THE Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) is set to take over the Go KL free bus service next year with an allocation of RM20 million to improve its services, said Federal Territories Minister Khalid Samad.

Khalid said the move is in line with efforts to tackle traffic congestion in Kuala Lumpur.

“DBKL will take over Go KL next year, which had been run by the Transport Ministry.

“From January 1 next year, the bus service will be expanded. It will also focus on serving the first and last mile, which refers to the start and end of a public transport user’s trip,” he said when responding to Fong Kui Lun (PH-Bukit Bintang), who raised traffic in the city when debating the 11th Malaysia Plan mid-term review.

Fahmi Fadzil (PH-Lembah Pantai), who interjected, also suggested that the ministry look into expanding the free bus service to PPR (people’s public housing) neighbourhoods, where the demand for public transport is high.

As an example, he cited the free bus service in Selangor that focused on residential areas, compared to Go KL that was more focused on the city centre.

Two weeks ago, Transport Minister Anthony Loke had said his ministry was discussing with the Federal Territories Ministry on having DBKL take over the Go KL bus service.

The service is now operated by the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) at a cost of RM12 million a year. The contract to run the service ends on December 31.

Loke reportedly said DBKL, as the local authority with the financial resources, should take over the free bus service so the federal government could use its resources to fund public transportation services in other states.

Khalid also said DBKL will focus on transit-oriented development (TOD), where mobility and accessibility will be centred on the urban rail system.

“Public transport use now is at 20%. But by 2023, with the completion of the MRT2 and LRT3, we aim to increase ridership to 30% or 35%.”

MRT2 is the new Sg Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya (SSP) line while LRT3 will link Bandar Utama and Klang. – October 31, 2018.