Public Transport in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Yes, as promised yesterday lets talk about the public transport system in Malaysia. Right now i am sitting at Sunway Hospital Startbucks Coffee waiting for my sister to finish her checkup. Lets see what sort of public transport do we have in Kuala Lumpur.

Buses

We have several bus operators operating here in Kuala Lumpur, This buses links the city 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 the two main bus operators, Intrakota and Cityliner few years back, and there is alot of stuff said about this company which can be a topic by itself. You know what i am talking about right? Who owns it? Why they need to buy so many new buses? and who imports the new buses? We will talk about it later on with a new posting on it.

For now lets see the level of service they give. All new buses but without fail every single day you will see 1 or 2 buses is stalled by the road side creating massive jam. I wonder why this happens to the new buses? are they really new or it was a refurbished bus from overseas.

The second problem with this buses, they never come on time, i dont know when they can be like Singapore, jam or no jam the bus is right on time, everytime!

Next problem the drives think that they own the roads! they stop anywhere they like. They dont care if they are blocking the roads, all they want is to stop. And the most annoying one is when they know for a fact the that light is going to be red and they will go ahead and cross the road and block the road when it is not their turn to go! This damn thing happen everyday at Jalan Tun Perak! So when it comes to using the buses in Kuala Lumpur, i rather drive!

Taxis

So called 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 and locals. 

Its always best to insist on using the meter but if it is your bad day, they might just say bye and drive off! The first thing that i always notice when i get into a taxi in KL? the smell! i dont know what on earth they do but the smell is just awful.

Second the drivers, i have never seen a driver who is well dressed. They will be wearing a white shirt which looks like it has not been washed for a week, buttons will be undone, their hair will be a sight! and unshaved faces.

Leaving that aside, the way they drive, ohh if you are not use to it, you might get all panic! from left to right…right to left… beating the red light and honking to the cars infront of then even when the lights are red! So cabs in KL? i dont think so

Rail

Kuala Lumpur’s rail-based transit system consists of two Light Rail Transit lines (rapid transit), one monorail line, two commuter rail systems consisting four lines, and an airport rail link.

The rail that goes to the airport is nice but expensive. The other 2 rail thats goes within the city is just too short. Have you seen it in the morning or after work? If you are clostrofobic you will never get into it, it looks like sardines in cans.

Can you imigine getting up in the morning dress well for work and getting into the rail, by the time you reach the city you will look like, you just walked to the offce! The rail system need to be improved badly. More rails need to be in place, something like what Singapore has, the air ventilation need to be improved!   

This is why i still drive within the city, it not that i cant live without a car, when i am in singapore i will never use my car, simple reason the transports system there is just great! So Malaysia please improve your transport system, yeah…yeah.. i know all they say is “Singapore is a small country so they can do it” We are not asking you to have the system all over Malaysia, just do it for Kuala Lumpur City!

I would love to hear from others on this topic. Leave me your comments.

Me