THE Petaling Jaya community bus service has been up and running for more than a year now, but the city council has not made much improvements to it, leaving many unaware of the free bus service, thinking it was meant for Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) employees only.
Leaflets on the bus routes could only be found at the MBPJ headquarters and on the bus itself but not at bus stands or LRT stations.
Recently, I had the chance to try the service and picked up a brochure that said the bus made three rounds daily at 9.30am, 11.30am and 2.30pm.
I headed off to the Arena Sports Centre on Jalan Selangor and waited for the bus as it was one of the many stops along the Petaling Jaya Selatan (PJS) route the bus would be taking.
Being a little early, I killed time by reading a magazine I had brought along and, at about 11.45am, I spotted the bus turning on to the road.
Only answer: According to Goh, public transport is the only way to prevent PJ from ‘bursting at the seams However, the bus driver somehow failed to notice me as he drove past, just like what had happened to many of the complainants.
I waved frantically while running towards the next stop which was just down the road at the MBPJ community library.
Someone on board must have caught sight of me as the driver stopped the bus and I managed to hop aboard.
The passengers on board were mainly senior citizens though there was one young school girl also using the bus.
Our next stop was the busy Jalan Othman Market bus stop where about half the passengers alighted. The driver waited a good five minutes for more passengers to fill up the bus while I took the opportunity to strike up a conversation with fellow passenger Nurul Syakila Ahmad who was with her mother Samsiah Mohd Yusop.
“My mother takes the bus very often to go to the banks and buy groceries, it is very convenient and I normally accompany her on the trip,” said Nurul, 17, who lives in Taman Medan.
Samsiah, who works as a cleaner, said the bus also stopped near her work place, so she could kill two birds with one stone and could save some extra money.
However, Samsiah, who alighted at the Old Klang Road stop, hopes to see the service extended to 5pm as it would be a great help for the poor in her area.
The bus went on the designated routes but also picked up passengers at junctions as well as some who waited outside their houses.
At about 12.30pm, two primary school pupils — Muhd Aidiel Muhd Sufi and Siti Sara Muhd Sufi — came aboard at the Taman Datuk Haron commuter stop.
All quiet: The bus was fairly empty during the trip. The two siblings said they took the bus daily to school as it was convenient and reliable.
“We usually take the bus to school as it is convenient and free, but we will take the public bus to get home after school,” Siti Sara, 11, said.
Currently the PJS bus service caters to destinations like the MBPJ complex, the PJ police headquarters, the PJ Community Library, the Medan Maju Jaya district health centre in PJS 2C/5, the Jalan Othman market in Section 4, and the Taman Jaya LRT station.
The PJU bus service now passes the roads along the MBPJ complex, Section 52, SS2, Kelana Jaya, Section 14, Jalan Universiti, SS1, SS5, SS7, Lembah Subang, Section 16, Section 13 and back to Section 52 instead of the previous Kota Damansara routes.
Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) councillor Tiew Way Keng, who heads the PJ Community Bus Service task force, said the new routes for the PJU area were introduced a few months back with hopes of getting better response from the public.
Tiew also said the service to Kota Damansara was further and the bus needed at least four hours to complete a round in the area and back to MBPJ complex.
In the first revision, the council included the LRT stations as previously the bus only stopped at low-cost housing areas
On whether the council would extend its service hours, she said it depended on the number of passengers using the free service.
“We will definitely look into increasing the number of buses and the operational hours if there are more people boarding the bus.
“By the end of next month, all bus stops will have signs showing bus routes and estimated arrival times,” said Tiew.
Traffic consultant Goh Bok Yen felt the free community bus service provided by the council was a considerate move to help the people but for the service to help reduce the number of vehicles on the road, it needed improvement.
“The buses must be able to select the optimum routes as well as understand passengers’ preference,” he added.
He strongly recommended the use of community buses for PJ as he found out that many motorists here made only short-distance trips.
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