Article: Puduraya will be for city buses only

TRANSIT took note of this article in the news today which states that Puduraya will be refurbished and used as a holding area and central terminal for city buses. The article also notes that traders are expressing their concerns.

Puduraya will be for city buses only
Friday June 26, 2009
By PRIYA MENON

KUALA LUMPUR’S famous Puduraya inter-state bus terminal is set to lose its major role as the hub for long-haul outstation buses.

The busy terminal, opened in 1976 by the late Prime Minister Tun Hussein Onn, will soon be turned into an inner-city terminal.

With the impending[hah … see comments below] relocation of south-bound inter-state buses to a new transport hub called the Bandar Tasik Selatan Integrated Transportation Terminal (ITT-BTS), the stall traders at the Puduraya terminal are worried about the adverse impact on their businesses.

The traders are uncertain of their business prospects once the inter-state bus service operations are relocated to the new hub in Bandar Tasik Selatan in November next year.
Time for change: The Puduraya terminal will soon become an inter-city bus hub.

As it is, business has not been too good for them currently, and most of the profits they now make are mostly from the tourists and outstation bus travellers.

They fear the move will affect them badly but they understand the necessity for the relocation.

TRANSIT Says:

Traders and those interested (or concerned) should please note that this change is not happening anytime soon. It will be at least 2 years before the Integrated Transport Terminal at Bandar Tasik Selatan is complete. That will be followed by the shift from Puduraya to BTS, various teething problems and controversies, etc. etc.

Also please note that BTS will be for southbound buses only (according to the latest flip from Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Abdul Aziz). Since the Gombak (for eastbound buses) and Sg. Buloh (for northbound buses) are little more than wishful thinking so far, that means that some express buses will still be at Puduraya for at least 2-4 years more.

Once the refurbishment is complete, there will be many people making use of the Puduraya terminal as they wait for their city buses – so traders need not worry that they will not have customers.