KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 — A free bus service offered by the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) has converted a good number of motorists in the area into public transport users, according to a recent survey.

MBPJ councillor Lee Suet Sen said the survey of 400 people by the council’s Urban Transportation division found that nearly one-fifth or 19 per cent of those currently using the service previously drove their own cars or rode motorcycles.

“This is very positive news to us in MBPJ as one of the main objective for the PJ Free Bus (initiative) is to create awareness of public transport usage and further improve the mobility of PJ residents in the city,” he said in a statement.

He added that the free service, which has been in operation since May 15 last year, now hits an average of 9,000 riders per day.

Lee also noted that apart from improving mobility and easing congestion on the city’s often-crowded roads, the PJ City Bus initiative, which is Selangor’s first, also aims to reduce the cost of transportation for residents.

Citing the study, which was conducted between September 14 and 18 this year, the councillor noted that 86 per cent of those who use the service are students and low-income earners.

Lee, who is the city’s Master Transportation Plan Committee chairman, also admitted that the initiative still has room for improvement, especially on waiting time.

“Currently, 45 per cent of them wait for less than 15 minutes and 47 per cent waited for 16 to 30 minutes.

“Our target is 15 minutes of waiting time. In order to improve this is increase the number of buses which MBPJ have included in their 2016 budget,” he said.

Lee said during MBPJ’s full board meeting yesterday, he proposed that all bus stops for the current and future PJ City Bus routes be reviewed to identify their accessibility to users within a 400-meter radius.

“The success of PJ City Bus depends on change of mode of transportation from private vehicles to public transport.

“MBPJ encourages all PJ residents to use PJ City Bus as their mode of transportation within the city,” he said.