ON Jan 5 at 3pm, four out of the six ticket machines at the Kuala Lumpur City Centre RapidKL station were out of order. There were long lines at the two working machines and the ticket counter. What puzzles me is why RapidKL allows this to happen every weekend without fail.

Even on weekdays, the ticket machines are down. Why wait until four machines are down before calling the technician?

When it is crowded, one machine down is bad enough, let alone four. This is an unacceptable situation.

I understand that the trouble starts when the machines are full. It is therefore even more important for station employees to monitor the machines regularly to ensure that the machines are cleared quickly. All ticket machines need to be in proper working condition at all times.

I have called RapidKL’s customer service centre to suggest that they station technicians at the KLCC, KL Sentral and other busy stations permanently to clear the machines, especially during weekends, but obviously this is not happening.

This is the only way to ensure that the machines are cleared quickly, instead of waiting for technicians to arrive.

It is not fair to make passengers stand in long lines every week, either because the employees have not been monitoring the machines or they are waiting for the technicians.

The ticket machines are not user-friendly at all. Even when working, they reject either notes or coins.

It is common to see the notes not accepted message on the machines. Then when we use coins, the machines reject them.

One has to move to another machine and queue again to buy a ticket. I have seen confused locals and tourists struggling to use the machines because it only accepts one note.

RapidKL is taking too long to upgrade the ticket machines to accept multiple notes and issue multiple tickets. RapidKL should make the KLCC station a priority during the upgrade.

KLCC is frequented by local and foreign tourists. When machines break down and they have to wait in long lines, it gives a bad impression especially during Visit Malaysia Year.

I urge the RapidKL management to visit the KLCC and KL Sentral stations during weekends to see and fully understand the challenges that we face every week.

The problems have gone on for way too long.

We the passengers deserve better. No more apologies, excuses, promises and no point in asking passengers to give suggestions and file reports if nothing is done.

A.K., Petaling Jaya

Source: NST – January 14, 2008