New Rawang Terminal, more of the same?

TRANSIT took note of this article in the Star Metro on April 4 which discusses a new bus and taxi terminal for Rawang, which is expected to begin operations in May 2009.

New terminal for Rawang
Saturday April 4, 2009 By SALINA KHALID

THE new bus and taxi terminal at Pusat Bandar Baru Rawang will begin operations next month, Selayang MCA chairman Datuk Tang See Hang said.

Tang, who visited the newly-completed bus and taxi terminal located along the Federal trunk road, said the facility would be opened in the middle of May.

New landmark: Construction work on the new terminal is almost complete.

“This will be a new landmark in Rawang and will be a central terminal for stage buses, mini-buses and taxis.

“A skylink will also be built to connect the terminal to the nearby Komuter station,” Tang said.

“We hope the new terminal will encourage people to use public transport as it will be more convenient.

“They can even take the Komuter and use the skylink to continue their journey by bus,” he added..

The five-storey bus and taxi terminal has six bays dedicated for stage buses, another six for mini-buses and 18 outside the main building for taxis.

There are 45 stalls on the ground floor while parking spaces occupy the other four storeys and the rooftop.

Construction of the RM8mil facility, developed by Mahumas Sdn Bhd, began in 2005.

Tang said work on the 1km skylink was expected to be completed in June.

Only about 30% of the link is now ready.

He added that the existing bus station in the old town would cease operations once the new facility was opened.

“The existing station has been there for the past 60 years,” Tang said.

However, when asked whether the bus and taxi operators had agreed to move to the new location, Tang said they were still waiting for the Selayang Municipal Council (MPS) to conduct the meeting.

“Now, we are in the process of handing over the premises to MPS and we are leaving it to the local authority to hold the meeting with the operators,” Mahumas assistant project manager Loo Kam Sun said.

Nearby business owners feel that the new terminal would also contribute to their businesses as there would be more people in the area.

“It is something that we have been waiting for and, hopefully, this time there will be no more delays.

“We moved here three years ago and business was not so good then,” a restaurant operators, who declined to be named, said.

TRANSIT says:

Lastly, the “skylink” sounds very interesting and one has to wonder what it will look like – a covered walkway of sorts? A bridge? Will this bridge be safe for pedestrians and public transport users?

According to this source:

Apart from road linkages, the creation of human-traffic-anchor continues to happen with the construction of the Bus/Taxi Terminal. It is scheduled to be completed by end of this year and located on the eastern side of the town.

“To complete the integrated transportation network, we are building an elevated pedestrian walkway to ferry people to and from the Bus/Taxi Terminal and the Rawang KTM Komuter Station. Dubbed the Sky Link, it is created for the convenience of the commuters,” explains Tan.

Like the Bypass, Mahumas intends to maximize the Sky Link’s potential by linking it to the corridors on the first floor of the commercial units, which are planned to be constructed along the Sky Link between the Station and the Terminal.

“This way, it will create a constant flow of human traffic which in turn will increase the potential of businesses there,” said Tan.

TRANSIT says:

So many questions, so few answers – business as usual for public transport in Malaysia.