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By Marvin Augustin
KOTA KINABALU: Bus travellers in Kota Kinabalu better prepare for more chaos next month when the city public transport services undergoes some “restructuring”.
KK City Hall has decided to temporary close its Wawasan Bus Terminal – the main bus terminal in the city – for upgrading works starting July 5.
This is following complaints that it is in a deplorable condition and is causing problems to the commuters every day.
But bus operators are up in arms and so too will be commuters as they try to find their way around the already congested city which has probably the most disorganised public transport service in the country.
Jahara Patimbangi, the managing director from City Shuttle Bus Company Mustika Enterprise Sdn Bhd and the main spokesperson for a group of bus operators has already slammed the idea.
City Hall planners have proposed that as a temporary measure buses will start and end their journeys at three different locations instead of just one.
The three temporary terminal locations are in front of Marina Court along Jalan Tun Fuad Stephen for Southern A Zone, Bandaran Berjaya for Northen B Zone and Karamusing for Northern B Zone.
However Jahara said the temporary plan is unsuitable for their 40 seat buses because the stop location space is too small and can pose accident risks for bus commuters.
At the moment, bus services are chaotic. One reliable commuter service run by the city, the City Shuttle, doesn’t seem to have designated bus stops or a terminus.
They now will also depend on the three location that will be jammed with a horde of privately run buses.
Jahara has suggested the Likas Sport Complex parking area as a site for the temporary stop for Northern B Zone bus operators.
She said the City Shuttle Bus could pick up commuters in the city and deposit them at the suggested site which would have the added advantage of reducing the number of the buses entering the city, currently one of the problems for road congestion at peak hours.
Messy situation
But Aishah Yap, a representative of the Likas Bus Operator Association, however does not agree with the Sport Complex parking site location as it would shorten their route tremendously.
She believes that a shortened route would cut into bus operators’ income while they are already competing with ‘pirate’ taxi and bus services operating within their service route especially in City Market area.
Yap also claimed there was a verbal agreement with City Hall to allow their buses to travel along Jalan Tun Fuad Stephen passing the market area, but this is not realised in the current relocation plan.
Azhbi Adam who represents the Sepanggar Bus Operator Association has suggested a terminus at a vacant plot belonging to the Port Authority for the Northern B Zone as it is bigger than current site offered by City Hall.
The whole mess is new Api Api state representative Christina Liew’s first challenge since winning the election on a PKR ticket last month.
She said she has always been aware of the problem of poor public transport in the city and has spoken to KK City Hall Mayor Abidin Madingkir about it.
The intensity of the criticism by the bus companies and associations and soon by commuters has however caught the City Hall authorities off guard.
Liew recognises the problem can cost her dearly in the political arena and wants City Hall to abandon its current plan until they have found a location that is suitable to bus operators and commuters.
There are more than 800 buses plying the city’s busy roads. The City Shuttle Bus services has 21 40-seaters vehicles. Sixty buses ply the Sepanggar route while the Likas route has 20.
The rest are “urban transit buses” which comprise the 12 seater minivans and 20 seats mini buses.
There is no indication by City Hall how long the new bus route plan is expected to go on.
KOTA KINABALU: Bus travellers in Kota Kinabalu better prepare for more chaos next month when the city public transport services undergoes some “restructuring”.
KK City Hall has decided to temporary close its Wawasan Bus Terminal – the main bus terminal in the city – for upgrading works starting July 5.
This is following complaints that it is in a deplorable condition and is causing problems to the commuters every day.
But bus operators are up in arms and so too will be commuters as they try to find their way around the already congested city which has probably the most disorganised public transport service in the country.
Jahara Patimbangi, the managing director from City Shuttle Bus Company Mustika Enterprise Sdn Bhd and the main spokesperson for a group of bus operators has already slammed the idea.
City Hall planners have proposed that as a temporary measure buses will start and end their journeys at three different locations instead of just one.
The three temporary terminal locations are in front of Marina Court along Jalan Tun Fuad Stephen for Southern A Zone, Bandaran Berjaya for Northen B Zone and Karamusing for Northern B Zone.
However Jahara said the temporary plan is unsuitable for their 40 seat buses because the stop location space is too small and can pose accident risks for bus commuters.
At the moment, bus services are chaotic. One reliable commuter service run by the city, the City Shuttle, doesn’t seem to have designated bus stops or a terminus.
They now will also depend on the three location that will be jammed with a horde of privately run buses.
Jahara has suggested the Likas Sport Complex parking area as a site for the temporary stop for Northern B Zone bus operators.
