Updates #69

Updates #69

1. Letter: Foreigner laments bad cabbies (The Star) – Magnar Nordal of Brumundda, Norway comments about the poor state of taxi service in Kuala Lumpur.

2.Article: JPJ launches checks on reckless bus drivers (The Star) – The JPJ will target reckless bus drivers during the CNY rush.

TRANSIT: And what will SPAD be doing?

3. Article: Train catches fire, 600 passengers unharmed (Star Property) – A locomotive pulling a south-bound train from Tumpat to Kuala Lumpur caught fire as soon as it left the main Wakaf Baru station on Sunday night.

The following articles update readers on the issues at Terminal Bersepadu Selatan

4. Article: Ticketing woes mar CNY travel plans at BTS-ITT (Malay Mail) – Those wishing to make use of the new Bandar Tasik Selatan Integrated Transport Terminal (BTS-ITT) to travel this Chinese New Year may end up disappointed as many bus operators will not make the move to the new terminal in time.

Land Public Transport Commission (LPTC) chairman Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar told The Malay Mail not all bus operators would be able to meet the Jan 31 deadline due to the single ticketing system and nonavailability of additional ticketing counters.

The bus operators had been given a second extension to relocate following a meeting on Jan 12 between LPTC, Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (CVLB), bus operators and the terminal management.

5. Article: Cabinet to discuss issues at new transport hub (Malay Mail) – The newly-opened Bandar Tasik Selatan Integrated Transport Terminal (BTS-ITT) will be part of the agenda for tomorrow’s Cabinet meeting, focusing on the ticketing system and deciding which government agency is to oversee the terminal.

“A paper will be presented for Cabinet deliberation on the situation at BTS-ITT and to assign which authority to set the direction of the terminal,” a public transport consultant, who wished anonymity, told The Malay Mail.

“This is important since the terminal is a government initiative first and foremost.”

TRANSIT: If it was a government initiative, then why didn’t they decide who would be in charge before the project actually began???

6. Article: Bukit Jalil busmen confused over moving date to new terminal (Malay Mail) – more conflicting information and confusion for the bus operators and the public to deal with.

7. Article: Bus operators fear chaos at new terminal (Malay Mail) – same as above but now with a threat of chaos during Chinese New Year.

8. Letter: Public transport: Watchdog for a ‘natural monopoly’ (Malay Mail) – Chan C.G. of Kuala Lumpur comments on the lack of clear authority and communication on the TBS project and wonders what role SPAD is to play.

[TRANSIT: The TBS-BTS project has been a mess from the get-go. We remember the first meeting that we had where the project was presented. As far as we recall, the Ministry of Transport got the right to plan the project, which is funny because the Ministry of Transport actually has very little experience with public transport projects that involve buses & taxis. To learn that the government and project teams had no idea who was in charge and still allowed the project to go forward – is totally embarrassing.]

The next two articles relate to the continuing issue of taxi drivers quoting fixed prices and refusing service – and complaining that the system is working against them.

9. Article: It’s take it or leave it as cabbies fix own rates (Malay Mail) – price fixing activities at the Shah Alam Komuter station, conveniently out of the attention of the CVLB, SPAD, and Local council.

10. Article: Consumer association calls for revamp but CVLB says ‘complain to us’ (Malay Mail) – Comments from the Malay Mail about the lack of action & resolution from 3 years of coverage of this serious issue.

[TRANSIT: We have always supported the Malay Mail in their call to improve the taxi system and normally we would have featured this set of articles. However, we are just so tired and frustrated and angry with the entire Malaysian government – from the person who introduced the weak, underpowered CVLB, to their inept leaders & management, to the Attorney General and Minister Nazri, who helped screw SPAD up before it even had a chance to make a difference…let’s face it, there is a lot of rot in the Malaysian government (on the public transport file alone) and we have to change the way we do things.]