KUALA LUMPUR: The Bank Rakyat-Bangsar (LRT) Station, previously known as the Bangsar LRT station, is sporting a new look, thanks to Prasarana Malaysia Bhd’s partnership with Bank Rakyat under the naming rights programme for its stations.
Under the five-year deal, Bank Rakyat holds the rights for advertisement spaces including on pillars and overheads in and around the station; an allocated space for its banking services, and an upgrade of the surau there.
Big Tree Outdoor Sdn Bhd, Media Prima Bhd’s outdoor advertising marketing arm, is the advertising agency.
Commuter Ahmad Daniel Salman, 23, from Wangsa Maju said the numerous Bank Rakyat logos on pillars and automated ticket gates caught his attention.
“The coming introduction of the automated teller machine (ATM), cash deposit machine and electronic banking service at the Bank Rakyat kiosk will be convenient for commuters.
“I like the fact that some LRT stations now are more than just a place to board trains. They’re now places to meet up with friends, where there are restaurants, convenience stores and sometimes even offices,” said Daniel, who commutes daily to his workplace in Bangsar.
Bank Rakyat chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Zainal during the station’s launch yesterday, said such partnerships can encourage cross-business activities as they not only improve visibility to companies which had secured naming rights, but also enable diversification of services for commuters.
“The various services will at the same time encourage more people to opt for public transportation. We also have several proposals for Prasarana to further improve our services.
“One of them is to allow our account holders to use bank cards to commute, maybe with discounts on the fare. We are also encouraging our staff to commute (using public transport), especially those working at the Bank Rakyat Twin Towers, located 500 metres away from the station,” he said.
Prasarana Malaysia Bhd president and group CEO Datuk Azmi Abdul Aziz said the proposed mechanism to allow bank cards to be used to pay for fares would take several months to be set up.
“The system, if implemented, would be EMV (Europay, Mastercard and Visa) compliant, in line with Bank Negara Malaysia’s policy.
“We will also assist in Bank Rakyat’s future campaigns (under the programme). With the daily ridership for both our bus and rail services expected to reach one million commuters by next month, it is an opportunity for businesses to improve their brand’s visibility.
“Apart from the Bank Rakyat-Bangsar station, AirAsia-Bukit Bintang and KL Gateway-Universiti stations, we have identified at least five more rail stations (LRT and monorail) to be included in the naming rights programme,” said Azmi, adding that daily ridership for bus services now stands at almost 600,000 commuters.
The programme allows corporations to transform selected stations as a branding platform and name the station after themselves in exchange for a fee. They may also choose to sponsor commuter benefits such as providing improved retail experiences or refurbishing the stations.