Adventures on Kuala Lumpur public transport

Rapid KL, Rangkaian Pengangkutan Integrasi Deras Kuala Lumpur (English, Rapid Intergrated Transport Cluster Kuala Lumpur) is the company tasked with restructuring KL's public transport. Good job or bad job? I'll get to that later. But anyway.... Haha. On the first day of work, I took the LRT to Bangsar station and then got on the bus 634 which, when checked on the net went to Jalan Beringin (near Plaza Damansara). So I asked the driver who said something like, nanti saya tunjuk (I'll show you later). So I sat down and the bus went to Damansara Central and all the way back to Bangsar LRT. I ended up taking a taxi to the office in the end. LOL.

The public transport system in KL has majorly improved since the time we used to stay here. The Touch 'n Go card can now be used on all rail lines, compared to purchasing individual tickets on different lines run by different operators previously (eg. PUTRA, STAR, KL Monorail & KTM Komuter). Much, much more efficient. Thank goodness for Rapid KL!

Buses have become more organised. There are several types of services available - city shuttle, local shuttle, trunk routes and express routes. Each is given its own code colour, city shuttles are red, local shuttles green, trunk routes blue and express routes yellow. In addition, for the first time ever, bus route details and numbers are displayed at bus stops. Tickets are usually a flat fare for a day (I think, at least applies to city shuttle).

Its a far cry from the days of Intrakota, Cityliner and MetroBus and Mini buses. Much much more organised and improved. Thank goodness for Rapid KL! While only Intrakota and Cityliner came under Rapid KL for buses and PUTRAline and STARline for rail, the attempt is a good one at intergrating public transport modes. Rail lines serve as the main backbones and buses (local shuttles & city shuttles) radiate from the stations, acting like feeder services. Very similar to how things are done in Singapore. But hey, like I said, its a good attempt and the improvements are obvious.

I've heard that the company lives up to its promised frequency (city shuttle - 10 mins; local shuttle - 15 mins) except when buses break down or there's unpredictable traffic of course. The new buses are great too, like the bendy buses in Singapore. Clean I must say. The trains could do with improvements though, especially the Kelana Jaya line which is the most heavily used (since it passes through the city centre & other touristy spots). It also has the shortest trains for the ridership that the line sees daily. At KL Sentral station, during the morning rush, employees put up barriers and act as marshals to help people get off before the crowd gets on the train (don't see that in Singapore).

Its not that the trains are dirty, they could do with expansion and probably a refurbishment. The flooring looks worn (the trains are 9 years old already) and paint comes off the metal parts so they probably could re-do the flooring and give the trains a paint job perhaps. The goodnews is that within a year's time, newer, longer trains will be servicing the line.

So, well done Rapid KL!

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