transit.vectordesigns.org: bus-related news and posts (2006-2012)
2012 Feb: bus from PJ to Old Klang Rd
Q via email: I would like to know if need go to old klang road from damansara and sec 14 PJ ..which bus i should take?
A: Sadly, there is no direct bus. You have to take buses like RapidKL U85, U88 or Metrobus 12 or 99 to the Federal Highway, outside Midvalley, then take any of the panoply of buses that go down Old Klang Road from there.
Some of these buses include RapidKL U60, U68, U69, U70, U72, U73, U76 (check the routes here as well as Metrobus 19, 20, 21 and 27.
2012 Feb: buses to USJ 11 from KL
Q via email: Which buses would go to USJ 11 from KL?
ANSWER: Buses are:
Metrobus 10: Kota Raya – Subang Jaya
RapidKL U63: Pasar Seni KL – Subang Mewah
RapidKL T523: Subang Parade – USJ 8
2011 Dec: Bus from Shah Alam to LRT Kelana Jaya
Q via email: On 6 Dec 2011, at 15:53, meyla wrote: which bus i can take if i’m from shah alam want to go to lrt kelana jaya?
A: Depending on which part of Shah Alam you are travelling from, you can either take RapidKL U62, U64 or U80 or Metrobus 33 or 37B down Federal Highway to the LDP overhead bridge which heads to Bandar Sunway, then take RapidKL bus U43 to Stesen LRT Kelana Jaya. From Federal Highway walk to LDP, the same side of the road as Freescale and Western Digital.
Or you can take those buses to stesen LRT Asia Jaya, off Federal Highway, then take the LRT to stesen LRT Kelana Jaya.
2011 Nov: Bus to Lembah Subang
Q via email: hi, i just want to known..how can i get to RapidKL Lembah Subang depot (PJU 1A area) by bus?
A: To go inside the depot and PJU1A area, you can take RapidKL Bus T607.
If you can walk in from the Jalan Lapangan Terbang Subang main road, you can take RapidKL Bus U81 or Metrobus 9.
2011 Nov: Pudu Plaza to MIECC
Q via email: Dear admin, I am at Pudu Plaza. Which bus should I take to go to Malaysia International Exhibition & Convention Centre (MIECC) at The Mines?
Thank you in advance for your kind reply.
A: Using the train, you walk out from Pudu Plaza to Pudu LRT station on Jalan Pudu. Take the LRT heading to Sri Petaling and stop at Bandar Tasik Selatan.
Change to the KTM Komuter. Take the KTM Komuter heading to Seremban one stop down to Serdang.
From there buses RapidKL U41 to go to MIECC.
If you would like to take just one mode by bus, walk to Jalan Pudu as before, then look for Metrobus 8, 22 or 68 or RapidKL U41.
These buses go down all the way to the Sungai Besi highway outside MINES. RapidKL U41 in particular should go into the SILK highway right in front of MINES Shopping Fair and MIECC.
2011 Sep: Bus from PJ, Kelana Jaya, to Klang
Q via email: Dear Admin
Good Day. I would like to find out if there is any direct bus from PJ,Kelana Jaya area to Klang.What is the best way to travel to Klang from PJ using public transport. Thanks
A: If you’re coming from within Kelana Jaya town itself (say the SS5 area) is to take RapidKL bus U84 heading to KL (Pasar Seni area). This will go via Jln 222 to Federal Highway.
When it reaches Asia Jaya, cross the Federal Highway. From here there are several buses that go to Klang: RapidKL E4, Metrobus 33, Metrobus 37B, Wawasan Sutera 99, and Cityliner 710 or 730.
If you’re looking at Kelana Jaya near the LDP, you can take RapidKL U43 down the LDP to the Sunway exit of Federal Highway. From there, cross over the LDP on to the Federal Highway heading to Klang. You can take the buses above or the KTM Komuter at Setia Jaya station to Klang.
If it’s other parts of Kelana Jaya, the routes are different. Let me know if that’s the case.
Re what’s the best way to travel using public transport, I’ve used the KTM Komuter which is not bad, and also buses which can get hot.
2011 Aug: Bus from Subang Perdana to Summit
Q: On 8 Aug 2011, at 22:17, Zea wrote: Dear admin, may I know that which bus I could take to Subang Perdana (Old Town) from Summit? Thanks your kindly reply.
A: Take Metrobus 9 or RapidKL U81 to Motorola stop (ask bus driver if not sure where).
Cross Federal Highway, going to the diagonal side of LDP, heading towards Bandar Sunway.
Take RapidKL U63 to Summit.
2011 Jul: Bus from Asia Jaya to Jalan Tandang
Q via email: On 8 Jul 2011, at 23:18, Tan wrote: I am in Asia Jaya, but I need go to wisma ali bawal. So what is the bus I should take?
A: Cross Federal Highway towards PJ Hilton. Walk down Jalan Barat past Courts and KFC towards junction with Jalan Sultan and Jalan Penchala. Turn right into Jalan Penchala. At the bus stop there, take either RapidKL Bus T505, U66 or Metrobus 98. All will head down to Jalan Penchala and towards Jalan Tandang. Unfortunately, you would’ve already walked a third of the way by then but hopefully this might be helpful. Cheers and good luck! 🙂
2011 Apr: bus from Alam Megah to U5 Shah Alam
Q via email: On 28 Apr 2011, at 00:28, khor xx wrote:
hi Cheers, how abt frm Alam Megah, Shah Alam to U5 Shah Alam (Pejabat Daerah & Tanah Petaling). thx.
ANSWER: From Alam Megah, Shah Alam, take RapidKL Bus U65 towards Pasar Seni.
Drop off at Federal Highway at Batu 10, near Nanyang Siang Pau and Setia Jaya railway station.
Here there’s a pedestrian bridge where you can cross over to the other side of Federal Highway.On the other side, take RapidKL Bus U81 to Persiaran Atmosfera, U5 Shah Alam
2011 Apr: bus from Klang to Tmn Sg Rasau
Q via email: On 24 Apr 2011, at 20:29, Stennie wrote: May i know how can i get the bus from old bus station klang utara to Jalan Batu Tiga, Off Jalan Sg Rasah? Thx..