She said the City Shuttle Bus could pick up commuters in the city and deposit them at the suggested site which would have the added advantage of reducing the number of the buses entering the city, currently one of the problems for road congestion at peak hours.
Messy situation
But Aishah Yap, a representative of the Likas Bus Operator Association, however does not agree with the Sport Complex parking site location as it would shorten their route tremendously.
She believes that a shortened route would cut into bus operators’ income while they are already competing with ‘pirate’ taxi and bus services operating within their service route especially in City Market area.
Yap also claimed there was a verbal agreement with City Hall to allow their buses to travel along Jalan Tun Fuad Stephen passing the market area, but this is not realised in the current relocation plan.
Azhbi Adam who represents the Sepanggar Bus Operator Association has suggested a terminus at a vacant plot belonging to the Port Authority for the Northern B Zone as it is bigger than current site offered by City Hall.
The whole mess is new Api Api state representative Christina Liew’s first challenge since winning the election on a PKR ticket last month.
She said she has always been aware of the problem of poor public transport in the city and has spoken to KK City Hall Mayor Abidin Madingkir about it.
The intensity of the criticism by the bus companies and associations and soon by commuters has however caught the City Hall authorities off guard.
Liew recognises the problem can cost her dearly in the political arena and wants City Hall to abandon its current plan until they have found a location that is suitable to bus operators and commuters.
There are more than 800 buses plying the city’s busy roads. The City Shuttle Bus services has 21 40-seaters vehicles. Sixty buses ply the Sepanggar route while the Likas route has 20.
The rest are “urban transit buses” which comprise the 12 seater minivans and 20 seats mini buses.
There is no indication by City Hall how long the new bus route plan is expected to go on.
Bus service
ReplyDeleteThere are three main bus terminals in the city that operate regular bus services. Two of them are central, the terminal along Jalan Tun Razak provides internal bus services towards different part of the city and its outskirts.
If you are going south of Kota Kinabalu (Papar, Beaufort, Tenom, Keningau, Tambunan and others) go to the terminal near Bandaran Berjaya that provides intercity services.
Are you going to any destination north, north east or east of KK, there is a new teminal, Kota Kinabalu North Bus Terminal. The buses there will take you to Tuaran, Kota Belud, Kudat, Ranau, Sandakan, Lhad Datu and all the way to Tawau, Semporna and other places. There is also an alternative public transportation system with vans or minibuses.
KK Bus Terminals
ReplyDeleteTravelling around Sabah is not difficult, one can do some planning before hand, this can help to avoid stress as well as saving time on the journey. For instance, Kota Kinabalu has four bus terminals, therefore knowing which one to go is very important if travellers don't want to miss their destinations. Three of the bus terminals are located in the city and there are all within walking distance.
These bus terminals are namely Wawasan Terminal, Padang Terminal, and City Park Terminal. The Northern Bus Terminal is about 10 km away from the city at the Inanam industrial area, one would need to take a bus or taxi to reach there.
Lokasi Terminal harus berada di tempat yang lebih strategik.
DeleteWawasan Terminal
ReplyDeleteThe Wawasan Terminal on Jalan Kemajuan is located at the southern end of the city, and it is opposite to the Wawasan Shopping centre. Many bus companies are found here and they provide internal bus services towards different parts of the city and its outskirts. Local suburbs like Inanam, KK Airports, Kepayan, Likas, Luyang, Penampang, Putatan, One Borneo, and Tanjung Aru, can be reached from here. Tickets to these suburbs should cost less that RM 2 one way. On the north route the buses here reach as far as Sepangar Bay, while going down south the furthest is Papar. Bus tickets to these towns should be less than RM4.
KK Internal Buses
ReplyDeletePadang Teminal
Padang Terminal as the name implies is located near the old field (padang) below the Signal hill. The buses here commuted to places in the interior and northern part of Sabah. The northern towns include places like Tamparuli, Tuaran, Kota Belud, Kota Marudu, Kudat, and Pitas. Buses and mini buses to the interior of Sabah will travel to destinations like Kundasang, Ranau, Tambunan, Keningau, and Tenom. Keningau is the main transportation hub for mini buses to places like Sook, Nambawan, and Sapulut.
Padang Terminal is also the bus station for mini buses to Kinarut, Kimanis, Bongawan, and Membakut. All these are small towns along the west coast of Sabah. Tourists who wish to visit the Kinabalu Park can travel with the buses to Kundasang or Ranau, and ask the driver to stop at the entrance to Kinabalu Park. The best time to catch a bus to these destinations is in the early morning when many buses are scheduled to leave between 7am and 10am. Some buses do leave in the afternoon but the frequencies then would be much lesser compared with those in the morning.
