Despite signage and banners to announce the introduction of the new bus lane at Jalan Kelang Lama, motorists are still not cooperating. — Photos: GRACE CHEN, LOW BOON TAT/The Star and courtesy pix
Commuters want enforcement for motorists to conform at Jln Kelang Lama, Jln Puchong
IT HAS been just over a week since the launch of the trial run for new dedicated bus lanes along Jalan Kelang Lama and Jalan Puchong by Rapid Bus Sdn Bhd.
While commuters are happy, motorists are not as enthusiastic, with many fuming over the move.
A check by StarMetro revealed that motorists are not cooperating as they continue to hog the left lanes reserved for buses and taxis.
The morning rush hour on one of the oldest major roads in Kuala Lumpur showed motorcyclists and private cars giving little heed to the new bus lanes implemented on Aug 15.
A signage announcing the operation hours of the new bus lanes in Jalan Kelang Lama which was activated on Aug 15.
Motorists complain they already have to contend with daily congestion during peak hours in the morning and evening, and are questioning the logic of reducing traffic flow from four lanes to two in an area where upcoming developments are expected to add to the chaos.
The dedicated lanes span 6.37km on each side from Jalan Kelang Lama off Jalan Halimahton to the intersection of the IOI Mall at Jalan Puchong (LDP).
Taman Desa resident Ng Wei Loong, 50, said since the activation of the bus lanes, travel time from his housing area to the Federal Highway doubled in the mornings.
Following earlier reports that the trial bus lanes would only be operational from 6am to 9am, he questioned why the newly erected signboards state the operation hours as 6am to 8pm.
“I feel cheated as I thought the authorities would give road users time to adjust,” he said.
Inconsiderate act: Private vehicles encroaching on the dedicated bus lane along Jalan Kelang Lama, which is meant to enable smoother flow for public buses and taxis. — GRACE CHEN/The Star
Regular commuter Albert Tan, 57, said the existence of a bus lane would cause traffic to bottleneck.
“Jalan Kelang Lama is not an expressway. It is ill-suited for a bus lane. The road goes through one of the most developed areas in Kuala Lumpur.
“The left bus lane will choke the already congested road, considering the number of vehicles that will join and exit the road on the left side,” said Tan.
“Instead of a bus lane, please clamp down on the cars that park illegally along Jalan Kelang Lama. This will clear the left lane for public buses, resulting in less traffic bottleneck for all road users,” he added.
Another Taman Desa resident Nigel Spykerman, 55, said a point for consideration was the many intersections turning to Taman Desa, Jalan Kuchai Lama, Taman United, Taman OUG and Jalan Puchong.
“Due to this, there is bound to be private cars cramming into the bus lane,” said Spykerman, a consultant engineer.
However, those taking public transport say the bus lane would benefit them.
Freelance communications specialist Cheong Sze Hoong, 45, who is also administrator of the Malaysian Land Public Transport Fans public social media page, said bus lanes were strongly encouraged in major roads as buses could ferry more people compared to private vehicles.
“Bus lanes are easier to implement and deploy compared to rail services, and be utilised into a public transit corridor. So, taking up a single lane would not be a bad idea since a single bus could move more people than a single-occupant vehicle,” said Cheong.
Thivena (left) and Braulio say bus lanes make it safer for passengers boarding and getting off at bus stops.
Student Muhammad Aiman Mohd Nor Azman, 25, said other road users also could benefit from the bus lanes.
“Motorists following behind buses will no longer need to stop whenever the bus stops to drop off and pick up passengers,” he said, adding that other vehicles would not be subjected to obstructions, ensuring smooth traffic flow.
For Thivena Parameswara, 18, and Jesse Braulio, 31, bus lanes are also safe for passengers who board and get off at bus stops as motorists are known to drive past these stops without looking out for bus passengers.
Mechanical engineering student Vincent Koh, 23, who also gave the bus lane the thumbs up, said bus rides could increase frequency and have smoother traffic flow.
Cooperation and enforcement
As useful as bus lanes could be, commuters say without cooperation from motorists or strict enforcement, the objective would not be fulfilled.
Student Wan Muhammad Faiz Wan Zaidi, 24, said to deter drivers from using these lanes to cut traffic, supervision was vital either through physical presence of enforcement personnel or through automated enforcement systems.
“An unmonitored bus lane will surely be encroached by private vehicles seeing how some of our drivers behave when they are on the road,” said Wan Muhammad Faiz.
Nor Idayu says if private vehicles continue to block bus lanes, it will disrupt bus drivers’ timetable.
