By NISSHANTANY A/P THINAGARAN & DR AHMAD SAUFFIYAN BIN ABU HASAN
TANJUNG MALIM - There are many individuals in Malaysia that take public transport systems as an option to reach different destinations such as universities for studying, workplaces, or any other purpose at reasonable prices and comfortably. Although the transport system in Malaysia continuously develops, there are many issues that have negative impacts on people's daily life. Overcrowding, the delay of the service, and lack of connections are among the problems that may occur during using trains and buses in Malaysia as transportation. These can create additional difficulties for travelers when performing their daily activities.
One of them, a university student, Shamira, uses public transport as her regular mode to move from her house to her faculty. "Public transport makes me travel in a more comfortable way compared to using my car or other means. However, the fact that sometimes the bus comes late creates some problems as I cannot be timely for my classes and exams," she stated. According to Aina, the delay can result in some difficulties when planning daily routine and making everything timely. Also, she states that there are many places of buses stops that should be improved to make life easier.
Similarly, such concerns have been brought up by another daily traveler named Hong Jia Cheng, who is a college-going student and uses the train to go to various places in the city. "At the time of early mornings and late evenings, when people are commuting to work and coming back from work respectively, the trains tend to be filled like sardines inside a tin can. It gets difficult to get oneself into the very first train that passes by," he commented to me. He stated that having a frequently operating train in such periods of time would be beneficial, and that would indeed prove to be advantageous for those who travel long distances.
Apart from the problems of delay and crowding, yet another problem of first mile-last-mile connectivity poses challenges to the commuters using public transport services. Though the trains stations are strategically positioned in most cases, there remain certain passengers who require another mode of transport besides the train. Most of the travelers believes that the integration would bring more utilization of public transport through integration of buses and trains, among other types. Integration means that the movement would be smooth and there would not be a necessity for personal means of transport.
Safety is another concern since elderly people, physically challenged individuals, and travelers carrying babies would encounter some difficulties while using the transport services in some stations where there could be heavy traffic. Good infrastructure would go along way in improving the security and comfort of travelers. Notwithstanding these issues, the transport services will remain highly utilized by most Malaysians because of cheap prices and the contribution towards environmental sustainability. Public transport would reduce traffic problems, costs of travel, and ensure sustainability of the environment through minimizing carbon emission.
However, recent steps have been undertaken towards improvement of the public transport services in Malaysia through developing the infrastructure and introducing new technology. Travelers have benefitted from this, but they believe that further developments should always be made. The one factor about urbanization which cannot go unnoticed in Malaysia is the development of public transport systems. With increased developments of the city, it becomes necessary for the cities to have transport systems connecting them and facilitating movements in and out of them.
Generally, although there are many advantages associated with having a good public transport system, there are various challenges faced by the commuter. These challenges include overcrowding, inefficiency of time management, accessibility, and connectivity. Planning would definitely help in solving these challenges and building the trust of the commuter.