ANSWER: All the buses leaving from Old bus station Klang to KL go pass Federal Highway near Jalan Batu Tiga, Off jalan Sg Rasah. So I think most buses would stop at Federal Highway and expect you to walk in. Then again, that’s only a guess as we don’t really cover buses this far east in Klang and there might be a route or two which goes into Tmn Sg Rasau.
2011 Apr: Bus from Meru to Kapar
Q via email: On 22 Mar 2011, at 15:37, Wira wrote: Hi, I’m looking for any bus; cityliner, rapidKl, bas kilang, bas sekolah, taxi, private care from Meru to Pekan Kapar. So weird. Along Persiaran Hamzah Alang there are so many bus stop but I can see any bus on the route. What a stupid city planner!!
A: Unfortunately, my database doesn’t cover Meru or Kapar but yes, looks like they should have buses on such a major road.
Nevertheless I will copy your email to the authorities at Suruhanjaya Pengangkutan Awam Darat for their reference.
2011 Apr: Buses at Desa Petaling
Q via email: On 25 Mar 2011, at 17:12, juliza wrote: May i know the schedule for the bus or where can i get the info about any public transport available at the Desa Petaling?
A:You can take RapidKL U48 from Desa Petaling to Bukit Bintang.
2011 Feb: Taman Sentosa Bus 401, Sri Sentosa 400
via email: Saya dah tak boleh tahan dgn karenah yang berlaku skg ini. Taman sentosa bus 401,Bus sri sentosa400 sekrg ini,
1. The drivers are very rude,Kita tanya dia,dia jawab bodoh tak tau bacakah.
2.bus utk 2 tempat ini asingkan,tetapi sekrg ini the driver ambil passenger 401& 400 dlm satu bus dahlah bus itu kecil mana muat,Malam driver sepaptutnya jalan pukul 8.00 tapi dia jln pukul7.30.saya alami semalam tak ada bus sampai pukul 9.00 .bus kilang dtg satu bus besar penuh tau.driver semua jalan suka hati. bus 226,239,134 semua banyak bus kenapa bus 401,400 tak ada.Apa sebbnya penumpangkan ramai.kalau kita nak bus 400 dia ambil semua penumpang 401 dia hantar penumpang 401 dulu baru pergi tempat 400,Kita sepatutnya sampai rumah pukul 8.30 tapi disebb driver dia ikut suka hati dia kita sampai rumah 9.30.adakah ini patut.
Saya dah banyak kali buat aduan tapi tak pernah pihak city linear ambil tindakan yang sewajarnya . 2jam sekali baru ada bus 400.Adakah betul ini kita bukan manusiakah yang nak balik rumah nak jaga anak2 semua tengah tunggu kena masak dan sebagainya.
Sebelum saya kemukan hal ini kepada pentadbiran yang berkenanan pihak city linear ambil tindakan sewajarnya.
Berikan perihatian sikit.
terima kasih
Aduan rakyat
2011 Feb: New MRT Feeder Bus Routes
Got revealed as all others the real proposed new MRT alignment. Little bonus was the feeder bus routes proposed (not featured on kvmrt.com.my website). Probably by the in-house planning team at SPAD and RapidKL, my guess is.
So for the benefit of all youse who didn’t drag yourself to that little traffic island known as Midvalley, see below the feeder bus routes for the Curve, TTDI and Section 17 stations. Had to wait through several rapacious retirees (they do get more self-preservatory as they get older don’t they?) who grabbed at the public display booklets. Therefore, didn’t quite feel at ease to take pictures of all the feeder routes. Therefore, if anyone out there has the routes for the other stations, eg the southern Cheras stations, I would be very interested to have and publish them too.
Of course these are just proposed routes. Hopefully they stick to them because they look like they make sense, i.e. to make full use of the MRT lines. So that not just people who live within 10 minutes’ walk of the stations would benefit from them. Of course no mention is made of frequencies of the buses. If they are once every 10 to 15 minutes, that should keep many happy.
Of course we know that the MRT is a bit of a hot potato as it is. The TRANSIT.my website has pretty much taken a stand against it, which is understandable since the MRT will cost a lot and you could get a bus rapid transit-type system (busways etc) for much cheaper. According to The Star, the MRT project will cost RM36bil.
Aside from the fact that the MRT looks more glamorous and sexy, and therefore there will likely be more uptake of services from the masses, there has been one point raised among friends that was quite interesting: the government probably spends close to that amount on its defence spending.
Well, according to Malaysiakini.com, in one weekend alone in April 2010, the government spent RM10 billion on arms at the Kuala Lumpur Defence Fair. So even if it’s a lot of money, it would be much better spent on infrastructure project like this, which sounds true.
Of course defence spending itself is a controversial subject, a judgement for which is difficult to make.
Also, there are meant to also be the environmental costs to the MRT project, which would involve a lot more resources than a bus rapid transit system. I have to admit though, that as both a car and public transport user, I would prefer to leave the road space for cars, while at the same time the perception is that it is much faster and more reliable to sit on an MRT-type train than a bus. Then again, I’ve never gone to a place like Curitiba, Ottawa or Honolulu, where it’s used. So maybe it could look really glamorous there too!
Anyway, as promised, here are the feeder bus routes:
2010 Dec: Bus Stop Viewability
One thing never stressed enough and hardly mentioned at all, is the line of sight from the bus stop to oncoming buses. Too many times, there are things in the way between where one would stand or sit at the stop to oncoming traffic. This might seem trivial but as a bus user, I think it’s crucial.
Especially considering that one has to wait sometimes up to one hour for the bus, one needs to be able to see it coming, rather than having 2 seconds to then madly scramble for it when it comes into sight.
Case in point, this bus stop in Sri Hartamas. As usual, the sidewalks are LITTERED with advertising and junk. DBKL and the other local authorities, in authorising permits for these advertisements, should ensure that they don’t block the view at bus stops. In this case, it was the advertising for a Lil’ Ones Montessori kindergarten blocking the view for bus users.
On another note, they should also ensure that these banners don’t obstruct foot traffic. Although it doesn’t happen in this particular case, all too often one has to navigate around junction boxes, signs, or try to avoid banging one’s face into the horizontal wooden bars holding advertising banners.