Buruk kamu punya termninal bas.. tiada class.. kelas kambng saja...
ReplyDeleteKK City hall is legally bound to vacate the present Wawasan bus terminal by July 5 to enable construction works on the new bus terminal building.
ReplyDeleteKerajaan akan mengambil langkah yang wajar.
DeleteThe relocation is also to enable its joint partner, Golden Wave Sd Bhd (Golden Wave) to enter the site to start construction works on the said terminal and its supporting facilities.
ReplyDeleteMayor Datuk Abidin Madingkir said initial plans was to relocate the bus operators from wawasan bus terminal to the three proposed permanent sites; the Northern bus terminal, eastern bus terminal and Southern bus terminal. Nevertheless, this was impossible as the terminals are yet to be constructed.
ReplyDeleteHe added that the temporary bus routes which have been distributed to all bus operators associations in the city were then chosen and agreed upon by all the relevant Federal and state agencies.
ReplyDeleteHe also said that the decision was made after a series of meetings in the working committee chaired by him (Mayor) which involves the Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (CVLB), Traffic division of the ministry of Infrastructure Development, Road Transport Department (RTD), the police Traffic Division, PUSPAKOM and road Transport Department.
ReplyDeleteDue considerations to all factors, especially the comfort and safety aspects of the users, income of the bus operators and interruptions to the present bus services were taken into account before making a decision of the proposed routes.
ReplyDeleteOther deciding factors which includes the traffic congestion in the city as well as to create minimal changes to the bus services when the KK Public Transport master plan is implemented.
ReplyDeleteMasalah trafic di KK semakin tidak terkawal. Kerajaan Sabah harus mengatasi masalah ini.
DeleteMadingkir said the proposed temporary bus routes, entering and exiting from the city was also tabled at the CVLB meeting chaired by Datuk Teo Chee Kang last year November.
ReplyDeleteWith these temporary routes, buses are only allowed to drop and pick-up passengers at the bus stop located in the city. In addition, the bus operators are not supposed to park and wait at the bus station.
ReplyDeleteTwo major bus stations with adequate ‘lay-by’ for dropping and picking-up point will also benefit both the commuters and buses.
ReplyDeleteYang penting tidak membebankan rakyat.
DeleteThe Southern and Eastern bus zones will be at bus stop stations located along Jalan Tun Fuad Stephen in front of Marina Court. The second bus station will be located along Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman which is located in front of Hotel Shangri-La that serves the Northern zone.
ReplyDeleteKK City hall is legally bound to vacate the present Wawasan bus terminal by July 5 to enable construction works on the new bus terminal building.
ReplyDeleteThe relocation is also to enable its joint partner, Golden Wave Sd Bhd (Golden Wave) to enter the site to start construction works on the said terminal and its supporting facilities.
ReplyDeleteMayor Datuk Abidin Madingkir said initial plans was to relocate the bus operators from wawasan bus terminal to the three proposed permanent sites; the Northern bus terminal, eastern bus terminal and Southern bus terminal. Nevertheless, this was impossible as the terminals are yet to be constructed.
ReplyDeleteHe added that the temporary bus routes which have been distributed to all bus operators associations in the city were then chosen and agreed upon by all the relevant Federal and state agencies.
ReplyDeleteHe also said that the decision was made after a series of meetings in the working committee chaired by him (Mayor) which involves the Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (CVLB), Traffic division of the ministry of Infrastructure Development, Road Transport Department (RTD), the police Traffic Division, PUSPAKOM and road Transport Department.
ReplyDeleteDue considerations to all factors, especially the comfort and safety aspects of the users, income of the bus operators and interruptions to the present bus services were taken into account before making a decision of the proposed routes. Other deciding factors which includes the traffic congestion in the city as well as to create minimal changes to the bus services when the KK Public Transport master plan is implemented.
ReplyDeleteMadingkir said the proposed temporary bus routes, entering and exiting from the city was also tabled at the CVLB meeting chaired by Datuk Teo Chee Kang last year November.
ReplyDeleteWith these temporary routes, buses are only allowed to drop and pick-up passengers at the bus stop located in the city. In addition, the bus operators are not supposed to park and wait at the bus station. Two major bus stations with adequate ‘lay-by’ for dropping and picking-up point will also benefit both the commuters and buses.
