SPAD to revamp bus service in efforts to reduce commuters' waiting time

KUALA LUMPUR: The Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) is revamping the Klang Valley's stage buses services network (BNR).
With this revamp, existing bus corridors will be re-organised into eight small corridors where each will connect to the city centre.
The eight corridors are the Jalan Ipoh Corridor, Jalan Pahang Corridor, Ampang Corridor, Cheras Corridor, Sungai Besi Corridor, Klang Lama Corridor, Lebuhraya Persekutuan Corridor and Damansara Corridor.
SPAD chairman Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar said the exercise is expected to reduce commuters' waiting time during peak hours (5-30minutes) as well as yield better integration with other public transport modes.
"The BNR is also designed to alleviate the uneven bus services in Klang Valley and at the same time help the bus industry remain sustainable by reducing a disproportionate number of bus operators competing to serve selected routes, at the expense of other areas and the commuters," he said in a statement today.
Syed Hamid added that all buses within the revamped network will also be progressively equipped with an Onboard Unit (OBU) as a GPS tracking device which will be monitored through the Performance Monitoring Hub System (PMHS) supervised by SPAD's Control Centre, resulting in increased reliability and efficiency of service.
"At the same time, route numbers and bus schedule info will also be displayed in all buses and via bus stop information panels.
"Under this move, 3,000 bus stop information panels are scheduled for installation by 2016 at selected bus stops and key hubs within Klang Valley to help commuters map their new routes," he said, adding that another 3,700 bus stop information panels will be installed in stages by 2017.
He added that the revamped bus network will offer 241 routes with a fleet of 2,000 buses to serve over 638,000 passengers daily.
Meanwhile, SPAD chief executive officer Mohd Azharuddin Mat Sah revealed that SPAD has conducted a series of discussions and reviews to rationalise the number of operators per route in consultation with the bus operators.
"This review took into account existing bus network, bus reliability, concentrations of housing and business centres, and ridership to drive wider network and reduce route duplication.
"To further complement the reorganisation, the BNR will see enhanced feeder bus services to under-served rail stations and terminals in Klang Valley while standardising bus route numbering according to corridor that will help commuters easily identify their buses," he said.