As we all in Kuala Lumpur know, the Indian Prime Minister’s visit is well over, but the one-way traffic system that came with the redevelopment of Brickfields’ main street is still with us. How long it will seems to be up for debate.
According to an article in the New Straits Times online, this system is meant to last till 29 October. However, a later article in The Star online paints it as permanent.
Now obviously, the myriad of bus routes plying through Jalan Tun Sambanthan next to KL Sentral would also be affected. Basically, it looks like the buses heading towards Kuala Lumpur stay the same on Jln Tun Sambanthan. The buses heading away from KL though (towards Petaling Jaya, Puchong, Subang, Shah Alam, Old Klang Road, Kota Damansara etc) would be re-routed through Jln Sultan Abdul Samad.
This has been reflected in the RapidKL website, which also gives one the impression that this traffic system is here to stay.
How does the re-routing affect the buses stopping at KL Sentral station itself though? First off, if you want to take any bus from KL Sentral to the western areas mentioned above, specifically RapidKL Buses U60, U63, U64, U65, U66, U67, U68, U69, U70, U71, U72, U73, U74, U75, U80, U81, U84, U85, U87 and U88, instead of waiting on Jalan Tun Sambanthan, wait at Esso the petrol station opposite Public Bank. This is just after where the buses re-route into Jalan Tun Sambanthan 4 to head into Jalan Sultan
According to an article in the New Straits Times online, this system is meant to last till 29 October. However, a later article in The Star online paints it as permanent.
Now obviously, the myriad of bus routes plying through Jalan Tun Sambanthan next to KL Sentral would also be affected. Basically, it looks like the buses heading towards Kuala Lumpur stay the same on Jln Tun Sambanthan. The buses heading away from KL though (towards Petaling Jaya, Puchong, Subang, Shah Alam, Old Klang Road, Kota Damansara etc) would be re-routed through Jln Sultan Abdul Samad.
This has been reflected in the RapidKL website, which also gives one the impression that this traffic system is here to stay.
How does the re-routing affect the buses stopping at KL Sentral station itself though? First off, if you want to take any bus from KL Sentral to the western areas mentioned above, specifically RapidKL Buses U60, U63, U64, U65, U66, U67, U68, U69, U70, U71, U72, U73, U74, U75, U80, U81, U84, U85, U87 and U88, instead of waiting on Jalan Tun Sambanthan, wait at Esso the petrol station opposite Public Bank. This is just after where the buses re-route into Jalan Tun Sambanthan 4 to head into Jalan Sultan.
Therefore, the terminals for RapidKL buses U82 and U83 towards Bandar Utama and Jalan Duta respectively, remain in KL Sentral station (at ground level next to where the Skybuses depart from).
2010 Dec: Bus Fare Zones
Latest fare table by zones (or zonal fare table), as pinned up recently at KL Sentral:
2010 Dec: Selangor Bus 141
1) from kotaraya to kuala selangor
2) from rawang to ijok”
Answer: Dear Husna, To Kuala Selangor from Pudu Raya, Kuala Lumpur (near Kota Raya), you can take Selangor bus number 141. According to Selangor Bus’ office, this bus’ frequency is one every half hour, though at the moment, two of the buses are spoilt (rosak). Regarding buses between Rawang and Ijok, my knowledge doesn’t extend to that part of Selangor unfortunately 🙂
2010 Nov: RapidKL’s Bus U83 (Jln Duta – KL Sentral)
The bus route U83 between KL Sentral and Kompleks Kerajaan Duta via Damansara Heights has finally been reflected in the latest RapidKL website. On the road itself, it does exist although its frequencies have really been whittled down to very selected times.
Check out the timetable, as pasted at KL Sentral.
Here’s the bus stopping at Plaza Damansara. As shared very helpfully by a woman waiting to take the bus, it seems to be relatively consistent for the bus to KL Sentral to be expected at 4.45pm at the stop on Jalan Setia Murni just after the turn off with Jalan Setia Murni 5, with code DH1, opposite the Guardian Pharmacy. In fact there was a small army of service personnel (a.k.a. maids and cleaners working the surrounding mansions) who showed enough faith in the bus’ arrival to wait at the stop at this time!
A few weeks later, I tried actually taking RapidKL’s U83 from Plaza Mont Kiara to Bukit Damansara. I needed to go to the post office in Plaza Mont Kiara.
My big challenge was getting over to the other side of the big highway which links to the Penchala Link tunnel — all one sees normally are the huge concrete ribbons that criss cross each other between Desa Sri Hartamas and Mont Kiara. I was determined to try my luck however as luck would have it, there was a pedestrian crossing of sorts of the road underneath the highway, at the traffic lights where traffic stops to turn right into Mont Kiara.
From there it’s an easy walk down the little triangle of Desa Sri Hartamas (which is turning out to be a veritable Little Korea) though the rest of the trip crossing into the old part of Sri Hartamas was less pleasurable. The land outside the Glomac development had clumps of earth spilling out all over the sidewalk and one was forced to walk on the road. This is definitely not “walkable KL”!
Once over into the old part of Sri Hartamas on the road leading to Plaza Damas, I set up my watch at the bus stop just before the traffic lights, prepared to wait some time. After some waiting, the bus turned up at the bus stop opposite the playground on Jalan Sri Hartamas 1 from Plaza Damas at about 10:40am.
By the way, you won’t get this information from RapidKL’s phone helpline (I tried) nor its website. Official releases always shy away from giving too much details — perhaps so they’ll be less beholden to them?
FYI, the fare to KL Sentral from Sri Hartamas is RM1.90 and the fare to Plaza Damansara was RM1.
2010 Nov: RapidKL U35 and U36 — “new” or “copycat” routes?
Another “new” route — U35 from Pandan Indah to Sri Kota — was announced by RapidKL on its website.
However, it looks like this route is another one (can’t remember exactly which other ones but they’ve done it before) which basically “cannibalises” or takes over the route of other operators, in this case Metrobus’ and SJ Bus’ Route number 30.
