On 11 June 2008 The Star carried a picture of the Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, Datuk Shahrir Samad, using the KLIA Transit. He was quoted as having said that he was trying to use public transport in response to the hike in the price of petrol. His verdict after 2 days of usage: not very convenient. This was after taking into account the fact the he had to be sent to the train station from his home in Jalan Tunku in Kuala Lumpur by his wife, the reason being that there was no bus service from his house to KL Sentral. On arrival at the other end of his train journey, he is picked up by his driver and driven to his office.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/6/11/nation/21518642&sec=nation

I wrote a response to that story and sent it to The Star on 12 June 2008. I can only assume that they had decided not to publish it because it too embarrassingly highlights the very obvious flaws in our public transport system and how out of touch our cabinet ministers are when it comes to the issue of the use of public transport, given how cocooned and molly-coddled they are with their government cars, government-paid-for petrol and drivers. This is what I said:

Comment on Minister’s experience of public transport after 2 days

Datuk Shahrir Samad is both wrong and right (Nation, N8, 11 June 2008). There IS a bus that snakes its way through Bukit Tunku, where he lives. He would however have to walk some distance from his house to the bus stop. When he arrives at the bus stop, he will not know whether the bus has come or gone, or when the next bus will arrive, as there is no timetable. It is supposed to be every half an hour but sometimes it is only once an hour. This lack of certainty and the inability to plan his journey will eventually discourage him from using public transport. The same will occur when he arrives at the Putrajaya/Cyberjaya station. He's fortunate to have a driver to pick him up. If he goes to the bus station at the lower ground level, he will see buses to Putrajaya and other destinations, but their departure times are all unknown. Passengers mill around in uncertainty waiting for tell-tale signs that the bus is about to depart. If he were to try to get a bus from his office in Putrajaya back to the station, he would face the same thing, standing in the hot sun or the rain at a bus stop in Putrajaya wondering when the next bus will arrive. When he finally arrives at KL Sentral, he will have to find his way down to the bus station on the lower ground level. There is only one narrow staircase down for everybody to use. The one narrow escalator in existence is used for people coming up. There is one small lift. Egress and ingress from the bus terminal is a traffic and safety consultant's nightmare. The immediate area at the foot of the staircase and escalator is monopolised by the LCCT bus companies. Buses are parked by the kerbside and pedestrians shoot out and cross the inner service road between buses. Needless to say, the yellow pedestrian crossings are ignored, and buses and waiting taxis regularly park over it. When it rains, those waiting for public buses on the kerb of the outer service road will get wet.

I hope he will highlight to the Cabinet the need for a better-planned feeder system to link up to our trains, whether Putra, KTM, monorail or ERL. In terms of passenger information, the technology is already available through GPS to inform passengers when the next bus is arriving. It is in use in cities like London in England and Thessalonica in Greece, to name but 2. The financial markets are not the only places where people need up-to-date information and certainty. People need to plan ahead for their journeys, and their decision-making is dependent on up-to-date information. If they don't have that information, they are likely to use their cars instead. In terms of feeder services, perhaps people who actually use buses should be invited to help plan the routes, instead of car-driving civil servants and town planners. There is also a serious need to plan for the safety of passengers in getting to and from bus stops and train stations. In addition to the situation at KL Sentral highlighted above, Datuk Shahrir will no doubt not be surprised to know that he cannot get a bus from KL Sentral to Parliament House. The nearest he can get on the bus is somewhere along busy Jalan Duta. There is no proper bus shelter at Jalan Duta. He will merely be let off by the side of the road. Then he will have to cross Jalan Duta, all 4 busy lanes of it, to get to the other side. There is no pedestrian crossing or overhead bridge. Once he gets to the other side of Jalan Duta he will have to try to make his way to Jalan Parliamen to get to the bridge entering Parliament House. There is no pedestrian pathway. He will have to risk life and limb again to cross Persiaran Mahameru.

In one shape or form, this is the daily experience of public transport users, especially those who combine the use of buses and trains. After 2 days, Datuk Shahrir is already saying it is not so convenient. And this is with the help of drivers on both ends of his journey! What if he had to rely on feeder buses instead of drivers? And what if he had to do this every working day? Perhaps both the Minister of Transport and the Federal Territories Minister should try using public transport for a month in order to understand first hand the frustrations faced by ordinary people going about their daily business using public transport in the Federal Capital (and no doubt elsewhere too). Please don't fob us off by saying that there are already plans in place to make more investments in public transportation. We need solutions now to these long-existing problems. After all, pump petrol prices in Malaysia have been on the increase for some time. The government has been talking about improvements in public transport for quite some time. So why the delay in improvements to the overall public transport system? Enough talk, let's see some immediate action.

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