I’m proud to be a city dweller in KL. I’ve had the privilege of travelling to many places through my day job and college days, most of them to major metropolitans around the globe. I must admit I have the habit of comparing each and every thing I see in these cities to KL. Although from most aspects, nothing beats home, I have to say that KL still leaves a lot more to ask for. Hey, I’m not complaining. Its part and parcel of being a developing city, having starting a little later than the rest. To be fair, I’m proud of where we are today. I just want us to be better.
When travelling to other cities, I usually use the public transportation system within the city especially their buses and trains. Same goes for KL whenever I need to travel around the city, especially during rush hours. So here, I think I have some ideas that KL City Hall and I guess the federal Government should consider and implement onto our public transportation system to take our level up a notch.
Buses – 1Malaysia, 1 Bus System?
Although I’m currently not a bus user, there was a period of my life where I used the bus to move around. And to be fair, with our horrid traffic conditions, our bus system is pretty damn good. But to be at par with other developed international cities, I think we need to work on a few things.
First is definitely streamlining the bus system to be completely integrated with the city. And the only way to do this is to have ONE bus system. No more MetroBus, Selangor Bus (which use really old buses too) etc. We need to remove these different bus systems so that a completely integrated and streamlined bus system can be developed to ply the streets of KL and the surrounding suburbs. This way, a dynamic and wholesome bus route map can be developed and posted at each and every bus stop, so that users, both local and foreign, can easily move around the city. On top of that, since we have only one bus operator, the system can be easily maintained and further enhanced should it be needed.
Along those lines, our bus stands should also be upgraded to a more user friendly (and more importantly – provides more shade and seats) to further welcome users from every level of the society pyramid. Yes it’ll cost, but as this will also play a role in making KL more visitor-friendly, it’ll be beneficial in the long run.
Rail - Time for better connections
I like our rail transit system. However it’s far from sufficient for KL and I think it’s time for us to start working on it. The Ampang and KJ line is good for sure, but we need more links to areas like TTDI and Mutiara Damansara. How about adding another line through Subang Jaya and USJ? These are residential hotspots with major road congestions. Investing in another MRT/LRT system here will bring back money in no time as it will give a very viable option for KLites in suburban areas to get to downtown. There has been talk of connecting the newly vibrant SkyPark in the old Subang Airport via Komuter. Bravo! This is great news! But might as well connect more with this line! Go all the way USJ & Subang Jaya. Why not include Puchong as well? I really hope these plans are on the table. Even if they are too costly to implement now, we should start planning on how we can achieve this target when it does become affordable.
Midvalley. MID valley.
Almost everyone if not everyone has been to Midvalley. I personally love it because it’s a one-stop spot to get everything I need in a mall, especially since it’s so close to my apartment. But one thing almost everyone hates about this place is the parking. Though there are thousands available, they’re almost non-existent come weekends. Prepare to spend about an hour to find one on any given Saturday.
The funny thing is that MID Valley sits right in between to major rail lines; the KJ Line and the Komuter. But up until few years ago, non were connected to the mega mall. Sure, they finally built a bridge to connect the komuter station but it’s still quite a walk to get there. Since its an open air walkway, walking from the station to the mall at midday can get quite sweaty.
Even more amusing is the KJ line which runs about 500 meters away from the mall. Yet there is absolutely no walkway connecting them. Why don’t we build a walkway from the Abdullah Hukum station to Midvalley? The station is so close that I can see the people milling around the mall from there. But to walk there… phew.. you actually have to walk around Kampung Abdullah Hukum, cross the bridge and illegally cross the Midvalley ring road. Even then, it’s quite a walk to get to the mall entrance. I don’t know who overlooked the plans when all three monuments were built but c’mon, build that bridge! Just imagine how much road traffic and parking congestions that can be eased when these malls are accessible through the rail lines!
I have more ideas to help our public transportation system. If I were to write them all, it will take me all weekend. But I welcome more ideas here and together maybe, hopefully the City Hall or Federal Government will take note some day. This will make our city that much better, and more importantly, become more internationally friendly. I know that huge funds are required to make our public transportation system better. So I really hope that the relevant groups are starting to plan for it including how to get the funds. It’s time to make this city live up to everyone’s expectations. It’s time to put a stop on how the notion that everything is perfect down south but not up north on this Peninsula. We can do this.
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