Not sure if those are still running but this looks like another case of RapidKL going back from the progressive hub-and-spoke mix-and-match trunk-feeder to the original all-head-back-to-the-city-centre strategy, which doesn’t make it very different from the old style of Intrakota and Cityliner companies, which it absorbed several years back.
One case in point here is “new route” U332, which is basically T332 (Lembah Jaya Utara – Ampang Point) lengthened to go all the way into Chow Kit now.
“New” route RapidKL U36 is also very similar to Metrobus’ and SJ Bus’ route number 32, which runs from Kampung Pandan Dalam to Chow Kit, except that RapidKL’s U36 starts a bit earlier at Taman Dagang, near its Ampang LRT station.
Like it or not? What do you think? Apparently commuters like to sit in the bus and not have to do an interchange. I would hazard however that if changing cuts down your overall waiting and travel time by say 40%, I would certainly prefer to do an interchange then.
Especially for commuters with children or in wheelchairs, I would say it’s easy enough to hop on to a fast urban rail line once you’re at the outskirts of the city, wouldn’t you?
2009 Aug: Cityliner 401
Emailed to the website on 25 Aug 09:
“I would like to hightlight to you again. Yesterday and today saya tunggu bas dari pukul 6.00pagi sampai 7.00 tak ada langsung bas 401.Selalunya sebelum puasa month ada 1 bas pada pukul 6.05 tapi bila dah start puasa tak ada bas langsung sampai saya tak pergi kerja semalam. kenapa service Cityliner begitu teruk sekali..kalau tak ada orang ganti sesiapa saja yang ada. Hari ini pukul.7.05 ada bas tetapi you tau bas apa, Bas haram bas warna putih dia buat duit,sampai bas dia penuh dengan penumpang semua pun compain tak ada bas.
Boleh tak awak mengambil perkara ini serius. Disebabkan Cityliner saya selalu ponteng kerja sebab bas tak ada.Bagaimana kalau bos saya pecat saya disebabkan bas ini.
Saya harap pihak tertentu mengambil tindakan sewajarnya
terimakasih.”
2009 Jul: Reckless Bas Ekspres
Emailed to the website:
“Dear Concerned administrator ,
I was driving from Seremban to kuala lumpur about 6.10pm date 28/06/09 ,as i arrived at Jalan Sungai Besi ,I spot one express bus SKS-KL registration number NBH5517 recklessly situation driving style ,i think the bus driver drive recklessly all the way at the highway…if this are the reckless driving style it may cause an accident and may involve many parties and traffic congestion ,Hope that in this comment, responsible party can take realistic action before any tragedy and life lost happen.”
2009 Jul: bus cityliner taman sentosa klang
Emailed to website on 8 July 2009:
“Hi,
Saya nak buat aduan mengenai bus taman sentosa 401 dan sri sentosa 400. Hari Isnin 6July09. saya datang bus stand pukul 7.40 petang. Tetapi tidak ada bus. Saya pergi tanya itu supervisor dia kata nanti adalah tunggu. Saya pun tunggulah sampai pukul 10.20 baru bas datang.Kenapa service mereka ini begitu teruk. Bus drive bukan bawa penumpang dengan free,Kita bayar tau.Itu supervisor pun tak guna langsung tak ada sistem langsung. Bila pergi taya dia kata ada bas putih datang semua naik bas itu. Ialah kalau bas servise cityliner bagus orang tak akan naik bas private betul tak.
Pagi saya naik bus pukul 6.00 kalau ada pakcik driver itu dia tetap pukul 6.00 ada bus kalau dia tak ada langsung tak ada replacement. Susah betul saya nak pergi kerja.
Tolong ambil serious perhatian tentang bus Ok. saya harap pihak Aatasan ambil serious tentang ini.
Terima kasih”
2008 May: What’s happening with RapidKL?
Unfortunately, it looks like RapidKL is going through another hiccough in its operations. I’m not sure if the word is hiccough or slowdown, but it’s certainly a period of uncertainty and lack of reliability.
Unfortunately again, I have not been able to ride much of RapidKL buses recently, but I received a report that the frequency of route U7 is not every 10 minutes from 4pm to 8pm (peak hours) as previously stated in RapidKL’s website, but more like every 30 minutes up to 7pm.
I spoke to someone from the operations side of RapidKL and he said that yes, for the past month or so, RapidKL as a whole has been cutting down on its number of buses. In fact, RapidKL has been going through what looks like a change of regime. First off, Dutch CEO Rein Westra left to join the World Bank, Corp Comms manager Katherine Chew left as well. Now it turns out their Chief Operating Officer (COO) for Buses Mohd Ali Mohd Nor and bus operations GM Captain Khairuddin has left too.
aWell, what’s for sure is that the frequencies published in bastrenKL for RapidKL are now out of date. My apologies.
For example, now, for route U7 (Segambut – Chow Kit KL), frequency is around 15 minutes in the morning. From 4pm to around 7pm (Segambut) or 8pm (KL), frequency is 20 to 25 minutes. After 8pm, half of the buses and drivers go off duty, and the frequency approximates to 30 minutes. The difference between then and now can be approximately compared thus:
| Then | now | |
| 06:00 – 09:00 | 10 | 15 |
| 09:00 – 16:00 | 15 | 20-25 |
| 16:00 – 20:00 | 10 | 20-25 |
| 20:00 – 22:00 | 15 | 30 |
It looks as if we may now be experiencing a slide down in reliability and frequency of RapidKL buses. Also, there might apparently be significant changes in store for RapidKL routes within the next couple of months.
I will try to keep you up to date.
Comments:
2008 Mar: Metrobus buses cutting through Pavilion
Notice how Metrobus buses that go through Bukit Bintang are now cutting through Pavilion? Well I do… I see it quite a lot although I specifically only noted Metrobus #191 in particular. I guess it’s one of their infamous tricks to avoid congestion, in this case, to bypass half of the stretch of Jln Bukit Bintang in front of JW Marriott and Pavilion. What this means is that they now don’t pass the area around Chulan Square, not that I guess many Metrobus passengers are gonna dine and wine at places like Eden Village, Gaucho Grill (?), the Vietnamese restaurant, etc. Speaking of restaurants here, I’ve only tried the Japanese restaurant, Raku-Zen I believe it’s called, and it is fi-ine — delicate, well-cooked, carefully prepared and the prices are relatively reasonable as well. Well, if you are on a Metrobus and wanna come here, guess you’d have to leg it from the entrance of Pavilion (near the Loaf) to Chulan Square 🙂
2007 Dec: Triton smiling no more
After hobbling along for nigh on two years, Triton has finally bitten the dust. Indeed, after having seemed to start out so courageously with plum routes plum routes such as the feeder from KL Sentral, as well as from the Subang Jaya KTM and Taman Jaya LRT stations, the smiley faced logo from this bus operator is smiling no more.
