The members of the Association for the Improvement of Mass-Transit (Transit) wish to express their concern about the upcoming closure of Puduraya Bus Terminal which is expected to take place by the middle of this month and last for a period of approximately four months.

The members of Transit are concerned about the lack of information about the closure, as well as problems related to the alternative terminals which will be used during the four-month closure period.

First, we at Transit have been following the renovation of Puduraya terminal. We recall no point over the past 4-5 months when it was mentioned that the renovation would require the bus terminal to be closed. The problem is not really with the closing of the terminal but the lack of information about the closure that is of concern to us.

The second and greatest concern is with the alternative arrangements. Bus services for the south will be expected to use the bus stabling area which was built last year and partly opened in time for the Hari Raya Aidilfitri balik kampung period as their terminal.

However, bus operators are already expressing their concern that it is tough to access the bus terminal and this may cause additional congestion.

Then there are the arrangements for bus services for the north which will be moved to the Hentian Duta off Jalan Duta.

While access may be more convenient for the buses, there is only one scheduled bus route with access to Hentian Duta - RapidKL’s City Suttle B115, which few people know about, and no rail connection. At least the Jalan Hang Tuah bus terminal is close to the Hang Tuah LRT and monorail station.

According to reports in the local media, the Federal Territories Ministry has not yet determined how and when the buses will be shifted to the new terminals. We expect that the government will provide for alternative arrangements to be made to shuttle people to the alternative terminals - especially for access to Hentian Duta.

The best solution would be to have a shuttle bus service linking the PWTC LRT station to Hentian Duta. The shuttle bus would also pass by the Putra KTM Komuter Halt and the nearby Hentian Putra on the way to Hentian Duta.

This service should be put in place before the buses are shifted and it would be ideal if this service would continue for as long as Hentian Duta is open.

The writer represents Transit.