Friday September 15, 2006
Rapid KL’s new Klang Valley network
THE new bus network covering Klang, Shah Alam, Subang Jaya, Damansara, Petaling Jaya, and Puchong will start on Sept 23.
Rangkaian Pengangkutan Integrasi Deras Sdn Bhd (Rapid KL) held a special briefing recently, attended by Kelana Jaya MP Loh Seng Kok and community leaders from Subang Jaya, USJ, and Bandar Sunway.
Rapid KL chief operating officer (bus operations) Mohd Ali Mohd Nor said the new network would consist of 10 routes and one trunk line.
“We need some 250 new buses to serve this new network, with the frequency of a bus every 15 minutes for the local shuttle and 10-minute wait for the trunk service.
“At the moment, we have about 100 new buses and are expecting more to arrive next week,” said Mohd Ali.
All local shuttles will start service from as early as 5.30am and end at about 12.30am or 1am.
“There will be three days of free trial service for residents from Sept 23 to 25, after which the normal fares will be charged,” added Mohd Ali.
The local service is priced at RM1, while the trunk line service and city shuttle are each priced at RM2.
There is also the Day Pass which is valid for unlimited travel within each service for the whole day.
“Passengers are free to travel all day long on one particular service without needing to pay extra.
“We also encourage the use of the Comprehensive Ticket for those who use more than two types of services because they can save an additional 20%. This ticket is at RM4 for all services - the local shuttle, trunk line, and city shuttle,” explained Mohd Ali.
The Ultimate Day Pass, priced at RM7, allows one the use of Rapid’s bus and rail.
Meanwhile, school uniformed students and senior citizens with the Rapid KL card are given 50% concession on local shuttle, trunk line, and city shuttle, while the comprehensive ticket is at RM3.
“Currently, the tickets are still manual, but we will be introducing Touch N Go cards by end of the year,” said Mohd Ali.
Loh commended the introduction of the bus service in view of Subang Jaya and USJ, part of his Kelana Jaya constituency, being among the elite areas which are most developed in Selangor.
“With now the LRT set to be extended from Kelana Jaya to Subang Jaya and the Putra Line from Sri Petaling to Puchong, I wish to propose for a connection to be made between Subang and Puchong as they are just neighbouring townships and this would make a more all-rounded network,” said Loh.
Residents gave their feedback particularly in matters concerning reliability of the buses.
“I understand residents concerns and in this first phase, Rapid KL is striving for reliable frequency in terms of timing,” said Mohd Ali.
“For areas which are low in density, we are probably looking at schedule trips instead, but this will probably come in place a few months down the road.”
He also commented on social effort for the disabled, adding that 100 disabled-friendly buses have been purchased for the convenience of these people.
“We are looking at building ramps and also working with associations to identify locations to send the 100 buses to,” added Mohd Ali.
For details, call its toll free hotline at 1-800-388-228.
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