KUALA LUMPUR: Commuters in the Klang Valley have urged transport providers to urgently improve their services which have been marred by numerous reports of congested stations, service disruptions, technical issues and substandard facilities.
Despite the offer of free rides for a month on all RapidKL and KTM Komuter services starting Thursday, commuters hope the government could offer a more concrete and long-term solution to benefit the people that could also alleviate the already-worsening traffic congestion.
Regular public transport user Izazi Syazwana Hanapiah said some of the major issues faced by commuters were long train frequency and broken escalators at the stations.
"As a regular user of local public transport, I am frequently burdened by the level of services that are offered to commuters.
"These include congestion at the stations, long train frequency and escalators that are always out of service. We have read countless reports about these issues, apart from those highlighted by commuters on social media.
"So the government should really give priority to real and effective measures to urgently improve the services as a long-term solution and not give a mere knee-jerk reaction by offering free rides for a month," she said.
At Pasar Seni LRT station, a regular public transport user who only wanted to be known as Dhivya, 26, said the long interval between LRT trains had been a recurring major issue for daily commuters.
"We thank the government for the free rides, but does this actually solve anything? Will we go back to how things were with inefficient transport services after one month is over?"
"Today I actually waited for 11 minutes before a train arrived, although we have been told that train frequency during peak hours has been revised to three minutes form five minutes previously.
"The train that arrived was a two-car train instead of the longer four-car ones. Naturally, it was packed to the brim and hardly anybody could get in. Most of us had no other choice but wait for the next train," she said.
Another public transport user Mohd Syukran Abd Razak, 34, said erratic train frequency and shorter trains were some of the regular issues faced by the daily commuters.
"Free rides for a month will not help the daily public transport users. Rather than giving free rides, the government must first ensure that public transport remains reliable for the users.
"This year alone, there have been a number of times when commuters were left stranded at the stations due to service disruptions, especially during rush hour."
He also urged the public transport providers to take every complaint lodged by the commuters seriously.
"Although I see updates and announcement on their social media pages, there were hardly any direct engagement with the commuters on their complaints, ideas and suggestions.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that public transportation services run by RapidKL and KTM Komuter in the Klang Valley will be free for a month.
He said this after officiating the first phase of the Putrajaya Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line.
The free rides, beginning yesterday, include MRT, Light Rail Transit (LRT), Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), monorail and buses.
The free rides also included Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) Komuter services in the Klang Valley, involving the Tanjung Malim - Port Klang and the Batu Caves - Pulau Sebang routes.
Meanwhile, more Malaysians took to social media to urge the government to improve the country's public transport system.
A social media user wrote that it was imperative for stakeholders to deal with major issues at hand first, before getting too excited with opening new routes and services.
"What's the point of giving out free rides if we can't even commute, to begin with?" he wrote.
Another user wrote: "Fix the escalators and lifts too please, especially at MRT Kajang and MRT Pasar Seni stations."
For private sector employee Norhashimah Mohd Sani, 54, the free rides would greatly benefit the Klang Valley residents as most of the roads are always congested especially during peak hours.
Norhashimah, who is working in Jalan Ampang, said she relies on LRT Kelana Jaya Line and MRT Kajang Line to get to Sungai Buloh to KLCC.
"The one-month free rides would surely encourage the public to use public transportation and this would enable them to save money on parking and petrol.
"But with more and more people relying on public transport, we should also see better improvement in terms of services especially train frequency and other facilities."
KTMB group chief executive officer Mohd Rani Hisham Samsudin in a statement yesterday said some 40,000 Komuter passengers in the Klang Valley would benefit from the free rides.
"With the announcement, we invite the public including those outside the Klang Valley, to take this opportunity to bring their families for leisure or holiday in the capital," he said in a statement.
Rani said the free rides also covered Skypark Link service, which operates between KL Sentral to Skypark Terminal in Subang.
He said to enjoy the free rides, commuters were required to scan their Komuter Link card at the entrance and exit as usual.
"For those who do not have a Komuter Link card, they can get it at nearby commuter stations.
"Users with Touch n Go cards will also need to scan their card at entrance and exit, for monitoring and record purposes."