Vital link in public transportation system still missing

AS a journalist, I am often required to travel to and from places at the fringes of the Klang Valley to the heart of the city centre. And I have often contemplated the use of our public transportation to escape the stressful hustle and bustle of the infamous KL traffic jams.

However, after thinking about it, I still have not figured out the problem of how to effectively and safely transport myself from my home to the train station without using my car.

Should I decide to use my car, the LRT park-and-go stations and their surrounding areas are mostly full to the brim even before 7.15 in the morning on a normal working weekday.

There seems to be a huge void that exists between the nearest train station to a potential public transport user’s home and office today despite the existance of feeder and public bus networks.

Unfortunately these simple services are still not user friendly and the residential zones that need these bus routes the most seems to be the most underserved areas by these buses today. The big plans to build train stations and the mass rapid transit will be futile should the simple task of ensuring an efficient bus network to the nearest LRT stations not be done.

Case in point, despite presently living less than 4km to the nearest LRT station in Petaling Jaya, there is no feeder bus route that serves my locality to the nearest LRT station.

If I do opt to take a bus which is at a walking distance from my house, I will need to take a 12km bus ride that goes through a route that experiences the rush hour traffic jam which will bring me to a LRT station that is already located in the city – talk about an efficient public transportation system!

And more often than not, there are many areas within the city that still lack a proper reach from a train station to the commercial and office buildings – this is the main connection workers usually require.

Perhaps the Government should think of providing the famed Go-KL buses to all areas in the heart of KL or build more safe and seemless walkway connection links from the train stations to main commercial and office buildings like what other developed cities are already doing.

I believe our public transportation system will continue to be underused if these simple but critical issues are not resolved and many will continue to be stressed out by the daily commute to work. This is very bad for health and the environment, mind you.