Commuter woes after closure of Pekeliling Bus Station

HAVING travelled three times to the Gombak Integrated Terminal (TBG) over the past month and a half after the closure of interstate bus operations at the Pekeliling Bus Station at the end of May, I have nothing but praise for the terminal’s excellent facilities and airport-like atmosphere. However, there are critical drawbacks that must be addressed to ensure a less daunting experience for passengers, especially senior citizens.

At the old Pekeliling Bus Station, it was immensely convenient for passengers with appointments at Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) to simply walk to the hospital. Now, they must disembark at TBG, navigate the massive terminal, take the Gombak LRT and transfer to the MRT to reach HKL.

This detour takes between 40 minutes and an hour, forcing vulnerable individuals to endure an exhausting commute just to seek medical treatment.

Another major issue is the sudden escalation in bus fares. While senior citizens still enjoy discounted rates when buying physical tickets to TBG at their local town counters, online booking platforms offer no such concession for the return trip.

For instance, I paid RM7 at the physical counter, but the online return booking cost RM12 with a fee of RM2 for the boarding pass. This means the return fare has almost doubled!

These new rates are a severe financial deterrent for bus commuters, many of whom belong to the B40 group and the elderly community.

On a recent weekday trip back to my town, there were only two passengers on the bus. The driver lamented that this was a regular occurrence on weekdays, leaving bus companies to wonder how long they can remain operational with such low passenger volume and high fuel wastage.

The Pekeliling Bus Station was a highly convenient transfer hub for various modes of public transport such as LRT, MRT and Monorail. Now, passengers have to go on long routes to reach their destinations in and around KL from TBG.

While upgrading infrastructure is a positive step, the welfare of low-income earners and senior citizens must not be sidelined. I urge the relevant authorities and bus operators to look into providing direct shuttle buses from TBG to HKL and to standardise senior citizen discounts across all online booking portals.

SRR

Raub