Why? Triton was a victim of political machinations or misplaced affiliations, one could be intimated of something of that ken. Certainly, from having those routes, its operations had in the past two years or so been whittled down to relatively inconsequential routes, such as the paid (and free) bus from Midvalley to Bangsar LRT station, as well as long distance stage routes to Seremban (route 101) and Sungai Lui (route 102).
.
Then there was what seemed like its bread-and-butter route, route 302 to Taman Alam Megah (in southern industrial Shah Alam), but that has since been descended upon by operators such as Metrobus (who ran route 37C) and RapidKL (routes U65 and T526). In fact, Metrobus’ 37C has in turn been muscled out by RapidKL and its daily fares (which is of course another story for another chin wag).
But getting back to Triton, the best form of reportage we can give is, having spoken to someone from the operations side in early December, they said something along the lines of “kita dah stop semua operation” and that more specifically, routes 101 and 102 had already stopped round July.
There could be other reasons other than those mentioned for its demise. We’re not too sure to be honest. But it’s probably, as in much in life, a combination of several.
2007 Dec: RapidKL T509 frequencies
As enquired upon on 12 Dec 2007, these are the frequencies for route T509 (Puchong Utama – IOI Mall):
Mon-Fri
06:00-09:00, 16:00-20:00: 30 minutes
09:00-16:00, 20:00-00:00: 45 minutes
Sat&Sun
<07:00-23:30: 45 minutes
2007 Dec: RapidKL T332 frequencies
As enquired upon on 11 Dec 2007, these are the frequencies for route T332 (Lembah Jaya Utara – Ampang Point)
Mon-Fri
06:00-22:00: 30 minutes
22:00-00:00: 60 minutes
Sat&Sun
07:00-20:00: 30 minutes
<07:00, 20:00-23:30: 60 minutes
2007 Dec: Cityliner Times, Frequencies, Contact Number
Some recent amendments to information regarding a couple of Cityliner’s route times and frequencies as well as contact num bers follow. By the way, the routes run by Cityliner are variously mentioned as run by Transnasional and Klang-Banting. If we sometimes sound confused, that’s because we are! We believe the definition of operational entities goes something like this: Transnasional (or officially Kumpulan Transnasional Berhad) own various subsidiaries which include Klang-Banting, which has historically run routes between KL and Klang and Banting.
Because we concentrate on buses which run within the Klang Valley, the Transnasional routes that concern us are thus mainly those run by subsidiary Klang-Banting.
Now some of you might be putting up your hands and saying, “Hang on, isn’t Cityliner the defunct operator that was one of the entities merged into RapidKL?” How right you are! Somehow or other, this name has resurrected within the stable of Transnasional however, running the routes which we have previously been acquainted with, i.e. from Klang (and Port Klang and Banting) to KL, along Federal Highway. While Cityliner may not be a subsidiary within Transnasional (we’re not sure), it is said to be the brand for these routes anyway…. I know!!
But back to the matter at hand, the routes affected by our recent update (received from Transnasional) are:
Route 730 (Port Klang – KL, Klang Bus Stand): runs from 05:50 to 18:30 (times at Port Klang) at frequency of every 40 minutes.
Route 710 (Banting – KL, Klang Bus Stand): runs from 05:00 to 21:15 (times at Banting) at frequency of every 20 minutes.
The updated data is highlighted in bold.
Meanwhile, the numbers recommended to call should you need more info are 03-55111590, 03-31818241 and 03-55138361.
2007 Nov: Parisign Bus Stops
this enquiry came in from the website: “I was wondering if you had any information or contacts regarding the new bus stop design’s that were approved by kl city hall?I found it interesting that the star seemed to have a lot of comments from the public and an unidentified survey company, but no revert from any city council.. Would you be able to spread some light on this issue or perhaps have an opinion on the new bus stop design issue?”
moderator’s response:“As anyone can see, they are constructed by Parisign, an advertising company. It looks like Parisign has set up these bus stops in return for the right to sell the advertising space on them. That’s my guess. In my personal opinion, I reckon that the new bus stop design is aesthetically beautiful. However, there have been a couple of times when I was waiting for a bus at these stops (eg at Jln Semarak and an Tmn Desa) when the seats didn’t seem to be fully constructed yet. I think on the Jln Semarak one, neither was the roof, so I and a couple of other passengers ended up waiting somewhere else because the metal seats were hot. Of course, that brings us to the next point, which is that they look beautiful but they don’t give much protection from sunlight nor rain. In fact, most of the time, the seating seems to not extend across the entire width of the stop, but alternates along the panels.”
2007 Apr: Rapid KL bus network revamp 2006
In 2006, the country’s biggest urban public transport operator, Rangkaian Pengangkutan Integrasi Deras (RapidKL) conducted an overall revamp on its bus network which introduced dramatic changes to many of the bus routes in Klang Valley.
From a network that mostly comprised buses running between suburban centres and the city centre, the network was cut up into a more flexible network made up of City Shuttles, limited-stop Trunk Lines, Local Feeders ferrying passengers from hubs into various neighbourhoods as well as the point-to-point Express services.
City shuttles
To minimize congestion and maximize efficiency of bus services within the city, only city shuttles ply within the city centre perimeter. These city shuttles circulate between the various city hubs, namely, the city centre terminal which is maintained at Medan Pasar, the northern terminal at Titiwangsa, the eastern terminal at KLCC, the south-western terminal at KL Sentral and the south-eastern terminal at Maluri.
