Locals and tourists find GOKL service prompt and convenient

Smooth, cool and breezy are some of the adjectives used by city residents to describe the free GOKL City Bus service that was introduced on Aug 31 to encourage the use of public transport.


The service has also become a hit with tourists staying in Bukit Bintang, KLCC and Petaling Street areas, as well as foreign workers in the areas.

At noon yesterday, the purple buses were packed with people who were working in the area and wanted to have lunch in other parts of downtown. “I find it very convenient as it only takes five minutes to board the bus in front of my office in Wisma Genting and get off at Pavilion KL for lunch,’’ said executive Intan Rohayu Abdul Hamid.

Her colleague Norlaili Hamid added, “It saves us time and it is free. The two confessed that they could also shop during their lunch break since the service was regular.

Senior citizen K. Rama who was curious about the service after hearing about it from his friend, said: “I wanted to see what it was all about, so I decided to take the bus from Central Market.

Lim Phek Ee from Cheras applauded the service. “It is an A for me. It usually costs me RM20 to go to Suria KLCC from Bukit Bintang as the taxi drivers refuse to use the meter,’’ she said.

Lim added that she wished the Government would introduce something similar in areas where the government hospitals and offices were, as this would be most helpful.

Nitish Nala from Bangladesh said he took the bus from Bukit Bintang to get to Pasar Seni where he works for a construction company. “Service is efficient and I don’t have to pay,’’ he said. A group of tourists from China also gave good reviews when asked to describe the bus service.

The service was launched as part of the Government Transformation Programme to improve the public transport system. It is offered free to reduce the cost of travelling in the city as well as to encourage the use of public transport.

The buses come every five minutes during peak hours and every 15 minutes during non-peak hours. However, the service has made taxi drivers in the city irate. They claimed that they had lost a significant amount of business. The taxi drivers gathered at Bukit Bintang on Tuesday to stage a protest.

GOKL City Bus comes directly under the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) which has two lines — Green Line from KLCC to Bukit Bintang (7.4km) and Purple Line from Central Market Hub to Bukit Bintang (6.5km).

StarMetro reported recently that SPAD planned to add more lines within the Central Business District. Currently they are operating with 15 buses running on two lines, seven days a week. Operating hours are from 6am to 11pm.

SPAD chief operating officer Azhar Ahmad said daily ridership had increased from 1,300 to over 10,000 passengers since the service started.

Other free shuttle services in KL

● Mid Valley shuttle service with pick-up points from Bangsar LRT Station and South Court bus stop.

● One Utama free shuttle from Kelana Jaya LRT station and Sunrise Mont Kiara.

● Bangsar Shopping Centre shuttle service from Help UOA, Manulife, Pusat Bandar Damansara, Help Residence.

● Publika shuttle provides easy access to KL Sentral for onward connections to other parts of KL.

For details, visit www.facebook.com/goklcitybus, tag #GOKL on Twitter or call 1800-88-7723.
-thestar online.