PUBLIC TRANSPORT

Assalamualaikum,and hello against to all blogger.for the next article is about the public transport in Malaysia.public transport commonly use for people to move from one place to another.they are many benefit by using this service because it is more economical and good for earth.So in this article i would write about some of the public transport that commonly use in Malaysia.

Train

The train network in Malaysia can be split into two types of service—the inter city, countrywide, traditional KTMB rail network and the inner city, light rail transit networks. While the KTMB service serves the entire country, travelling between major cities and also up into Thailand, trains can be old, slow and, ultimately, an uncomfortable way to travel the breadth of the country.

Nevertheless, the service is well priced and some locals favour this method over the road transit alternatives. In contrast, KL’s LRT, Monorail and (hopefully) Penang’s planned rail services are fast, clean, cheap and very well used. Providing you are close to a station, they are perhaps the best way to commute around the city.

The Putra LRT network, run by RapidKL, serves 48 stations across the Klang Valley. Even the longest single journey will cost less than RM3 and travellers can use prepaid Touch ‘n Go cards to pay the fare. Alternatively, daily travel cards can be bought for RM7 and allow travel throughout the Klang Valley on all RapidKL affiliated services (including buses and trains).

Also in the Klang Valley, the KLIA Express has been a fantastic success, transporting travellers to and fro KL city centre and the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The journey costs just RM35 one way (RM15 for children) and takes 28 minutes from station to station (KL Sentral–KLIA–KL Sentral). Malaysia Airlines also have a check-in counter at KL Sentral allowing travellers to check in for their flight before even arriving at the airport.

Buses
For travel between Singapore, KL and Penang, the coach services in Malaysia are difficult to beat. Air travel is considerably more expensive, trains considerably slower and driving, more tiring. As such, it’s a popular choice for many locals and expatriates as well (undoubtedly though, for business commuting, flying is the favoured option). Fares are well priced at roughly RM 50 – RM 60 for KL–Penang and just under RM 100 for luxury coaches from KL–Singapore.

The best services also provide food, drink and entertainments for the journey. A word of warning though: buying tickets in Malaysia works out much cheaper than buying them in Singapore. Therefore, if travelling from KL to Singapore and back again, make sure to purchase a return ticket from the Malaysian side. Long-haul coaches run throughout the week and several departures on the popular routes are offered by the larger companies each day.

Buses in town, however, are slightly less predictable and more confusing to navigate. For visitors, the Hop On, Hop Off buses run throughout the day between the tourist hotspots and have proved to be an excellent way to see the main sites. Tickets cost RM38 for 24 hours and RM65 for 48 hours (discounts are also available for children, students, the disabled and for Malaysian MyKad holders—check the website, www.myhoponhopoff.com for more details).

The service, as its name suggests, runs on a convenient hop on, hop off at your leisure and will basis. Buses also offer pre-recorded commentary and tours in eight different languages and stop at 22 designated stops around the city.

Besides the Hop On, Hop Off service in KL, the RapidKL buses, if you can get past the language barrier and find a suitable bus for you also offer reasonable value for money. For ease-of-use and speed, though, it pales in comparison to the rail services.

In Penang, the RapidPenang bus service, a subsidiary of RapidKL, runs relatively new buses across the island, serving the main areas of interest in Georgetown, the residential areas of Tanjung Baru and Batu Ferringhi and further afield for the airport and the west of Penang. Introduced in 2007, the RapidPenang service, though left untouched by many expatriates, can actually be a sensible option for getting around the small island.

Melaka’s services too have been vastly improved over the last few years with the introduction of Melaka Sentral—the historic city’s version of the capital’s central transport hub, KL Sentral. Though it features no access to trains, the hub serves as the central port for both city buses and long-distance coaches.

In Sabah, the central bus terminal is found in Kota Kinabalu. From the Kota Kinabalu North Terminal, buses are available to other major cities in the state and regular, though rather confusing and sporadic, services run across the city. The public bus services in Sarawak, however, are even more unreliable. Mostly without air-conditioning and no clear indication of stops and destinations, the public buses are best left to those with a better understanding of the system and its irregularities. Tourist buses do run to the popular tourist areas though and can be a cheap and relatively comfortable way to get around.

Taxis
Taxis are oft maligned in Malaysia, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. Drivers are well-versed in the city geography and will be able to find ingenious shortcuts when the inevitable traffic builds up. Also, the recent government ruling that increased the (still minimal) base taxi fare to RM3 has seen an improvement in services and a decrease in the number of taxis attempting to run meter-less. Even with this rise in fare, Malaysian taxis are among the cheapest in the world.

Popular residential, tourist, business and entertainment districts all over Malaysia are well served and hailing a cab, providing there are no marked taxi ranks nearby is as simple as waving one down on the street. Where marked ranks do exist, though, it’s advisable (and in some places, essential) to use them.

It is compulsory for taxi drivers to use their built-in meter to calculate the fare. Flag-off fare is RM3 with an additional 10 cents for every 115 meters thereafter. For taxis, caught in a traffic jam, the fare will be RM3 for the first three minutes and 10 cents for every subsequent 21 seconds. To avoid an unpleasant experiences, avoid taxi touts and always insist on using the meter.

Passengers will also have to bear the cost of actual road toll charges, surcharges for telephone bookings and additional passengers and baggage stored in the boot. Journeys taken between midnight and 6am are usually subject to a 50 per cent additional night time charge. Premium taxis are also available especially at airports, shopping malls and hotels at a slightly higher rate.