These hubs also act as interchanges for buses from outside the city centre. This way, traffic from outside the city centre is spread out between the four terminals along the city perimeter, namely Titiwangsa, Maluri, KL Sentral and KLCC.
Trunk Lines
Trunk lines transport larger numbers of people between the KL city and its suburbs. They play a crucial role especially for areas which are not serviced by the rail-based transit systems. For example, the Kelana Jaya LRT line transports a large number of commuters between the western suburbs of Petaling Jaya to Kuala Lumpur and vice-versa. For the northern suburbs such as Selayang and Jinjang however, no rail transit to the city is available. Therefore, the north-south artery of Jalan Ipoh is serviced by our trunk lines.
Local Feeders
Local feeders are an important piece in the jigsaw puzzle; bringing you from your suburban centre to your neighbourhood. Just like the feeder buses that commuters have become used to in servicing the various LRT stations, local feeders will continue doing so, for the LRT stations as well as the hubs for the various trunk lines. Because local feeders only have to circulate within a smaller area as well, rather than go all the way to the city, as it was before, they are thus meant to maintain relatively higher frequencies.
Express
Point to point service between KL and outer townships such as Kajang, Klang and Putrajaya.
2007 Jan: Megacoach 66 (KL – Tg Malim) knocked out by Metrobus
Salam Aidiladha and Happy New Year.
According to our contact in Megacoach, the bus company plying the Kuala Lumpur – Tanjung Malim route through North – South Expressway 4 times a day, the service has been decommissioned, and the company wound up, with effect from middle of August 2006, thanks to stiff competition from Metrobus’s route 36 (Rawang – Kuala Kubu Baru – Tanjong Malim).
We will update members of the public when further information on this new Metrobus service are available. In the meantime, please share with us your information, experience or suggestions on the transit services, in a world without Saddam Hussien and many rustic omnibus operators, thank you.
2007 Jan: Latest changes to RapidKL local shuttles 233 and 235
Counting down to Vision 2020, Malaysia is progressing rapidly day by day. The cityscape is changing on daily basis, so as our public transit system.
After the launching of new bus network in Area 2 (Kepong, Segambut, Selayang and Gombak), RapidKL is now fine tuning some of the routes. Today, we are announcing the changes to routes of local shuttles 233 and 235.
When first launched, route 233 was plying the route from Taman Melati LRT to Titiwangsa hub. However, it was shortened to just Sri Kelantan public housing scheme in Jalan Sentul after a while. Now, it is extended to Sentul LRT.
The complete route after the latest change begins from Taman Melati LRT, from where it goes to Sentul LRT through Jalan Taman Melati 1, Persiaran Taman Melati, Jalan Taman Melati 8/5, Jalan Taman Melati 1/5 (Terminal Putra LRT), Jalan Pertanahan (Sri Langkawi public housing scheme), Jalan Madrasah, Jalan Dewan, Jalan Gombak, Jalan Kampung Bandar Dalam, Jalan Sentul, Jalan 1/48A, and terminates in Sentul LRT along Jalan 2/48A.
For the return trip, it turns right into Jalan 3/48A (Menara Orkid condominium), turns right again into Jalan 1/48A again and goes to Jalan Sentul straight away, bypassing Sentul LRT.
As for route 235, it was designed as a loop service both originating and terminating in Titiwangsa hub, plying Jalan Ipoh, Jalan Sentul, Jalan Kampung Bandar Dalam, Jalan Gombak, Jalan Pahang and Jalan Tun Razak. However, after the review, it is now running all the way up to Taman Melati LRT too.
Similar to 233, the latest complete route of 235 begins in Taman Melati LRT where it travels to Titiwangsa hub through Jalan Taman Melati 1, Persiaran Taman Melati, Jalan Taman Melati 8/5, Jalan Taman Melati 1/5 (Terminal Putra LRT), Jalan Pertanahan (Sri Langkawi public housing scheme), Jalan Madrasah, Jalan Dewan and Jalan Gombak, where it says goodbye to 233’s route and goes straight to Jalan Pahang and then Jalan Tun Razak, before terminating in Titiwangsa hub.
Hopefully this little bits of information is helpful in enlightening the general public on our ever-improving public transit network.
2006 Dec: SKS Transnasional’s Dedicated Seremban – Putrajaya Bus Service
There’s now a dedicated bus service ferrying government servants from Seremban to Putrajaya. Operating on weekdays only, the service is provided by Syarikat Kenderaan Seremban – Kuala Lumpur Sdn.Bhd. (SKS) under the Transnasional banner and it sets one’s wallet back by RM 170 per month.
From the macho bus terminal sporting a cheerful Lot 10 green in Seremban, Terminal 1, it runs non-stop to Putrajaya, and delivers passengers to various government departments around Putrajaya, for the convenience of its passengers. To be faithful to its original objective of this service, offices around Cyberjaya are strictly out-of-bound.
There are three trips to Putrajaya in the morning, and three trips back to Seremban during the afternoon rush. The exact timing are as follow:
| From Seremban to Putrajaya | Number of Buses |
| 06:25 am | 1 |
| 06:40 am | 2 |
| From Putrajaya to Seremban | Number of Buses |
| 04:40 pm | 1 |
| 05:10 pm | 2 |
Eventhough it’s mainly targeting regular passengers riding it on daily basis throughout a particular month, they do welcome walk-in passengers if they happened to have vacancies on bus. Walk-in passengers are charged RM 5 per trip.
Those who are interested in utilising this service may wish to contact SKS at the following numbers:
06.763.8245 / 06.762.7351 (General enquiries)
06.763.0866 (Operation)
2006 Nov: This is not a bus stop
Well actually this fire hydrant is a bus stop, as it evidently says so by marker pen…
Located near the BHP petrol station on Jalan SS 21/54 in Damansara Utama, some kind soul (or perhaps Rapid KL? or MPPJ?) has at least marked this out, where no sign existed before.
Known as a bus stop apparently only through inherited knowledge, i.e. for those who use buses and are “in the know”, there is nothing else indicating this location as a bus stop (used by Rapid KL’s Area 6 buses and Metrobus #6 and #99, SJ #99 and RMJ minibus #9), much less proper seating, shelter or route information.
