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Public transport in Kuala Lumpur
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Public transport in Kuala Lumpur and the rest of the Klang Valley covers a variety of transport modes such as bus, rail and taxi. The Government of Malaysia has spent millions of ringgit to improve the quality and availability of public transport in the Klang Valley area, including constructing a new Light Rail Transit line.
Unlike in most other major Asian cities, utilisation rates are low. Currently, only 16 percent of the population uses public transportation. [1] Commuters cite poor quality of service as the main reason for the low usage.
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In the 1800s and 1900s, most Kuala Lumpur citizens and tin miners used rickshaws, elephants, sampans and bull- or horse-drawn carriages as basic public transportation.
Between 1960s to 1990s, the Mini-Bus Service or (Bus Mini) was a popular public transportation in Kuala Lumpur city.
- Rail transport, including
- Rapid KL's light rail transit (LRT)
- KTM Komuter
- KL Monorail
- Express Rail Link
- Taxi transport
- Other intercity services
Metered taxis can be hailed throughout the city. However, traffic jams, especially during rush hour are fairly common in KL and it might be difficult to get a taxi during rush hour. There have been many incidents of taxi drivers charging extravagant fares, especially among tourists, therefore, tourists are advised to travel with taxis who charge fare according to meters, or insist on using the meter.
There are several bus operators operating in Kuala Lumpur, linking the city centre with the suburbs of the Klang Valley. The main operator is the government-owned Rapid KL, which stands for Rangkaian Pengangkutan Integrasi Deras Kuala Lumpur Sdn Bhd. Rapid KL took over the operations of Intrakota and Cityliner.
Other operators include Metrobus, Selangor Omnibus, Len Seng, Transnasional/Kenderaan Klang-Banting, Triton, Permata Kiara and others.
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Kuala Lumpur's rail-based transit system consists of three light rail transit (LRT) lines, one monorail, one commuter rail system consisting two lines, and two high-speed airport rail links.
- The three lines used by the LRT are Ampang Line, Kelana Jaya Line and Sri Petaling Line.
- The two commuter rail lines, known as KTM Komuter are the Sentul-Port Klang Line and the Rawang-Seremban Line.
- The sole monorail line is known as the Kuala Lumpur Monorail.
- The high speed KLIA Ekspres and KLIA Transit lines connect Kuala Lumpur to the international airport.
Different companies operate the various systems and developed them separately at different times. As a result, many of the lines do not integrate well, making transferring from system to system inconvenient for passengers. Moving from one system to another often require a lot of walking, stair-climbing, escalator-use and even crossing busy roads. For example, the KL Monorail's "KL Sentral" station is a 140 m walk away through a busy bazaar and a busy road.
There is also no common ticket for all systems, forcing commuters on continuing journeys to buy new tickets when transferring. However, the LRT, monorail, and commuter rail systems now accept the Touch 'n Go stored value farecard, easing the hassle. Also, Rapid KL, the operator of the three LRT lines as well as Rapid KL buses (which cover about 70% of the Klang Valley's bus network), has come up with a daily ticket which can be used on both its LRT and bus services which costs RM7.
The monorail is also planning to build a few more stations and tracks which is the Sungai Buloh Line (continued after Titiwangsa), Subang Jaya Line, Cheras Line and another line (name not included).
For intercity travel, the main transit hubs in Kuala Lumpur are:
- Puduraya — a major intercity bus terminal located in the city centre. A new bus terminal, Plaza Rakyat is planned to replace neighbouring Puduraya and the construction is undergoing. There is an LRT station nearby that connects the building.
- Putra Bus Terminal — serving buses heading to the East Coast destinations. Nearby rail connections are at PWTC LRT and Putra Komuter.
- Pasar Rakyat — a new bus terminal to take away some of Puduraya's load.
- KL Sentral — Kuala Lumpur's main railway station.
- Duta Bus Terminal — for buses operated by Transnasional and Airport Coach (bus services to KLIA)
- KL Sentral — a modern multi-modal transport hub served by KTM Komuter, LRT, KLIA Ekspres and KLIA Transit as well as local buses and those to KLIA
- Masjid Jamek — an LRT interchange between Kelana Jaya line with Sri Petaling and Ampang line.
- Bandar Tasik Selatan station — a train interchange between the Sri Petaling Line, KTM Komuter service and ERL Transit.
KL Sentral, Titiwangsa, KLCC, Maluri, and Medan Pasar form Rapid KL's bus interchanges in the city. Meanwhile, private bus operators are mostly based at the Jalan Tan Cheng Lock area which includes Pasaramakota, Central Market, Bangkok Bank, Medan Pasar, Kotaraya, Sinar Kota and Puduraya.
There are also several sub-urban bus hubs that serve as terminals and interchanges.
Traditionally, most bus services, whether local or intercity used to originate from the city centre, especially in the areas around Jalan Cheng Lock. Recently, transport operators have decided to unilaterally move operations elsewhere. For example, executive bus operators, especially those headed for Singapore, have chosen to depart from other less congested locations like the Kuala Lumpur Railway Station, KL Sentral, Bangsar and Petaling Jaya. Rapid KL itself has shifted operations to its city hubs. The government meanwhile has been half-heartedly encouraging buses to use other newer terminals like Pasarakyat and Duta Bus Terminal.
The Kuala Lumpur Railway Station ceased to serve intercity trains in 2001 when operations shifted to neighbouring KL Sentral. Many other operations such as KTM Komuter services and postal services by Pos Malaysia are however still maintained.
The public transport system is regulated by various authorities, including the Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (CVLB) of the Ministry of Entrepreneur and Co-operative Development, the Ministry of Transport and local governments such as the Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur and the other city and municipal councils.
There is no single body that regulates the whole sector.
The Integration and Restructuring of the Public Transport System in the Klang Valley (Inspak) steering committee, established in July 2003, is tasked with encouraging greater use of public transportation to reduce traffic congestion and initiate the establishment of the Klang Valley Urban Transport Authority as the regulatory authority for public transportation in the Klang Valley. Little has been said about the establishment of this authority ever since.
Rapid KL was established in 2004 by the Ministry of Finance to provide an integrated public transport system in the Klang Valley incorporating rail and bus services as part of Inspak. It holds quasi-regulatory powers in the sense that unlike other bus operators, it has much greater freedom to set its own routes. Furthermore, its fare structure differs from that set by the CVLB.
By 2007, passengers have access to TnG ticketing systems on RapidKL systems and all other rail systems.[citation needed]
- ^ "Prasarana to buy trains worth RM1.2bil", The Star, October 13, 2006. Retrieved on October 22, 2006.
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| Rapid KL | Kelana Jaya Line • Sri Petaling Line • Ampang Line |
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| KTM Komuter | Sentul-Port Klang Line • Rawang-Seremban Line | |
| KL Infrastructure | Kuala Lumpur Monorail | |
| Express Rail Link | KLIA Ekspres • KLIA Transit | |