SEREMBAN: Those who travel regularly between here and Kuala Lumpur using the express bus service can look forward to better service as the number of operators have been increased from one to three.
State local government development, housing and transport committee chairman J Arul Kumar said with two more operators, there would now be one bus every 15-minute during peak hours.
"We received many complaints from commuters, who travel to work in the Klang Valley on a daily basis.
"They said the waiting time was too long since there was only one operator servicing the route," he said.
He said following this, the Land Public Transport Agency (Apad) has appointed two additional operators.
Apart from Saptavarna Sdn Bhd which had been the sole operator prior to this, the other two are Wawasan Sutera Travel and Tour Sdn Bhd and Ifwat Trans Travel and Tour Sdn Bhd.
The three would provide a total of 15 buses for the route.
Arul said there would now be a bus every 15 minutes from Seremban to Kuala Lumpur from 5am to 7.30am and on the return journey from 4.30pm to 8.30pm.
"During off-peak hours, there will be a bus every 30-minute," he said.
He said before the Covid-19 pandemic, some 2,000 people used the service daily. Now, the number has fallen to only 650.
He expressed confidence that with the improved service, more people would travel on express buses.
Separately, Arul said commuters who wish to buy express bus tickets can now get them online via the Centralised Ticketing System.
"We have introduced the system for those who wish to take their bus to any destination from the Terminal 1 station here since Sept 1.
"This is more convenient and will help reduce waiting time," he said.
Arul said commuters can purchase their tickets at: https://ddec1-0-en-ctp.trendmicro.com:443/wis/clicktime/v1/query?url=www.terminal1.my&umid=a0be2214-2545-43dd-b1dd-1d28f8dac74d&auth=4e0d3f135bd52a3661045cb3bfe08c528fcdd524-2204a12fc08180b76ba53a8dd3e1969b786e49ca.
However, those travelling from here to Kuala Lumpur and back will still need to buy their tickets manually at the station.
