Dear Ahmad Suhaili Idrus,

Thank you for responding to my letter (response below). It is great to hear that Pemandu doesn't regard the MRT as the sole factor to improving public transport in the Klang Valley, and the solution has to be an integration of multiple modes, including the LRT and buses.

And we also acknowledge the efforts to improve the buses that you have listed, which by itself are commendable moves and efforts, which definitely has benefit.

However, we need to return to the core question - with an increasing population heading to 2020, how do you get Klang Valley citizens to abandon private cars for public transport. And towards that goal, more, much more must be done. Such as:

1) Increasing quantity of buses beyond 1450 (by 2012). Example, London, a city with extensive rail network and a population of over 7mil has 6800 buses. Buses are so important to complement rail, as there is no way you get link everyone within walking distance to a rail station.

2) Bus stops were refurbished and some new ones built - but an important element is still not installed - guides/journey planners. Unless you are already a regular public transport user, this makes it very difficult to learn the possible routes and thus use public transport.

3) No journey planner, which helps users get information on how to get from any one point to another. Examples of these are in Singapore (www.transitlink.com.sg) & Chicago (www.goroo.com). We need a similar journey planner, and one that covers all modes of transport, and all operators (not just RapidKL).

4) The bit up, bit down system for RapidKL should have been made compulsory for all public transport operators. Also, like Singapore, a discount should be given to users of electronic payment, to (a) speed up boarding of buses/trains, and (b) to gain important information on where people are traveling, to effectively improve routes and services.

5) Must have a program to recruit more bus drivers, as the industry is facing severe shortage of bus drivers. Incentives, "bus driving school scholarship" and other measures need to be implemented. This also augurs well for ETP's goal of job creation.

We know there's a lot to fix in public transport. And all effort must be geared with the single largest objective of getting people to want to leave their private cars and use public transport. And we are happy to work with Pemandu and SPAD towards improving public transport. We just hope that equal emphasis be given to other aspects of public transport and not just the MRT.

Sincerely,
Rajiv Rishyakaran
TRANSIT

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My original letter to Datuk Sri Idris Jala & Pemandu
http://www.rajiv4malaysia.com/2011/11/minister-is-wrong-klang-valley-will-be.html

Response from PEMANDU:
http://etpblog.pemandu.gov.my/posts/2011/11/03/mrt-is-integrated-with-lrt-ktm-monorail-and-bus-systems/

We refer to the letter ‘Idris Jala is wrong: MRT is not the only solution for Klang Valley’, written by Rajiv Rishyakaran from TRANSIT

Presumably, the writer was referring to Dato’ Sri’s response to a question during the recent ETP Turns One event, in which he said:

“MRT is absolutely in my opinion totally and utterly needed for our city. If we don’t have an MRT I can tell you, by the year 2020 this city will be choked.

The exact point where Dato’ Sri Idris Jala makes reference to the MRT project can be found in this video here: http://youtu.be/FmkCUl5TvXM?t=22m44s

We wish to clarify Dato’ Sri Idris Jala did not say that MRT is the only thing that will prevent Klang Valley from choking up by 2020.

The MRT project is part of an integrated and sustainable transport system for Greater Kuala Lumpur / Klang Valley, whose population is expected to hit 10 million people by the year 2020. Without the additional public transport capacity provided by the MRT integrated with the LRT, KTM, monorail and bus systems, the city will be choked by traffic, making it less livable for its residents and being an impediment to attract investors.

This fact has been communicated extensively, via several open days, engagements with the public and in the print, broadcast and digital media.

In fact, the Government is undertaking several initiatives under the National Key Result Area (NKRA) for Urban Public Transport to improve the quality of public transport. These efforts are being implemented by various agencies under the Ministry of Transport, RapidKL, SPAD, and as mentioned above, have already been communicated to the public on many occasions.

With reference to buses :-

  • The improvement of bus journey times by implementing Bus Expressway Transit (BET) services, and commissioning studies on the possibility of implementing dedicated bus rights of way such as bus lanes and Bus Rapid Transit systems and adding an additional 850 new buses on the roads from 2010 – 2012 by Rapid KL, bringing the total number of buses to 1450 by 2012 – 200 new buses in 2010, 400 new buses in 2011, 250 new buses in 2012.
  • Upgrading of 634 bus stops in 2010, 468 refurbished bus stop in 2011 across 7 PBTs with plans to build an additional 306 new bus stops in 2011 to ensure a bus stop is within 400m for 70% of the population by 2012
  • Reorganising the bus network in the Klang Valley in 2011 on completion of Urban Public Transport Masterplan by SPAD
  • Implementing integrated smart ticketing “Bit Up” and “Bit Down” which was launched on February 25, 2011 by RapidKL and sold on all RapidKL buses
  • Decongesting the city center by approximately 500 express buses with the establishment of the Integrated Transport Terminal (ITT) in Bandar Tasik Selatan removing the load off the Puduraya terminal. Further initiatives include a new ITT in Gombak by 2012 to cater to eastcoast and north bound express buses which will decongest the city center by a further 300 express buses.
  • Introducing performance standard monitoring for all public transport services

With reference to the LRT :-

  • The RapidKL LRT Kelana Jaya Line has improved its capacity and services with 22 new 4–car train sets starting from December 2009 with reduction in headway (interval between consecutive train arrivals) from 2.8 minutes to 2.5 minutes
  • Further initiatives include adding 35 sets of 4-car trains by 2012 and adding line extensions from Sri Petaling to Putra Heights and Kelana Jaya to Putra Heights to be operational by 2014
  • There is going to be interconnectivity between the MRT, LRT and KTM Komuter. There are 2 MRT-LRT interchanges one at Pasar Seni (Kelana Jaya line) and Taman Maluri (Ampang line) and 2 MRT-KTM Komuter interchanges at Sungai Buloh and Kajang. The MRT will also have a station near KL Sentral where the station will be linked to the transportation hub via an underground walkway with travellators, lifts and escalators. The distance between the MRT station and the KL Sentral complex is about 200m.

With reference to KTM Komuter :-

  • Adding 38 sets of 6-car trains to be delivered starting end 2011, doubling current capacity, with reduction in headway form 20 minutes to 7.5 minutes on major sections.

As for the MRT, the Klang Valley currently has a shortage of rail-based public transport coverage, with less than 20km of rail per million population. Public transport oriented cities such as Singapore, Hong Kong and London have more than 40km of rail per million population.

The MRT is a necessity as it will help to increase rail-based public transportation in the Klang Valley, and together with improvements to the existing urban transportation system, the Government hopes to increase the public transport modal share in the Klang Valley from the current 17% to 50% in 2020.

Ahmad Suhaili Idrus,

Director

NKRA Urban Public Transport

NKEA Greater Kuala Lumpur / Klang Valley