2006 Sep: Bus Stop Design
All I want for bus stops are my…
As contributed by KL Commuter:
1. Bus stop-specific spider maps showing destinations of routes passing through this bus stop, ala London.
2. “About bus stop aesthetics, I hope they can do something about it la. Look at all the Putraliner bus stops that have been abandoned after they closed the routes. They are not very nice to look at, and when it rains, water can be easily blown in. Shouldn’t we do something like Singapore’s? With a wider shade, with incline in one direction and a gutter to collect and drain off the water? “
As contributed by Streetwalker:
1. Please ensure that if bus stops aren’t located on a straight part of the road, that they are sited into the curve of roads, rather than
away from the curve. If they are on a straight part of the road, please ensure that seats are diagonalized (serong) for commuters to see oncoming buses. Many times, commuters have to stand up close to the road because they are not able to have a good view.
2. Please ensure a good locus of view towards oncoming buses. Often, there are obstructions such as pillars, plants, street furniture, etc.
3. Besides advertising, bus shelter should include space for bus route information.
4. Most hubs like KL Sentral, Titiwangsa and Warta Lama are split up into different roads and locations. Do ensure connectivity or at least information pointing out to the other stop (on Jalan Batu Caves).
2006 Sep: Triton #309 (KL Sentral – Mont Kiara / Pusat Bandar Damansara)
Triton #309 (KL Sentral – Mont Kiara / Pusat Bandar Damansara)
A mercurial route given the operator’s somewhat unpredictable management of operations and apparent shortage of buses. Nevertheless, we managed to get estimates of departure times from KL Sentral from its operations manager, as of 13 September 2006. As you can see from below, from morning to noon-ish, it goes all the way to Mont Kiara. From 11:30 to 14:00, it stops short at Pusat Bandar Damansara before turning back to KL Sentral. From 14:00, it goes all the way to Mont Kiara again. Most recent news also is that it doesn’t have a last departure from KL Sentral at 18:30 anymore, its last bus now leaving at 17:30. According to the person in charge of operations, there are only a few people who sat this 18:30 bus. It’s the whole chicken & egg scenario again…
Departures from KL Sentral – Mont Kiara, via Pusat Bandar Damansara: 7:30, 8:30, 9:30, 10:30, 14:30, 15:30, 16:30, 17:30
Departures from KL Sentral – Pusat Bandar Damansara: 11:30, 12:00, 12:30, 1:00, 1:30, 14:00
2006 Sep: Plan Bus Routes through Town Centre
At the recent dialogue between RapidKL with PJ Utara residents, RapidKL expressed that they planned so that public transport users wouldn’t have to walk more than 250 metres. However, a lot of times, one has to walk much more than that amount if one’s travel patterns dont’ fit into the most common denominator.
For example, last night I wanted to go to my dance class in Sri Hartamas and although we were told that RapidKL’s Local Feeder #220 goes into Desa Sri Hartamas, it didn’t and instead did a turn at the Penchala Link, between Aman Kiara and Kiara Hill. Therefore I had to walk about 900 metres to get to the shoplot where my dance class was. Even if I wanted to go to say, Hartamas Square, I would have had to walk about 600 metres. The point therefore is, If RapidKL just planned for just 400 metres, that would make people much happier.
To do that, it would be simple enough to route buses through town centres. Even given the less than effective urban planning in the Klang Valley, most residential areas are still built with neighbourhood/town centres where you would get your local kedai runcit. This would be where you walk to to get your immediate groceries or your dinner if no one’s cooking. If one can walk to this neighbourhood centre, then the bus should route to this centre!
RapidKL should realize that you don’t need to pick everyone up at their home’s doorstep. That is impossible and is even undesirable as you wouldn’t want heavy traffic of the bus right outside your house. The best solution would be for local shuttles to run between area centres (the Trunk Line hubs/ LRT stations) and neighbourhood centres, from which commuters may then walk to their homes.
2006 Aug: Dude, Where’s My Penang Bus Revamp?
As soon as I stepped into our office on the morning of Wednesday, August 9, 2006, the Project Manager for the Klang Valley Public Transportation Information System announced that disgruntled bus passengers in Penang were staging a peaceful demonstration on Friday, August 11, 2006. She’d just read about it in Penang’s grassroots activism website, www.penangwatch.net. Guess what, I was assigned to cover this event and build contacts with transit activists in and around Penang!
Before I reported for work the next morning, I went to KL Sentral to purchase a train ticket to Bukit Mertajam, and went straight to this futuristic railway station right after work on Thursday evening. Armed with a take-away dinner pack, I found my seat on the north-bound Langkawi Express.
My friend, Rezal, who is based in Bukit Mertajam, fetched me from the nostalgic railway station in Bukit Mertajam. After a shower and a quick nap, a delicious albeit a little bit tiny breakfast awaited my consumption. Around 11 o’clock in the morning, we got onto Rezal’s Yamaha heavy bike; here we come, Penang!
The toll charge for motorcyclists using Touch ‘n Go stored value cards purchased from Penang Bridge’s office was given a 28 cents discount, paying just RM 2.12 instead of the usual RM 2.40. This grace, however minute, showed how much our almighty government took good care of its obedient citizens.
Anyway, we decided to cross the channel using Penang’s efficient ferry system, part of the state’s finest heritage, whose operator, Penang Port Sdn Bhd, recently applied to build and operate the island’s upcoming Monorail network!
We parked our bike within the grounds of a temple across the road from Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak, or Komtar, Penang’s tallest pride of the land. A crowd of protestors was already forming at its lobby. Before we crossed the busy street, I managed to catch a few shots of the protest. The leader of the crowd, who was shouting slogans, was none other than Penang’s homegrown social activist and elections monitor, Ong Boon Keong, with the latest feather in his cap being one of Penang’s more vocal bus user activists.
The theme for the protest today was “No second chance for rotten buses to oppress passengers!”, as printed handsomely on the main banner, while the minor banner read “Bus reform now!” That showed how dissatisfied the public transit users in Penang were, with absolutely no alternative in sight.
