KUALA LUMPUR: Members of the public have expressed their hope that the feeder bus service to LRT (Light Rail Transit) stations can be improved, especially during peak hours, to cope with the needs of commuters who depend on the public transport service.
Commuter V Thevagi, 34, said that she constantly faces difficulty to get to the LRT station on the way back home from work because there are not enough feeder buses.
"I use the public transport system to avoid driving and wasting time sitting in traffic jams. However after work when I want to get to the Kelana Jaya LRT Station, there are either no feeder buses or I have to wait for quite long, and more often that not I have to ask for help from one of my colleagues to give me a lift.
"I really hope that the frequency of the feeder bus around Kelana Jaya can be improved, especially during peak hours because many people depend heavily on this means of public transportation," she said.
Thevagi said that she chooses to use the LRT and feeder bus service to get to and from work because it enables her to save on both time and money compared to driving her own car.
But she lamented that she ends up waiting for up to 20 minutes or more for the feeder bus from the Kelana Jaya LRT station to get to Taman Bukit Mayang Emas.
"When going in to work, I have to leave the house by 7.20am the latest in order to reach my workplace before 8.30am.
"By taking public transport to work, I can save about 30 minutes compared to driving. I feel that the frequency of feeder buses must be further improved especially during peak hours, in the evening, after office hours," said Thevagy.
Sam Sammy, 24, claims that he was once told by the customer service centre that sometimes there were even feeder buses around the Dataran Prima area because of a shortage of bus drivers.
"If there are no buses in the evening, I have to walk for about fifteen minutes or more from Dataran Prima to the Lembah Subang LRT Station.
"It is quite risky to walk from Dataran Prima to the Lembah Subang LRT station because I have to walk through some dark, narrow alleys and cross very busy main roads," said Sam.
Sam suggested that perhaps there could be a higher frequency of feeder buses provided for the Kelana Jaya area and other areas where there is a high number of commuters to make it easier, better and safer for commuters especially during peak hours.
Observations at the Kelana Jaya LRT Station route, especially from the Masjid Jamek LRT Station to the Universiti LRT station yesterday evening found that many commuters had to wait for the feeder bus for 10 to 15 minutes, and there were many commuters waiting for the buses.