Shift from Puduraya to Bukit Jalil begins (Update #4)

Update: Please note that Bukit Jalil temporary terminal is now closed as of 16 April 2011 with the reopening of Puduraya!

TRANSIT notes that the shift of intercity and express bus operations from Puduraya to the Bukit Jalil temporary terminal at Parking Lot F near the National Hockey Stadium began on Monday, 12 April.

Please note:

• The upgrading work at Puduraya is expected to take four months to complete;
• There are currently 6 shuttle buses between Puduraya and the Bukit Jalil terminal, operating every 15 minutes at a cost of RM2 per trip;
• Public transport users may also wish to take the LRT directly to Bukit Jalil station, then walk to Lot F near the Hockey Stadium (see map above);
• For more information, call the hotline set up by UDA Mall (owner of Puduraya) at 03-2078 7017 / 03-2078 6018.

The article, Puduraya shut down (The Star) talks about the strange sight of the normally bustling Puduraya being empty, with shop owners and hawkers shifting out of the terminal.

Imagine the sight of the Puduraya bus bays empty, with no diesel fumes and soot filling the air

There were also comments and complaints about the short notice (6 days) given to small business owners. Directions to the bus stops for the temporary shuttle bus service operated by RapidKL were not given until 10 am. This article, Travellers unaware of move (Streets-NST) noted that many travelers showed up at Puduraya unaware that bus operations had been shifted.

The Star and Malay Mail also had reporters at Bukit Jalil itself. Their observations of complaints & praise, confusion and frustration and of course the expected touting were reported in this articles, Bukit Jalil takes over as express bus terminal (Star-Metro) and Chaotic affair at temporary bus terminals (Malay Mail).

The closure was also reported in other papers including this report from Utusan, Terminal Sementar mula beroperasi and Kelam-kabut di Puduraya, bas pengantara tak cukup, as well as this article Parking a problem at Bukit Jalil (The Star) which discusses how people are adjusting to the change to Bukit Jalil

[TRANSIT: Generally, when faced by inconvenience or adjustment, people drive first, then use public transport. Now is the time for an information campaign by RapidKL and UDA Mall.]

TRANSIT Says:

The surprisingly quick announcement about the closure of Puduraya on March 19, followed by the equally quick announcement of a delay, followed by the equally quick announcement about the move to Bukit Jalil shows what happens when decision-making is not fully coordinated between various government agencies and the public.

While some may look at the unaware or ‘stranded’ travelers at Puduraya terminal as people who should know better, TRANSIT believes that UDA Mall, the Federal Territories Ministry and DBKL and RapidKL could all have worked together to better inform the public.

Signs should have been placed earlier so that travelers would know about the shutdown. Information about the shuttle bus should have been placed at the station earlier, with reporters and the public shown clearly where the shuttle bus would stop.

Knowing that there was a plan to move, UDA Mall (Owner of Puduraya) could also have asked ticket purchasers to leave a handphone number so they could get SMS updates about the status of the Puduraya terminal.

Then there is the fact that there is no information posted online about Puduraya. A “Transformasi Puduraya” website should have been set up months ago. The closest thing to online information about the upgrade is probably the discussion threads like “Puduraya to get facelift” at skyscrapercity.com. At the time of this posting there is no announcement at the RapidKL website even though RapidKL is providing the shuttle bus services.

If you have any questions, comments or concerns about the Puduraya upgrade & shift to Bukit Jalil, please contact us by email at klangvalley.transit@gmail.com, our twitter feed @transitmy, and facebook page TRANSIT-Malaysia.