By Ahmad Abd Hamid
When you’re cruising along some roads in Kuala Lumpur, you’d notice yellow lanes in some areas like Jalan Ampang and Jalan Genting Klang. Please note they’re meant for buses — public transport used by a large segment of the city folks.
So, if your vehicle doesn’t fall under that category, don’t slip over on to those lanes! It’s very disturbing and annoying to see some selfish drivers who encroach nonchalantly, especially during rush hours.
These special lanes, painted with thick yellow lines on the left side of the road, are meant to help smoothen the flow of buses so that they’re not caught up in heavy traffic.
This is also another aspect of encouraging more people to use public transport and help them to reach their destinations in good time. Time is gold!
While bus fares are cheaper when one takes into the account of the cost of driving a car and the ensuing parking charges, the main gripe of using buses is their unpredictable timing. Buses don’t usually arrive or reach their destinations on time.
The main reason? They are always stuck in the usual city traffic snarls.
In contrast, other modes of public transport such as the Light Rail Transit (LRT), Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) or Monorail have little impediments as they have their own rail tracks. Their departure and arrival times are almost accurate. And this has encouraged many to travel by LRT, MRT or Monorail.
But not all areas in heavily-populated Kuala Lumpur are covered by these modes of transport. Buses are still much sought-after despite the uncertainty of their travel times.
Actually, special bus lanes are not new to KL. In the 1990’s when INTRAKOTA buses ruled the day, these yellow lanes were also there. They were helpful.
But somehow, these special lanes disappeared after sometime. Now they are back again! Considering the fact that more and more new vehicles are being registered to be on the roads against a backdrop of very little space to have more roads, these specially-designated lanes are aimed at helping to ease the flow during rush hours. Like buses, Rapid-on-Demand (ROD) shuttles and even taxis.
For things to work more efficiently here, there has to be some give-and-take. There has to be respect for and adherence to the rules.
The selfish and utterly self-entitled members of the public have to re-assess their thinking and attitude. Enforcement officers cannot be there all the time 24/7. Perhaps the new enforcement in KL known as “Op Pematuhan Undang-Undang (Op PUU) 2025” from Oct 1, may help arrest those still used to their selfish ways. To illustrate how many readily flout the rules, more than 7,000 summonses were issued on the first two days of Op PUU at just five hotspot locations in KL!
But summonses are mere pieces of paper if the authorities make a mockery of the penalties by giving hefty discounts during festive seasons. As someone observed wryly, the authorities are only subsiding traffic offences if discounts of 30 to 50 per cent continue to be given!
It’s up to us motorists to make Kuala Lumpur a more liveable place. We can help by improving our discipline and upgrading our level of civic consciousness. At the end of the day, it’s us.
The views expressed here are entirely those of the author
WE