city centre with a total route length of 49km. These corridors will be physically separated from existing lanes with concrete barriers and have dedicated stations for loading and unloading of passengers,” he said.
For the five remaining corridors, a dedicated bus lane system would be implemented without the actual physical segregation of lanes, but with lanes marked for flexible traffic management.
“For example, the bus lanes will only be used during the morning rush hour or in the evening peak hour with a total proposed route length of 21km,” noted Ong.
The implementation of the BRT and the dedicated bus lane system will provide an increase of 35,000 to 55,000 passenger load during the peak hour because of the expected reduction of travelling time.
There are currently 13 bus operators within the Klang Valley, with RapidKL holding a lion’s share of the market of 50%, with about 710 buses in operation daily, while an additional 400 new buses are expected to enter service in the next two years.
“In order to achieve bus share ridership of 100,000 passengers during peak hour (including BET, BRT and the dedicated bus lanes), we need a better service on existing routes. There is also a need for an additional 850 new buses, of which 400 units have already been purchased by Rapid KL,” he said.
The Government has also planned to upgrade 4,000 bus stops in the Klang Valley as at present 40% are unsheltered and have no clear signage.
The authorities also plan to remove some 700 express buses out of the city centre when the Bandar Tasik Selatan Integrated Transport Terminal (ITT) hub is completed in November, allowing for less congested traffic environment in the city.
With the completion of the Gombak ITT, also at the end of the year, and at a later stage, the Sungai Buloh ITT, over 2,000 express buses currently choking the city would be moved to the fringes of Kuala Lumpur. — Bernama
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