The members of the Association for the Improvement of Mass Transit (Transit) note the recent announcement of 25 additional buses for the Nadi Putra service, to increase the size of the fleet from the current 150 buses.

According to the article, the buses are smaller, and they will be used for a "feeder bus" role, going deeper into the housing estates to pick up passengers.

The Nadi Putra service and the Putrajaya Corporation which owns the service, is also going to invest in an awareness campaign to encourage more people to take the bus.

They are also promising that drivers will stick to the schedule in order to ensure that the service is reliable.

Transit is pleased to note that the Putrajaya Corporation and Nadi Putra are going to continue with their efforts to improve the supply of public transport in Putrajaya.

The only question is, will this increase in supply along with the awareness campaign help to increase the demand for public transportation?

The short answer is, there will be little change in the short term. And this is obviously disappointing for all those well-meaning people who want to see demand for the public transport service increase.

The problem is not really that of the supply, but more of information, communication and attitude.

After all, if potential users have no information and do not know that service is available, they will get into their car or get onto their motorcycle and drive right to their destination - it is the easiest thing to do.

Information about Nadi Putra bus services is currently poor and the awareness campaign (which will probably be little more than banners on light poles for car drivers to read) are simply not going to be enough to get more people to use the service.

This has to change.

While this is the ‘information and content age' the Nadi Putra bus service has no independent website (see what you get if you look for www.nadiputra.com.my) or social networking pages.

Instead, potential users are limited to outdated information on the Putrajaya.net community website and Putrajaya Corporation websites.

There are few route maps on buses, at bus stations or available to download from the internet. Similarly, there are no easy-to-carry brochures - or a simple smartphone application with schedule & route maps.

At Putrajaya Sentral bus terminal there is no customer service desk, only a few bus dispatch counters - there is no clear idea of where to get information about the Nadi Putra service, assuming it is available.

It is tough to find route information at bus stops, and many of the bus stops in the main island do not even have shelters because they would detract from the "Parade route."

There should be a nadiputra.com.my website, facebook page, @nadiputra twitter feed, and brochures detailing information about the routes, all made available to the public and potential users.

Nadi Putra must work to develop all of those missing pieces of the public transport infrastructure so potential users know that the service is available and it is in their best interest to use the service - meaning that it will be easy to use, safe, affordable and comfortable.

In addition, Transit feels that Nadi Putra will have to reach outside of Putrajaya and work to catch potential users before they even leave KL, Kajang, Seremban, Cyberjaya or other cities.

After all, once a potential user has gotten into their car or onto their motorcycle (remember, they do not know about the available service) they will continue to use their car or motorcycle all the way to their destination.

Hence, Nadi Putra should be offering services between Putrajaya and these destinations so that visitors will be familiar with the service and not get into their cars or onto their motorcycles.

Attempting to intercept drivers at the edge of Putrajaya and trying to get them to use the park & ride system is not as easy as getting them to use public transport in the first place.

The fact is that potential users will take approximately three years to become aware of a public transport service, find out information and start using the service.

Nadi Putra can reduce that time by giving potential users the information that they need and making public transport interesting and exciting.

RapidPenang has shown the lead, with a nice website, brochures, youth passes, contests, Facebook page, regular tweets, and detailed information about Penang beyond the bus service.

Nadi Putra would do well to emulate the leader in Malaysian public transport.

Beyond that, we still need to see a change in attitude regarding public transport. It is no longer necessary for the media and the public to make the point that buses (or trains, for that matter) are packed full of users in the peak hours but run ‘half-empty' during the day and on weekends.

After all, the majority of our roads & expressways are also heavily congested in the mornings and ‘half empty' in the middle of the day and on weekends (except in areas of heavy use and major design bottlenecks) ... and no one blames the government or the toll operators for the lack of road users.

Moaz Yusuf Ahmad is a member of the NGO Transit .