Bus driver Nor Idayu Abdullah, 40, said if motorists were to continue blocking bus lanes, it would disrupt the timetable and passengers would be upset if buses were not on time.
“We hope the public will cooperate and the enforcement officers will step in as a way of reminding motorists to keep the bus lanes clear,” she said.
Researcher Aziff Azuddin, 34, said giving preference to buses should encourage people to use public transportation.
“Motorists should realise they cause traffic congestion as there are five people in a car at most while one bus can ferry many more people.
Wan Muhammad Faiz says to deter drivers from using bus lanes, there needs to be checks by enforcement personnel.
“The authorities must stick to having the bus lanes, while motorists can either switch over or choose to be stuck in traffic,” said Aziff.
Railway architect Ken Chin, 39, said the implementation of bus lanes cannot be done in isolation but must come as part of a comprehensive overhaul of bus services.
“This means having more buses, improving frequency and having better scheduling.
“This will help justify the need for bus lanes and demonstrate tangible benefits to the public,” said Chin.
Bus lanes proven effective
Rapid Bus senior vice- president for bus infrastructure Zainurul Hakim Mohamad confirmed that the Jalan Kelang Lama bus lane would be operational between 6am and 8pm from Monday to Friday.
He added that the change in the time was a last-minute decision by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).
The operation hours for the bus lanes from Jalan Kelang Lama to Jalan Puchong are the same with those in the city centre.
In Kuala Lumpur, the first bus lane was introduced in the 2000s in Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah (formerly Jalan Ipoh).
Zainurul says bus lanes are necessary to improve efficiency of bus services.
There are now 21 bus lanes in different parts of the city covering 31.95km.
Three bus lanes including Jalan Kelang Lama are still undergoing trials. The other two are Jalan Ampang (from the junction of Jalan Ru to Persimpangan Tun Razak) and Jalan Genting Klang (from the intersection of Jalan Tumbuhan to the Chow Kit Monorail).
For the Jalan Ampang and Jalan Genting Klang bus lanes, operation hours have been added to include the evening peak hours between 4.30pm and 7.30pm in addition to the 6am to 9am morning rush hour.
Since the introduction of the bus lanes in Jalan Ampang and Jalan Genting Klang, Zainurul reported that ridership had increased by almost 20% daily.
Ridership for Jalan Ampang that used to have only 12,000 passengers, has now increased to 16,000, while Jalan Genting Klang that previously had 4,000 passengers, now has 7,000.
Zainurul said bus lanes were necessary to improve the efficiency of bus services.
“If not, the journeys will end up being delayed where a 45-minute trip can end up taking over one hour. This will not be attractive to the public and when this happens, ridership will drop,” he said.
He added that bus lanes played a part in achieving better punctuality, and frequency of five minutes for each bus would make public transport more attractive to the public, and also help reduce crowded condition in buses.
Zainurul also stressed that the locations of bus lanes were not selected at random.
“The selected road must be really congested with traffic, and there should also be visibility of buses, not fewer than 12 in an hour,” he said.
He added that an RM18mil budget had been allocated for infrastructure at the three trial bus lanes under the 12th Malaysia Plan.
Efforts are being made to ensure bus and taxi lanes such as the one in red paint at Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman and (below) Jalan Puchong in yellow paint are visible to motorists. — Courtesy photos
In addition to painting of the dedicated lanes, there will be flashing signage put up at every intersection as well as dedicated gantries to make the bus lanes visible to motorists.
Stressing that the efficiency of public transport has a role in helping Kuala Lumpur become a sustainable and green city, Zainurul asked for the support of the public to respect the bus lanes that were also meant for taxis.
He also warned that ehailing drivers were not allowed to use the bus lanes.
He added that according to the police, private vehicles caught driving in the bus lanes would be violating Rule 17C (1) of the Road Traffic Rules 1959 (LN 166/1959) and could face a maximum fine of RM300.
In addition to bus lanes in the Klang Valley, Zainurul also said that Rapid Bus was proposing a similar plan along Jalan Burma in Penang.
Stretching from the intersections of Jalan Penang and Jalan Anson, the distance of the proposed bus way is estimated to be 700m and will be located in the island’s central business district.
Meanwhile, Selangor investment, trade and mobility committee chairman Ng Sze Han said in a statement that the bus lane would benefit residents of Taman Kinrara, Bandar Kinrara and Bandar Puchong Jaya who work in Kuala Lumpur.
The bus lane, he added, would complement the network of public transport services that included light rail transit and Demand Responsive-Transit vans (DRT).
“I hope road users can be patient throughout the trial period of the Jalan Kelang Lama bus lane and give us constructive feedback so this initiative can be successful and be continued for the common good,” said Ng.
