I am a frequent user of buses plying the Kuala Lumpur-Butterworth route and often board from the Puduraya station. Needless to say, as any user of the station would attest, the condition of the station and the services of the bus companies based there leave a lot to be desired.

Let me qualify my statement with several accounts of the experiences I have had there. Upon entering the ticketing area, customers are harassed by touts, promising to sell you any ticket from major bus companies and at any time you want. Yet, when one goes to the platform indicated, you will be told to board another bus from another company.

Arguing with the conductors or drivers is futile as they will shout you down and insult anyone who dares to question them. Furthermore, the bus will never leave on time unless it is full. If not, one can expect a delay of up to even an hour. In this distorted world of customer service, bus companies are king and they lord it over any passenger desperate enough to be their customer.

Having learnt my lesson, the next time I bought my ticket from a counter. Big difference that was … I encountered the same experience. This time, the stated bus was not even going to the same location and I was herded into another bus at the adjacent platform. On board the bus, several customers had been sold tickets with the same seat numbers. Naturally, we were told to sit anywhere we liked, no questions asked. And of course, the bus did not leave on time either.

My next grouse? The air quality at the boarding platforms. They are located below the building with very little ventilation, creating a death trap of carbon monoxide and fumes.

It is an embarrassment that the main bus terminal in KL is in such a poor condition.

And mind you, this is only my account of the station itself. One can write a novel about the bad experiences I have had on buses (such as hell rides, breakdowns, changing buses midway through a journey, dirty and leaking buses and unscheduled stops), but that is a letter for another day.

These days, the RTD and the Transport Ministry are going all out to ensure the roadworthiness of buses. I applaud their initiative. Yet, can someone please take a look at improving the services of bus companies and the terminals as well?

Chow Tuck Wai
Butterworth

Source: The Sun – June 6, 2008