Urban Public Transport NKRA (Update #1)

Updated with details of proposed bus routes!

As you know, TRANSIT has been following the work of the Urban Public Transport Panel in their efforts to meet the expectations of the National Key Result Area (NKRA) on Urban Public Transport

The members of the Urban Public Transport Panel met during a 3 month period and worked to come up with a list of proposals and ideas – a map for the improvement of public transport in the short term.

The details for their findings and plans can be found in this document, Pemandu Lab Highlights – Urban Public Transport which all of us should read!

The 5 main ‘lever’s they will use are:

1. Debottleneck capacity of a system already its limits (expand capacity & connectivity of rail & bus network);
2. Stimulate demand to draw / “pull” people to public transport (improve service quality, connectivity & coverage);
3. Take heavy vehicles out of CBD area (Integrated Transport Terminals);
4. Regulatory restructuring (SPAD and legal restructuring of the industry + “New Deal” for operators);
5. Manage demand through “push” (congestion pricing – beyond 2013).

Residents of the Klang Valley would take note of some of the plans such as the Rapid Bus Expressway Transit, (RapidBET) introduced in Early January 2010, as well as the expansion of service frequencies for the LRT lines and improvement of bus services with new routes.

The plan includes the following:

BET (Bus Expressway Transit)

• BET1 – Kota Damansara <=> Pasar Seni
• BET2 – Sg. Long (Cheras) <=> Pasar Seni
• BET3 – Subang Mewah <=> Pasar Seni
• BET4 – Sri Muda (Shah Alam) <=> Pasar Seni

BRT (Bus Rapid Transit)

• BRT1 – Cheras <=> Pasar Seni
• BRT2 – Puchong Utama <=> Pasar Seni
• BRT3 – Damansara Damai <=> Pasar Seni

BL (Bus Lanes)

• BL1 – ITT Bandar Tasik Selatan <=> Pasar Seni
• BL2 – Jalan Genting Klang <=> Pasar Seni
• BL3 – Bandar Utama (Petaling Jaya) <=> KL Sentral
• BL4 – Batu Tiga (Shah Alam) <=> Pasar Seni
• BL5 – Sri Nilam (Ampang) <=> Pasar Seni

[TRANSIT: Is there a theme here? Why must all bus services go to Pasar Seni?]

Perhaps more importantly, people would note that Minister of Transport Ong Tee Keat, who is the head of the NKRA on Urban Public Transport, is speaking up about public transport in a serious way.

• 600,000 Target For Public Transport Ridership In Klang Valley By End 2012 (Bernama);
• Ong: Transit corridors can handle 50,000 passengers during peak hours (The Star);
• KL to have dedicated bus lanes from 2011 (The Star).

You can also take note of the photos in the gallery below which were taken by TRANSIT on our visit to the NKRA Open Day. Put your mouse over the images for more information and click on the images for a larger view.

Other features of the NKRA Highlights Lever 1 (Expanding the capacity & connectivity of the public transport network) are described below. We will add more posts about each ‘lever’ in detail, with the tag “NKRA Update”.

LRT Expansion

Purchase of additional trains for the Kelana Jaya Line (the 4-carriage trains of which 4 are already in service) and the Ampang Line (which have yet to be determined).

KTM Expansion

More details will be posted here as soon as they are available.

Monorail Expansion

More details will be posted as soon as they are available.

TRANSIT Says:

As you might imagine, we at TRANSIT are generally happy with the work of the Urban Public Transport Panel. However, our main concern is that we, the voice of the public transport user, were not invited to attend & participate in the discussions.

We did receive an opportunity to give feedback – after most of the decisions had already been made – and were happy to do so.

But the real fact that the members of the Urban Public Transport Panel and their leader Minister of Transport Ong Tee Keat must understand is that they need that public participation to make the system work effectively.

As always, your comments on the NKRA for Public Transport are welcome below.