ReplyDeleteThe Southern and Eastern bus zones will be at bus stop stations located along Jalan Tun Fuad Stephen in front of Marina Court. The second bus station will be located along Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman which is located in front of Hotel Shangri-La that serves the Northern zone.There will be adequate bus services information which will be provided at buses station and stops within the city centre.
ReplyDeleteThe mayor has also chaired a dialogue attended by all the bus operators from every zone which includes Tuaran, Tamparuli, Sepanggar, Telipok, Menggatal, Kingfisher, Inanam, Likas, Luyang, Penampang, Kepayan, Tanjung Aru, Penampang, Papar, Lok Kawi and Petagas/Putatan.
ReplyDeleteRelocation again.
ReplyDeleteHarap2 transaksi akan dijalankan dengan baik.
ReplyDeleteKerajaan harus mengkaji secara mendalam adakah tindakan relocation ini benar memanfaatkan.
DeleteBus terminal is going to relocated again.
ReplyDeleteChaos is unavoidable.
ReplyDeleteMemang padat la ni kali.
ReplyDeleteCongestion will happen
ReplyDeleteJangan biarkan ia sesak.
ReplyDeleteAda2 saja perkara berlaku keblekangan ni
ReplyDeleteI hope the other terminal can give more convenient ways of being in the bus.
ReplyDeleteIt should be done asap.
ReplyDeleteyup should be done asap..kalau tidak jammed lah ini KK tambah..plssss...........x sanggup kami jammed pasal bas2 ni..suda lah drop dan ambil penumpang sembarang ja..lepas tu suka hati saja masuk keluar bole mengakibatkan kemalangan jalan raya..erm..
ReplyDeleteKK City hall is legally bound to vacate the present Wawasan bus terminal by July 5 to enable construction works on the new bus terminal building.
ReplyDeleteThe relocation is also to enable its joint partner, Golden Wave Sd Bhd (Golden Wave) to enter the site to start construction works on the said terminal and its supporting facilities.
ReplyDeleteMayor Datuk Abidin Madingkir said initial plans was to relocate the bus operators from wawasan bus terminal to the three proposed permanent sites; the Northern bus terminal, eastern bus terminal and Southern bus terminal. Nevertheless, this was impossible as the terminals are yet to be constructed.
ReplyDeleteHe added that the temporary bus routes which have been distributed to all bus operators associations in the city were then chosen and agreed upon by all the relevant Federal and state agencies.
ReplyDeleteHe also said that the decision was made after a series of meetings in the working committee chaired by him (Mayor) which involves the Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (CVLB), Traffic division of the ministry of Infrastructure Development, Road Transport Department (RTD), the police Traffic Division, PUSPAKOM and road Transport Department.
ReplyDeleteDue considerations to all factors, especially the comfort and safety aspects of the users, income of the bus operators and interruptions to the present bus services were taken into account before making a decision of the proposed routes.
ReplyDeleteOther deciding factors which includes the traffic congestion in the city as well as to create minimal changes to the bus services when the KK Public Transport master plan is implemented.
ReplyDeleteMadingkir said the proposed temporary bus routes, entering and exiting from the city was also tabled at the CVLB meeting chaired by Datuk Teo Chee Kang last year November.
ReplyDeleteWith these temporary routes, buses are only allowed to drop and pick-up passengers at the bus stop located in the city. In addition, the bus operators are not supposed to park and wait at the bus station. Two major bus stations with adequate ‘lay-by’ for dropping and picking-up point will also benefit both the commuters and buses.
ReplyDeleteThe Southern and Eastern bus zones will be at bus stop stations located along Jalan Tun Fuad Stephen in front of Marina Court. The second bus station will be located along Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman which is located in front of Hotel Shangri-La that serves the Northern zone.
ReplyDeleteThere will be adequate bus services information which will be provided at buses station and stops within the city centre.
ReplyDeleteThe mayor has also chaired a dialogue attended by all the bus operators from every zone which includes Tuaran, Tamparuli, Sepanggar, Telipok, Menggatal, Kingfisher, Inanam, Likas, Luyang, Penampang, Kepayan, Tanjung Aru
ReplyDeleteOther bus operators such as Luen Tung Transport, Tuaran Transport and Mustika enterprise Sdn Bhd were also present during the dialogue in the City Hall on May 29 of this year. However, City hall has been urged to look into matters such as widening of the shelter areas and provide public amenities.
ReplyDeleteThe bus operators also wanted the pirated taxis in the city to be curbed whereby the Mayor said it would be addressed by the police, CVLB and RTD.
ReplyDelete