KUALA LUMPUR: Consumer groups are calling on Prasarana Malaysia Bhd (Prasarana) to ensure passengers are not severely affected by the suspension of service at 16 light rail transit (LRT) stations on the Kelana Jaya line.
The Public Transport Users Association (4PAM) president Ajit Johl said the government, through Prasarana, needs to ensure that the LRT is a preferred mode of transport rather than a mile last option.
"Public transport has been associated with the lower income groups such as the B40 community. For the public to take it as a preferred mode of transport, reliability needs to be there.
"Nobody could predict a failure but to have two to three failures in a week, as well as disrupt services without having an alternative solution, is a bit uncalled for," he said when contacted.
He added that Prasarana needs to be transparent, where mere justification and statements are not adequate until a proper alternative is provided.
"Where is the transparency? These are human lives at stake. We are lucky that no lives were sacrificed during the previous LRT accident.
"Public transport should be made sustainable for passengers. (However,) this is immobilising passengers who have been depending on the LRT services.
"There has to be an equitable alternative. Prasarana needs to provide a clear, detailed explanation of how this happened," he said.
Yesterday, RapidKL announced the suspension of services between the Kelana Jaya and Ampang Jaya stations from November 9 to November 15 after a malfunction of the automatic train control (ATC) system was detected at 3.03pm.
The LRT stations involved are Kelana Jaya; Taman Bahagia; Taman Paramount; Asia Jaya; Taman Jaya; Universiti; Kerinchi; Bangsar; Abdullah Hukum; KL Sentral; Pasar Seni; Masjid Jamek; Dang Wangi; Kampung Baru; KLCC; and Ampang Park.
Echoing the same view, the Federation of Malaysian Consumer Associations (Fomca) deputy president Mohd Yusof Abdul Rahman said parties involved need to ensure its system is well maintained.
"The LRT service has been operating for so many years, hence, it needs to be given more focus and attention to as it concerns the public. This is one of the longest suspension of service.
"They should have started looking for ways to improve their system. The government should also look into the system if the improvements require a high allocation.
"The seven day suspension is a bit too long. The root cause should have been identified earlier so the suspension period could be shortened and not affect many passengers," he told.
Meanwhile, Prasarana chief executive officer Azharuddin Mat Sah said the group detected a malfunction on its ATC system on Saturday (Nov 5) but the solution provided was not able to address the issue.
"The engineering team had come out with a solution when the malfunction was detected but the solution could only last us for two days," he added.
The group is also looking for ways to compensate a total of 200,000 passengers affected by the suspension of the services.