LETTERS: THE 650 bus service to Taman Desa in Kuala Lumpur has become worse since the endemic phase began.
Only three buses serve this area that houses a lot of passengers who need to go to the nearest train or bus stations, like KL Sentral and Mid Valley, just a few kilometres away by road.
Out of the three buses, two of them have deficient air-conditioning systems. One is an electric bus.
What used to be a once-every-30-minute service is now downgraded to once every 45 to 50 minutes.
Every time a bus faces technical issues, no replacement vehicle is provided, causing subsequent bus journeys to become packed.
To illustrate, if a bus at 7.15am is a no-show, the next bus only arrives at 8am, picking up the frustrated passengers who had waited for the 7.15am trip as well as the ones waiting for the trip at 8am. Now, the bus is packed like a can of sardines.
Whenever a service disruption happens (which is regularly), the Twitter team just apologises like they will rectify it at that moment. However, the problem is repeated day after day.
I have been late to work for the sixth time this month, thanks to this glitch that just made me immune to buses that either come late or never come at all.
Unfortunately, I cannot tell my boss that I am late to work due to a bus service disruption. The human resources department at work thinks I am lying.
This is a major reason why many Malaysians are pushed to buy a car: we waste our time waiting.
These are my proposal to RapidKL:
1. Improve your bus frequency in this city that has the tallest twin towers and the world's second tallest tower!
2. Blaming traffic for your tardiness is absurd.
3. Don't just apologise, the maintenance department is there for a reason. Get them to work!
4. If you cannot improve, let Len Seng or Metrobus cover some areas.
5. "Sorry for the inconvenience caused" is now my most hated phrase; and,
6. Change your name as your service is the opposite of fast.
V.P.
Taman Desa, Kuala Lumpur
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times