SHAH ALAM: Folks from Shah Alam and its surrounding areas can now travel from a brand new intercity bus terminal in Section 17 here.
Packed with modern facilities such as air conditioning and a comfortable waiting area, the terminal is a far cry from the previous bus station.
Operated by Shah Alam City Council, Terminal 17 is equipped with a Terminal Management System for a systematic and smooth 24-hour operation.
The management system uses a Terminal Operating System to control the buses' arrivals and departures, a Public Information Display System to keep passengers posted on arrival and departure times, and a Centralised Ticketing System.
The ticketing system eliminates the tout problems. Tickets are also available online.
Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari, who officially opened the terminal today, said Terminal 17 is vital for the city which did not have proper bus terminal until now.
He said the RM7.7 million terminal was constructed with funds from the Transport Ministry.
Construction started in October 2015 and it was operational on May 1 this year.
Amirudin said before this, residents had to use a temporary bus station in Section 13.
He said although the Section 13 facility was no longer operational, the state is looking at building another terminal there.
“Apart from Section 17, Section 13 is also rapidly developing with higher education institutes, businesses and housing. It is expected to develop even more in the future.”
During today’s event, Amirudin also launched the latest route for the Smart Selangor free bus service.
The fourth bus route in Shah Alam (SA04) will link the terminal, Padang Jawa and the UiTM campus in Section 7.
Present at the event were Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Kamarudin Jaffar; Local government, public transport and new villages executive councillor Ng Sze Han; Entrepreneur development and rural, villages and traditional villages development executive councillor Rodziah Ismail; and Shah Alam mayor Datuk Haris Kasim.
Haris said since the terminal started operations, about 192,000 people have used the facility and about 35,000 bus tickets were sold monthly.
He said there were about 5,400 bus trips to and from the terminal every month.