Just like everywhere else outside Kuala Lumpur, the public bus system in Penang is terminally ill (not that KL’s is an angel either). The hardware, including the buses as well as the bus stops, is perhaps as old as many of the buildings around historical Georgetown. Even if they were younger, the lack of maintenance has accelerated their aging. No amount of botox can sufficiently give these buses a satisfactory facelift. Would anyone please do something?
After citing some reasons why the bus network should be revamped and the crony bus operators be replaced, BK Ong gave the hailer to various members of the public. Many grabbed the chance to speak up against this non-performing public transit system, and the following are some of their grievances.
The buses are supposed to have passed Puspakom tests, Puspakom being the privatized computerized vehicle inspection company authorized by the government. However, most of these buses, if not all of them, just don’t look safe enough. Passengers are risking their life riding in these old rotten buses.
Apart from that, the operators also fail to succumb to the government’s instruction on issuing tickets. Not only are many paying passengers not given tickets, they are charged differently, at the whim and fancy of the operators. Thus, many a time, passengers are charged different fares for the same journey. And this happens in the so called silicon island of Malaysia, mind you.
Another popular complaint is that the buses do not follow the routes and schedules as stipulated by the government. Although the frequency for all routes is supposed to be 20 minutes, it is hardly maintained. Not only that, there are times when the driver plying a route chases away the passengers on board, because he wishes to make a U-turn and pick up passengers on the other side of the road waiting for buses going the opposite direction, because there are more passengers there, hence more money to be made.
The buses are supposed to have passed Puspakom tests, Puspakom being the privatized computerized vehicle inspection company authorized by the government. However, most of these buses, if not all of them, just don’t look safe enough. Passengers are risking their life riding in these old rotten buses.
Apart from that, the operators also fail to succumb to the government’s instruction on issuing tickets. Not only are many paying passengers not given tickets, they are charged differently, at the whim and fancy of the operators. Thus, many a time, passengers are charged different fares for the same journey. And this happens in the so called silicon island of Malaysia, mind you.
Another popular complaint is that the buses do not follow the routes and schedules as stipulated by the government. Although the frequency for all routes is supposed to be 20 minutes, it is hardly maintained. Not only that, there are times when the driver plying a route chases away the passengers on board, because he wishes to make a U-turn and pick up passengers on the other side of the road waiting for buses going the opposite direction, because there are more passengers there, hence more money to be made.
It is a common practice for these lawless bus operators to “lease” these routes to drivers. In these cases, the drivers who now share profit with the bus companies do not hesitate to drive dangerously and break all rules and regulations just to run a few more trips when the demand is there. On the other hand, when the passengers are few, they will instead stall at the bus stop and start moving only when the load is satisfactory. In fact, this scenario is not limited to Penang, with “pajak” or leased routes also being practiced in the Klang Valley.
If the above-mentioned problems are not enough, not one, not two, but all the mini bus routes acting as feeder buses feeding the main routes have been decommissioned. Reason? They were unprofitable due to low ridership. Therefore, there’s no way for passengers living off the main roads to catch a bus to town unless they have a car and drive to the nearest bus stop. Brilliant isn’t it? Welcome to Penang!
Several of the bus users cite the main reason for Penang’s transit network being in this state as basically the breakdown of management. They say that right now, there is little co-ordination between the state government and municipal council, who should know the ins and outs of the cities, with the Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (CVLB) which administers the public transit system. Very little of the advisory role the state government is meant to play is accomplished.
According to some of these bus users, the state government of Penang probably had an inkling that the revamp which was launched on April 1, 2006 was doomed to fail, thus paving the way for transferring the control of the bus network to the state government. In fact, the state government of Penang has proposed yet another revamp. Yet, claim these users, the state government might likely just get a federal grant to procure new buses, then, lease them back to the non-performing crony operators.
Whether this will then result in improved services is then anyone’s guess, although the disgruntled Penangites don’t seem to think so. They have had enough. According to them, they did not wish to be taken for another ride by bus operators motivated by nothing but greed.
In any case, it would seem that the lack of transparency on the decision making process takes the passengers hostage on several counts. Those who may be able to perform don’t seem to be engaged, while those who have proved to not have been performing are maintained, thanks to their “know who”.
It would seem that Penangites are in dire need of another revamp, a total revamp, not only of the bus routes, but of the system of administration as well. Otherwise, the state’s transport network would be heading nowhere but failure, just it has with the old bus companies in Kuala Lumpur, i.e. Len Bus, Ho Hup, Sri Jaya, Toong Foong, Intrakota, Cityliner, you name it.
2006 Aug: KL bus system for Penang
After several grouses raised on current Penang bus operators being irredeemable, latest news is that Penang Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon has suggested that Penang’s bus system may be revamped to be modelled according to Kuala Lumpur’s.
Whether he means the system of Trunk Lines, Local Feeders and City Shuttles, or whether he means the institutional reform that founded RapidKL, was not specified.
At the recent dialogue between RapidKL with PJ Utara residents, RapidKL expressed that they planned so that public transport users wouldn’t have to walk more than 250 metres. However, a lot of times, one has to walk much more than that amount if one’s travel patterns dont’ fit into the most common denominator.
For example, last night I wanted to go to my dance class in Sri Hartamas and although we were told that RapidKL’s Local Feeder #220 goes into Desa Sri Hartamas, it didn’t and instead did a turn at the Penchala Link, between Aman Kiara and Kiara Hill. Therefore I had to walk about 900 metres to get to the shoplot where my dance class was. Even if I wanted to go to say, Hartamas Square, I would have had to walk about 600 metres. The point therefore is, If RapidKL just planned for just 400 metres, that would make people much happier.
To do that, it would be simple enough to route buses through town centres. Even given the less than effective urban planning in the Klang Valley, most residential areas are still built with neighbourhood/town centres where you would get your local kedai runcit. This would be where you walk to to get your immediate groceries or your dinner if no one’s cooking. If one can walk to this neighbourhood centre, then the bus should route to this centre!
RapidKL should realize that you don’t need to pick everyone up at their home’s doorstep. That is impossible and is even undesirable as you wouldn’t want heavy traffic of the bus right outside your house. The best solution would be for local shuttles to run between area centres (the Trunk Line hubs/ LRT stations) and neighbourhood centres, from which commuters may then walk to their homes.