AUGUST 26 — We refer to the letter from “Upset LRT User, Puchong” which was published in several publications including The Star on 23 August 2016 and The Sun today, in which the writer shared that his first trip from a LRT station in Puchong to Sunway via the BRT Sunway Line cost him RM9. The writer also thought that the cashless ticket option was the cheapest available.
As the writer did not specify the stations of origin and destination, we took the liberty to assume that the writer started his travel from the IOI-Puchong Jaya LRT station which is the furthest LRT station in Puchong on the Sri Petaling Line based on the LRT and BRT networks, and ended his travel at the Sunway-Setia Jaya BRT station which is the furthest BRT station on the BRT Sunway Line.
We wish to clarify that the cashless fare (paid via stored-value card) for the travel between the furthest stations of IOI-Puchong Jaya LRT station and Sunway-Setia Jaya BRT station was RM8.20, and not RM9 as shared by the writer. The fare would be cheaper if the writer had travelled to and from nearer stations between these two stations.
We also wish to clarify that the cashless ticketing option may not be the cheapest travel option as we do offer MyRapid Smart 30 and MyRapid Smart 7 ticket products for frequent and moderately frequent rail commuters.
MyRapid Smart 30 and MyRapid Smart 7 ticket products offer further discounts to the cashless ticketing option.
MyRapid Smart 30 and MyRapid Smart 7 ticket products, however, come with a nominal activation fee of RM10 and RM2.50 respectively upon the expiration of the ticket product after a 30-day or 7-day period.
We would appreciate if the writer could contact my colleagues at the Rapid KL Contact Centre at [email protected] or 03-7885 2585 if he believed that he had been overcharged during his recent travel with us.
On the writer’s views that it was cheaper for him to drive than taking public transport, including paying the RM4/day parking fee at our park and ride facilities, we believe not many motorists were as fortunate as him to enjoy free parking at the office. The writer might have also inadvertently discounted the overall cost of private car ownership when sharing his views.
The RM4/day parking fee is a nominal fee to defray the cost in managing and operating the park and ride facilities as our primary intention is to encourage the public to travel on public transport. Many would attest that the parking fee at the park and ride facilities is relatively low compared with the parking fee at many other facilities.
The public transport services operated by Prasarana Malaysia Berhad cater to a diverse range of people. We connect and provide mobility to more than one million commuters daily, including more than 500,000 commuters on our LRT and monorail networks.
The BRT Sunway Line has supported more than 2.2 million commuters since its opening in June 2015, and ridership of the BRT has increased by almost 20 per cent since the seamless connectivity to the Kelana Jaya Line started with the completion of the Line Extension Project on 30 June.
While some might find the LRT fare expensive, commuters who travel on MyRapid Smart 30 would probably find the end-to-end journey between Gombak and Putra Heights on the Kelana Jaya Line affordable at RM4.40 one-way, RM5.40 one-way, cashless, or RM6.30 one-way, cash.
Likewise for users of MyRapid Smart 30 who pay RM3.50 one-way, or RM4.90 cash one-way traveling end-to-end between Sentul Timur and Putra Heights on the Sri Petaling Line.
We are encouraged with the feedback from “Regular LRT User” whose letter was published in The Star on 24 August 2016. The writer found the fare of RM7.20 for his return trip between USJ and Kuala Lumpur cheaper than the parking fee he had to pay in Kuala Lumpur.
We are also heartened to receive feedback that with the opening of the LRT Line Extension Project, Putra Heights residents who work in KLCC no longer need to drive to Putrajaya Sentral to park their cars before taking the ERL Transit to KL Sentral and switching over to the Kelana Jaya Line en route to KLCC. The cashless fare of RM4.10 one-way between Putra Heights and KLCC is much lower, and the overall travel time, shorter.
On our service levels, as with any public transport operator globally, we are not free from experiencing glitches in our operations. The service reliability of the Rapid KL LRT services — at 99.7per cent — is at par with many rail operators globally.
Nevertheless, our colleagues are continually striving to further enhance our service delivery and service reliability.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.
** Lim Jin Aun is the head of group communications and strategic marketing, Prasarana Malaysia Berhad.
