TRANSIT took note of this article about the closing of the Klang Bus Stand (Pasarama Kota) which last saw service on 31 October 2011.
While TRANSIT is happy to hear about infrastructure improvements, and we acknowledge that the Klang Bus Stand needed improvement, we also want to see improvements to public transport service for the long term.
Yes, move the Klang and Banting-bound buses to Pudu Sentral. Yes, leave them there and use the Pasar Seni / Jalan Sultan Mohammed bus stand for RapidKL and other stage buses.
But please, would you take the minor steps needed to make those stage bus services faster and more reliable?
Syed Hamid speaks to the press after distributing flyers on Klang Bus Stand's permanent closure, in Kuala Lumpur October 31, 2011. — Picture by Yow Hong Chieh, The Malaysian Insider.
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 31 — Demolition of the Klang Bus Stand will begin by year’s end to make way for the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) interchange with the LRT, the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) said today.
The demolition is expected to be completed by early next year, after which work on the Pasar Seni MRT station will begin.
Buses here servicing Klang and Banting, including Rapid KL U91, will be moved to Pudu Sentral while all other Rapid KL buses will continue to pick up fares from Jalan Sultan Mohamed just outside Klang Bus Stand.
Some 5,000 passengers who use the bus stand daily will be affected by the move, effective from midnight tonight.
A commercial development and a new bus stand will be built on the same spot when the MRT is completed in 2016.
SPAD chairman Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar said the Klang Bus Stand, built in 1970, needed to be torn down as it no longer met the city’s development needs.
But he assured public transport users they would not be unduly burdened by the move, pointing out that Pudu Sentral was a modern facility.
“The 74 buses that make 260 trips from here daily… will be moved to a better, more comfortable place,” he told reporters here after handing out flyers informing the public of the move.
Syed Hamid said traders would still be allowed to operate in the area once the station is complete but SPAD will ensure nothing spoils its aesthetics.
“There will be opportunities for traders but the way we do it will differ from how it used to be done,” he said.
“We need to move forward. We cannot take step back in terms of progress and development.”
However, he declined to say if long-time Klang Bus Stand traders would be given right of refusal for new commercial lots within the KVMRT station, saying it was for MRT Co to decide.
Syed Hamid also passed the buck to MRT Co when asked about Chinatown traders and landowners who object to acquisition of their property for construction of the underground tunnel between Pasar Seni and Merdeka KVMRT stations.
“On our side, we’ve completed our job. We’ve taken the public views, we’ve engaged the public. Now you have to deal with MRT Co.
“Otherwise, there will be too many people talking about the same thing. It can create confusion,” he said.
The new underground Pasar Seni station will seamlessly integrate LRT and MRT networks and act as a catalyst for growth in nearby Chinatown, Syed Hamid added.
TRANSIT calls on the Federal Territories & Urban Wellbeing Ministry, DBKL and SPAD to facilitate the opening of the Jalan Kinabalu Roundabout so that buses can access Jalan Sultan Mohammed.
This will allow buses faster access to the Pasar Seni / Jalan Sultan Mohammed bus stand, bypassing congestion on Jalan Petaling & Jalan Sultan.
Buses can also exit into the Jalan Kinabalu roundabout, allowing faster exits from Pasar Seni and KL town using Jalan Syed Putra rather than Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock and Jalan Tun Sambanthan.
This will also reduce the number of buses traveling through Brickfields, which will help reduce congestion and improve safety on the roads in the Brickfields area.
TRANSIT needs the attention of the media and the public to this issue.
A simple act of opening up this roundabout will improve public transport service and make it more reliable and effective at moving people – especially those bound for Cheras, Puchong and Old Klang Road – today, rather than forcing them to wait for the promised MRT.
Transit Malaysia 