Monday October 1, 2012

KL city folk make full use of free bus service

By SHAUN HO
shaunh@thestar.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: City dwellers have been making full use of the free Go KL City Bus service since it started on Aug 31.

While many of the passengers are tourists, inner city residents like retirees Chong Yoke Chin, 68, and Lim Guat Koon, 71, have been using it to commute across the city.

“It is convenient for an elderly person like myself. It is really comfortable and not packed like other buses,” said Chong, who boarded the bus at KLCC and headed home to Bukit Bintang.

Chong said she used the service to go to Pasar Seni or KLCC to run her errands or go out with her friends.

She said the fare-free buses saved her as much as RM60 per month.

Her friend Lim said she would like to see the service expanded to areas like Chow Kit, the Kuala Lumpur Hospital neighbourhoods and Jalan Ipoh.

The service was launched as part of the Government Transformation Programme to improve the public transport system. It is offered free to reduce the cost of city travelling and encourage the public to use public transport.

Customer service technician M. Ambealagan, 19, rode the bus for the first time yesterday on his way to work at KLCC.

“This would be a good way for workers to cross the city, aside from cabs or the other public buses. They say there is a bus every five minutes, so this is much quicker than other buses,” he said, adding that the routes passed through popular hubs and shopping centres like KLCC and Pavillion.

At present, there are about 15 of the purple buses, equipped with WiFi, serving two routes.

From KLCC, the Green Line follows Jalan Ampang, Jalan Sultan Ismail and Jalan Raja Chulan, and into the Golden Triangle.

The Purple Line services the Central Market hub including Bangkok Bank, Masjid Jamek, Ceylon Hill's Junction and Kota Raya.

Both routes overlap at Pavilion, Starhill Gallery, Bukit Bintang, Wisma Boustead and Wisma MPL so passengers can transit.

The frequency of the buses is every five minutes during peak hours and every 15 minutes during non-peak hours.

Operating hours are 6am to 11pm.

For more information, visit the service's Facebook page (www.facebook.com/goklcitybus) or Twitter #GOKL or call the hotline at 1-800-88-7723.

News

Monday October 1, 2012

KL city folk make full use of free bus service

By SHAUN HO shaunh@thestar.com.my

By SHAUN HO
shaunh@thestar.com.my