Nazri: Only 1 Integrated Transport Terminal will be built

According to this article in the NST today, New transport hub to replace Puduraya, the government has decided that the Integrated Transport Terminal at Bandar Tasik Selatan will be expanded to cover all express bus services for the entire country.

For your information, Bandar Tasik Selatan was originally planned to be 1 of 3 Integrated Transport Terminals – bringing together LRT, KTM, Stage Bus, Taxi, and Intercity & Express Bus services under the same roof. Bandar Tasik Selatan would have covered passengers to Johor and other southern states, while two more terminals would have been built in Jalan Duta and Gombak (to cover the northern and eastern states respectively). For more information about the project, see the discussion on Skyscrapercity.com

According to the article, once Bandar Tasik Selatan is opened, Hentian Putra, Duta and Pekeliling will be closed. Also, Plaza Rakyat, an abandoned project beside Puduraya (which was initially supposed to have been a transport hub), will not be used for public transport when [if?] the project is revived.

According to the NST, express bus operators we against the initial proposal under the Ninth Malaysia Plan to have 3 different transport hubs to cater for buses bound for southern, northern and eastern states.

Regarding Puduraya, Minister in the Prime Minister’s department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz was quoted as saying that “When the integrated hub is ready, Puduraya will be used as a hub for intracity buses”.

TRANSIT says:

We were not included in the list of “transport players” since we are just a bunch of amateurs and public transport users. Clearly our views are not worth considering.

And while the idea generally makes sense to have 1 major hub instead of a few minor ones, we really have to wonder how convenient it will be to have all express buses located at one severely undercapacity terminal.

On the other hand, TRANSIT wonders what will happen to the site of the Putra, Duta and Pekeliling bus terminals once the terminals are closed. Can they be reused to meet the needs of public transport in the Klang Valley? Certainly the Duta terminal would be a great site for an integrated development, fed by the new Kota Damansara-Cheras line. The Pekeliling terminal is an open site and a new LRT or monorail line following the MRRI and Jalan Tun Razak might make a big difference.

Alternatively, the terminals can be used for stage bus and local bus services.