Monday, August 25, 2008
Extracted from The Star Friday August 22, 2008
PM quietly takes public transport to experience commuters’ problems
KUALA LUMPUR: Setting aside protocol, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took rides on the commuter and LRT rail services from Serdang to the city centre yesterday to get a feel of the transport problems faced by the public and came away less than satisfied.
Speaking to Bernama after disembarking at the Masjid Jamek LRT station, he said he was not satisfied and wanted immediate improvements to be made.
He said the existing services were not systematic, there were not enough coaches and coverage was not comprehensive, leaving many areas not serviced.
“I just saw the plight of people using the trains to get to work every morning. They were jostling to get on board every time a train arrived. There appeared to be no system.
“I’m not happy with this because the people are not getting satisfaction from riding the trains. This we must fix,” he said.
“I found the trains really packed. Some had waited for three trains and yet could not board.
Outstanding problem: Abdullah (in red batik shirt) preferring to stand like other passengers who cannot find a seat during the journey from Serdang to the city centre yesterday. — Bernama
“There’s no queue. People push their way in, women with children and old people are pushed aside,” he added.
Abdullah, who was unaccompanied by officials from the two rail services, arrived at the Serdang Komuter KTM station at 8.15am but could not get on board the first train that arrived because it was packed.
He got on the next train that came 15 minutes later and headed for KL Sentral, the transport hub for the various rail services.
There he also had to wait a while to switch to the Putra LRT service to get to the Masjid Jamek station because, again, the first train to arrive was full.
On both the trains that he took, the prime minister, dressed in a red batik shirt with gold print, stood although passengers offered him their seats.
Upon arrival at the Masjid Jamek station at 9.15am, he chatted with members of the public and bought local cakes from the sellers there before leaving.
Abdullah said he would give attention to efforts to improve the quality of both rail services.
This is my first blog post and this has to be in my first blog post!
PM quietly takes public transport to experience commuters’ problems
KUALA LUMPUR: Setting aside protocol, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took rides on the commuter and LRT rail services from Serdang to the city centre yesterday to get a feel of the transport problems faced by the public and came away less than satisfied.
Where’s the train? Abdullah waiting with other passengers at the Serdang Komuter station yesterday. This is a daily routine for the commuters, who complained to the Prime Minister about poor train services. — Bernama
Throughout the one-hour journey, during which he switched trains, the Prime Minister noted the congestion, especially during the peak period, and spoke to his fellow passengers to get feedback.
Throughout the one-hour journey, during which he switched trains, the Prime Minister noted the congestion, especially during the peak period, and spoke to his fellow passengers to get feedback.
Speaking to Bernama after disembarking at the Masjid Jamek LRT station, he said he was not satisfied and wanted immediate improvements to be made.
He said the existing services were not systematic, there were not enough coaches and coverage was not comprehensive, leaving many areas not serviced.
“I just saw the plight of people using the trains to get to work every morning. They were jostling to get on board every time a train arrived. There appeared to be no system.
“I’m not happy with this because the people are not getting satisfaction from riding the trains. This we must fix,” he said.
“I found the trains really packed. Some had waited for three trains and yet could not board.
Outstanding problem: Abdullah (in red batik shirt) preferring to stand like other passengers who cannot find a seat during the journey from Serdang to the city centre yesterday. — Bernama
“There’s no queue. People push their way in, women with children and old people are pushed aside,” he added.
Abdullah, who was unaccompanied by officials from the two rail services, arrived at the Serdang Komuter KTM station at 8.15am but could not get on board the first train that arrived because it was packed.
He got on the next train that came 15 minutes later and headed for KL Sentral, the transport hub for the various rail services.
There he also had to wait a while to switch to the Putra LRT service to get to the Masjid Jamek station because, again, the first train to arrive was full.
On both the trains that he took, the prime minister, dressed in a red batik shirt with gold print, stood although passengers offered him their seats.
Upon arrival at the Masjid Jamek station at 9.15am, he chatted with members of the public and bought local cakes from the sellers there before leaving.
Abdullah said he would give attention to efforts to improve the quality of both rail services.
This is my first blog post and this has to be in my first blog post!
This article is just so funny I don't know where to start.
I just can't believe ALL THESE YEARS.... why hasn't the PM "tried" to board the train until now in the year of 2008?! Gosh, will we ever achieve 2020 with such transportation speed? Maybe we can achieve 2020 by 2050! The system has sucked since God knows when. Maybe when I was born? My gong gong's mazda (1980s) is even faster than ktm.
OMG. KTM must be feeling very 'paiseh' from this small little incident. I BET they'll probably send an extra carriage for the serdang line tomorrow. Only ONE extra carriage. Because otherwise they'll have to increase the fare by RM0.10! Expensive to run on electricity you know....
Can somebody tell me why the ktm is so slow? Somewhere like Kepong where it's all bushes and vast lands and it's still as slow as it travels when it is in the city. As though the train isn't slow enough, it always stops all of a sudden without any "annoucement" from the conductor. Stop for what? Chickens to cross the tracks?
Ok enough of babbling about that news article. So over it already. Fingers crossed, by the time I return to Malaysia which is in a few months time, hopefully they'll add more service to my ulu Kepong area! Hello I need to go Pavillion and Sungei Wang ok! Kepong is so boring, and without a car of your own, even "chiu kap" boring.
Maybe that's why I choose to live in the city here.
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