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Saturday, November 22, 2008, 07.09 PM

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Transport firms dragging their feet

Minderjeet Kaur
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But with the recent fuel hike, there is a sudden change in perception of the public transportation system among Malaysians. You get to see professionals dressed in their power suits taking trains and buses to work.

Many public transport experts were taken by surprise with the change. They had almost given up hope in persuading motorists to take public transport to work.

There is a sudden surge in the number of commuters on trains and buses.

But try getting on board one of the public transport services during peak hours.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, in his outing on the KTM Komuter and LRT yesterday, was rather lucky that he could board a train after a 15-minute wait.

I am a regular user of the LRT and on most mornings, I would have to wait for the eighth train (where each train comes at a four-minute interval) to pass me by before I can board it. Each car is packed like a can of sardines.

The LRT stations in Bangsar, KL Sentral and other areas have seen an increase of 50,000 people daily, swelling the crowd to almost 200,000.

The long queues at KL Sentral would discourage many from taking the trains. Frequent breakdowns due to technical glitches are also not helping at all.

Many commuters are happy to see that Abdullah is taking the initiative to understand the plight of Malaysians who use trains as their mode of travel in the city.

There is a possibility of a bigger allocation in next year's budget to further improve the public transport system.

The government is also putting in motion other plans including the National Transport Policy which is now under review for further improvement by the Transport Ministry. This includes the connectivity of roads with public transport.

The government is seen to be taking firm action to improve the country's much criticised public transport system with the setting up of the Transport Commission.

The commission doesn't have to look too deep for the root of the problem.

Most commuters can tell them that the transport operators are not fast enough to support the government's move to encourage the public to use public transport.

The light rail transit (LRT) has been in operation for 10 years but it is only recently that they have announced plans to improve their services.

Plans are just underway to increase the number of carriages but it would take a little while to see this happening.

Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd, for example, is acquiring 22 sets of four-car trains for the Kelana Jaya LRT line but the new trains will only start operating by the end of next year.

KTM Komuter is also facing the same problem of a lack of commuter sets but there is no indication as to whether KTM Bhd would be sourcing for new sets.

For commuters in the low-income bracket, they do not have a choice as to their mode of transport while those who own cars but opt to take trains can go back to driving their vehicles.

They can merely hope that their wait for an improvement in the country's public transport system will pay off.