Passengers need clear information

I REFER to the letter “Step up on crisis management” ( The Star, April 18). I couldn’t agree more with the writer. Yes, we all understand that delays and breakdowns are bound to happen.

For example, on Thursday evening there was a delay on the LRT Kelana Jaya line which I had taken to get home from work. It was the second delay in just one week.

The train stopped suddenly at the Kelana Jaya station but no announcement was made through the public address to inform passengers about what was happening. There was only one auxiliary police officer telling passengers in a soft voice that the train was out of service. We were confused.

We were forced to go to another platform to board another train. While we did so, the auxiliary police officer just stood by and did not bother to manage the crowd even though the platform was so packed that it was impossible to form queues to wait for the train. I seriously wonder why RapidKL hires auxiliary police officers who do not know what to do. In this case, even if the officer was not trained, he could have used common sense to do what was needed instead of just standing by as the crowd swirled on the platform.

A public announcement was finally made 10 minutes later but the quality of the speakers at the platform was so terrible, people could barely make out what was being said.

I’m upset by RapidKL’s low priority on this important equipment especially since the Kelana Jaya station is one of the busiest on this line. People were confused, tired and angry. Fifteen minutes after boarding the train, I heard an announcement saying the problem was a technical issue. Again, the details were not precise.

I found out that the MRT line was also having technical problems. Why were passengers in the train not informed of the status of the other lines? Most do need to switch lines to get to their destination.

Also, no announcement about refunds for the fare was made in the train. RapidKL only posted a notice about this on their social media sites. Some passengers were angry about this since not all of them follow RapidKL’s social media sites. I just can’t understand why it’s so hard to make a simple announcement with all the necessary details.

The staff need to be trained to make announcements clearly and with the necessary details. The public address system must also be in good condition to deliver these announcements effectively.

Adequate staff must also be deployed to control the crowd in situations like this. In fact, there was no RapidKL staff around to guide passengers when they were switching platforms. In this incident, people started jostling and some became aggressive as they forced their way into the packed trains.

RapidKL should conduct mock exercises of breakdowns and delays to train the crew and especially the auxiliary police officers on how to respond properly. RapidKL should also take action against staff and auxiliary police officers who are not interested in doing their job.

The fares are not cheap. Furthermore, the Government is encouraging more people to use public transport but frequent breakdowns and poor management during these episodes will surely keep passengers away.

But I do give credit to RapidKL for improving their response time in fixing the technical issues.