Sound town planning basis for good public transport system

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 19): Good town planning is essential in ensuring a good public transport system, says Rapid Bus Sdn Bhd CEO Zulkifli Mohd Yusuf.

"The public wants punctuality, coverage and reliability in public transport.

"In order to effectively provide this, local authorities need to play a big part in the town planning. But as far as I know, in Malaysia, the only local council that has a public transport department is City Hall," he said at the Land and Public Transport Commission (SPAD) annual symposium yesterday.

Zulkifli said in public transport needed to be included in the planning of a town.

For example, he said, while building the LRT lines, the developer was required to engage with the local authorities and the people due to the lack of available corridors.

"We would need to build one and get the corridor approved. If the planning had been done from the beginning, there would not be a need to fight space for public transport," he said.

Meanwhile, Prasarana Malaysia Bhd president and group CEO Datuk Azmi Abdul Aziz said Prasarana was planning an elaborate scheme for transit-oriented development (TOD) for its line extensions and future development.

"We want to come up with a framework that can serve as a guideline for the various authorities to have a concept of transit-oriented development," he said.

Azmi said that KL Sentral was the only successful example of a TOD in Malaysia – and even that was by accident rather than by design.

"My view is that the TOD for KL Sentral was done by accident. It was initially designed to be a transport hub, comprising the LRT station, the KTM station and the Electric Rail Link.

"Over time, due to the convergence in the area, office buildings, hotels, residential blocks and most recently, a shopping mall, sprouted up there," he said.

Azmi said it was important not to repeat the "design by accident" but to use the experience to plan better for the future. -- The Malaysian Insider

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