Updates #100

Updates #100

NOTE: Because of the Hari Raya Aidilfitri & Balik Kampung, this update will cover 2 weeks of public transport news.

1. Article: KTMB not amused by healing-track seekers (NST, 22 August 2011)

2. Article: Buy registered bus tickets, public urged (The Star, 22 August 2011);

3. Article: MRCB eyes more rail jobs (Business Times, 24 August 2011)

4. Article: More room for ferry passengers (The Star, 24 August 2011)

5. Article: SPAD, Puspakom to share data on commercial vehicles (The Malay Mail, 25 August 2011)

6. Article: SPAD and Puspakom join hands to ensure better safety (The Star, 25 August 2011)

7. Letter: KTM woes more than just packed, late trains (The Star, 25 August 2011) – Dissatisfied Commuter of Klang complains about KTM Komuter service.

8. Letter: Apply KL Chinatown solution elsewhere (The Star, 25 August 2011) – Zari Malaysiana of PJ writes in favour of public engagment & feedback – [TRANSIT: But what solution is this, really? And where is the “elsewhere” in this case?]

9. Article: Taxi drivers get early Raya cheer (NST, 26 August 2011);

10. Letter: Chinatown needs a gallery to display heritage (The Star, 28 August 2011)

11. Letter: Pudu Sentral can be misleading to tourists (The Star, 29 August 2011) – Bog Eyes of Petaling Jaya comments on the sudden announcement that Puduraya station will be renamed Pudu Sentral.

[TRANSIT: We have taken note of a suggestion that since Plaza Rakyat appears to be dead, Plaza Rakyat LRT station should be renamed as Pudu Sentral LRT station, in line with the redevelopment of Puduraya and subsequent renaming ordered by Prime Minister Najib. Just to make sure that this happens, we have sent a tweet to the Prime Ministers twitter account @NajibRazak. We will inform you of any results.]

12. Schoolbus driver fined for reckless driving (Star Metro North, 30 August 2011)

13. Article: People Mover seeks first fare hike (The Detroit News, 31 August 2011) –  The Detroit People Mover, which circles the urban centre of Detroit in the United States, was opened in 1987. The operator of the money-losing service is seeking the first fare hike in the history of the operation.

TRANSIT: The Detroit People Mover (see their website here, Wikipedia here) uses the Advanced Rapid Transit (ART) Mark I technology, introduced in Toronto’s Scarborough Rapid Transit line in 1985 & Vancouver’s Expo line in 1986. Kuala Lumpur’s PUTRA (now Kelana Jaya) line introduced the ART Mark II to the world in 1998. 

14. THSRC makes its first operating profit (International Railway Journal, 1 September 2011) – self explanatory

TRANSIT: The Taiwan HSR was introduced in 2007 and this is the first year that it has been profitable. This is something to consider for exponents of High Speed Rail in Malaysia. On that note, this article in the Economist about High Speed Rail in Britain is also worth reading.

15. Article: City Hall urged to resolve parking woes (The Borneo Post, 3 September 2011) – Parking issues in Kota Kinabalu are demanding more attention.

16. Article: Ismail Adam is new Prasarana non-executive chairman (Malay Mail, 3 September 2011) – Ismail replaces Izzedin Dali who has retired.

17. Editorial: Consider more options for transport links in the country (The Star, 4 September 2011)

18. Article: Motorcyclist killed in collision with bus (The Star, 4 September 2011)

19. Letter: Taxi drivers not using meter (NST, 4 September 2011) – SteenK of Hong Kong complains about taxi drivers not using the meter.

20. Letter: Easy pickings for pickpockets (NST, 4 September 2011) – Rick Kinsman comments on being robbed on the KL Monorail.