In Bangsar Village there is a rather peculiar lot (at the underground floor) where one can find a plethora of t-shirts for sale, with slogans and pictures ranging from funny satire to dirty innuendo. There was one rather cheeky shirt, featuring a snail, and emblazoned on it was a logo of "RapidKL". Yes, haha, and I wonder the reaction one would get it it was worn on a RapidKL bus.
That, I suppose, would a somewhat accurate depiction of public sentiment towards our dear public transport company. Now, the only buses I've ridden on belong to RapidKL, and so I'm not sure about those who utilize buses from other companies, but my general experience, however, has been a somewhat average one.
Perhaps the greatest flaw with buses is their horrible lack of consistency. For example, RapidKL's Tempatan buses promise a frequency of 20 minutes during the 9am to 4pm hours. Actually, promise is too strong a word. They "state" it. Which is obviously not true. The actual frequencies during that time can range from 40 minutes to an hour (for some buses). This might be understandable if there were heavy traffic, but what I've seen is that bus drivers sit back and relax while the crowd waiting for the bus piles up. In fact, they won't even start their buses even if there is a huge group pestering the driver to start up the bus (in one case I've witnessed). All he said was: "Tunggu." (Wait)
But the blame doesn't really lie with the drivers. The fact is, some routes are not well planned. The T622 bus, for example, while extremely convenient for me (coming right in front of my apartment), only runs a short 15 minutes or so loop. On the other hand, the T623 bus goes from Kelana Jaya all the way to Sunway Pyramic, through the LDP. And during peak hours, this can take anywhere from 30 to 40 minutes.
Again, it's understandable. Some bus drivers don't want to be driving their buses at 2pm in the afternoon driving past empty bus stops. Some routes are just are not heavy in passengers. Others are, and so RapidKL can afford more buses and hence, more frequency (such as the "infamous" U82 bus, which in my opinion, goes to too many places).
For me at least, I don't really trust the bus for serious transport due to the fact that they are so unpredictable. My friend traveled all the way from KL Sentral to the Titiwangsa bus hub to be told that the bus he wanted to ride on did not operate on weekends. Perhaps the passengers are just not there during weekends, but what about the few who might need to rely on that bus?
But perhaps we are asking too much. The bus tickets are cheap indeed, and usable for an infinite amount of times, if only for a single day. That's one thing I love. But the fact is, if I were to take a bus instead of driving a car, I'll never choose the former (except perhaps when I have a lot of time to spare). It's simple not reliable, nor quick enough. Time, as we say, is of the essence. Even so, I wouldn't mind paying a little more if it meant buses had greater frequencies. Perhaps then, I think, we would only seriously consider public transport as a regular travel option.
As for better planned routes, if their PR representative's statement is anything to go by, they're working on it.
On a more broader note, if we do want to save fuel/save the earth (as the popular environmental war cry goes nowadays), the first step would be to make public transport a really attractive option. Then, we cut our petroleum intake, which is slowly cooking our planet. And our dear government can save more on its petrol subsidies, which apparently burden them much more than it does to us.
Your thoughts?
That, I suppose, would a somewhat accurate depiction of public sentiment towards our dear public transport company. Now, the only buses I've ridden on belong to RapidKL, and so I'm not sure about those who utilize buses from other companies, but my general experience, however, has been a somewhat average one.
Perhaps the greatest flaw with buses is their horrible lack of consistency. For example, RapidKL's Tempatan buses promise a frequency of 20 minutes during the 9am to 4pm hours. Actually, promise is too strong a word. They "state" it. Which is obviously not true. The actual frequencies during that time can range from 40 minutes to an hour (for some buses). This might be understandable if there were heavy traffic, but what I've seen is that bus drivers sit back and relax while the crowd waiting for the bus piles up. In fact, they won't even start their buses even if there is a huge group pestering the driver to start up the bus (in one case I've witnessed). All he said was: "Tunggu." (Wait)
But the blame doesn't really lie with the drivers. The fact is, some routes are not well planned. The T622 bus, for example, while extremely convenient for me (coming right in front of my apartment), only runs a short 15 minutes or so loop. On the other hand, the T623 bus goes from Kelana Jaya all the way to Sunway Pyramic, through the LDP. And during peak hours, this can take anywhere from 30 to 40 minutes.
Again, it's understandable. Some bus drivers don't want to be driving their buses at 2pm in the afternoon driving past empty bus stops. Some routes are just are not heavy in passengers. Others are, and so RapidKL can afford more buses and hence, more frequency (such as the "infamous" U82 bus, which in my opinion, goes to too many places).
For me at least, I don't really trust the bus for serious transport due to the fact that they are so unpredictable. My friend traveled all the way from KL Sentral to the Titiwangsa bus hub to be told that the bus he wanted to ride on did not operate on weekends. Perhaps the passengers are just not there during weekends, but what about the few who might need to rely on that bus?
But perhaps we are asking too much. The bus tickets are cheap indeed, and usable for an infinite amount of times, if only for a single day. That's one thing I love. But the fact is, if I were to take a bus instead of driving a car, I'll never choose the former (except perhaps when I have a lot of time to spare). It's simple not reliable, nor quick enough. Time, as we say, is of the essence. Even so, I wouldn't mind paying a little more if it meant buses had greater frequencies. Perhaps then, I think, we would only seriously consider public transport as a regular travel option.
As for better planned routes, if their PR representative's statement is anything to go by, they're working on it.
On a more broader note, if we do want to save fuel/save the earth (as the popular environmental war cry goes nowadays), the first step would be to make public transport a really attractive option. Then, we cut our petroleum intake, which is slowly cooking our planet. And our dear government can save more on its petrol subsidies, which apparently burden them much more than it does to us.
Your thoughts?
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