VISITORS can now travel from Larkin Sentral bus terminal to the Johor Baru Welfare Department (JKM) office in Kempas.
Johor Baru City Council (MBJB) councillor Chong See Ming said a new stop was added to the Bas Muafakat Johor route following complaints about the lack of public transport there.
He said that the Johor Baru JKM office moved to Kompleks Penyayang Kempas from the KWSP building on Aug 1.
“We received feedback saying that people found it difficult to visit the office at the new location due to the lack of public transport.
“Many visitors to JKM are from the B40 community who stay in areas like Skudai,” he said.
After MBJB raised the matter with Johor Public Transport Corporation (PAJ), it agreed to add Kompleks Penyayang Kempas as a new stop along its P113 bus route, he said.
Chong said the public can take any of the free Bas Muafakat Johor buses to Larkin Sentral before waiting for the P113 bus at Platform A to head to the Johor Baru JKM office.
PAJ chief operating officer Fadzil Abdul Hamid said many passengers were still unaware of the new stop.
“The P113 bus has seven trips each day from the Desa Mutiara People’s Housing Project to Larkin Sentral and vice versa.
“The bus route serves about 1,800 passengers each month.
“Malaysians can ride Bas Muafakat Johor buses for free by tapping their MyKad at the scanner when getting on and off the bus.
“Students wearing school uniforms can also enjoy free rides.”
Fadzil said the buses were equipped with closed-circuit television cameras and offer free Internet access.
Johor Baru JKM assistant director (management) Nor Hasida Mukhtar said that not many public transport services were available near its new office in Kempas.
“Those who needed to visit our office mostly had to take a taxi or book an ehailing ride,” she said, adding that JKM staff could also benefit by taking the bus to work.