KUALA LUMPUR: After a nine-month hiatus, Bandar Saujana Putra (BSP) residents are elated that bus services to their area will resume.
The new BSP-Putra Heights route will now connect them to the Saujana Business Park, MAHSA University, Putra Heights light rail transit (LRT) station and other nearby amenities.
The bus route was launched by Umno information chief Shahril Hamdan, in the presence of the Bandar Saujana Putra residents and several Kuala Langat MIC division leaders, here, today.
"I hope this bus route is the beginning of a long-term solution to the transportation woes of the Bandar Saujana Putra residents.
"It is unfortunate that they had to pull through without a bus service for nine months. But, I am glad that they will be able to benefit from bus service now.
"This achievement also proves that community problems can be resolved with the right local leadership," he said, congratulating Bandar Saujana Putra community leaders for restoring the bus service to the area.
Meanwhile, Bandar Saujana Putra MIC division chief S. Kumaran, who led the negotiations to restore the bus service, said a proper public transport system can assure the residents a better quality of life.
"Many residents and their school-going children had to rely on ride-hailing services to commute to school and work. This also caused frequent traffic congestion in the area.
"The bus will enable to us to travel to the nearby LRT stations, and this will save us a lot of money and time.
"I am very grateful to the New Straits Times and all other media friends for highlighting this issue because only after that, the issue caught the attention of the authorities," he said.
On Sept 24, the New Straits Times highlighted the plight of Bandar Saujana Putra residents, who were left in the lurch after the termination of bus services in the area since the Movement Control Order (MCO) began in March.
When contacted, Nadi Putra's spokesperson had said that it stopped plying the Bandar Saujana Putra route after Putrajaya Corporation ceased funding for routes outside Putrajaya after it privatised Nadi Putra in 2017.
Putrajaya Corporation had also confirmed that it did not have any subsidy agreement with Nadi Putra to service bus routes outside Putrajaya, and it had advised residents to seek help from the Land Public Transport Agency (APAD).
"After several rounds of negotiations, APAD gave the green-light for the BSP-Putra Heights bus route, which will be plied by a third party-operator.
"I am also grateful to Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan and Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong for their support in the negotiations," Kumaran said.