As a KL local, KL has a pretty good transit system to get you to important locales but the end to end connection is still a bit lacking (insufficient buses or other transportation links that connects residential areas to the stations etc).
The park and ride system at several stations is pretty quaint but represents an unnecessary additional cost in terms of parking fees.
Recently ridership had seen an increase due to the launch of the MY50 transit pass initiative to get more people off their cars and into public transits but it won't resolve the issue of lack of investments in making it easy for people to get to the station in the first place.
I think the fundamental issue is that transit is mostly as competitive as its going to be without cars becoming significantly less attractive as an option. Its worth looking at Singapore and how it has restricted car use as an example!
The COE system is definitely something to look at but I doubt there will be any political will do so as it'll quite severely impact our own national automotive industry, the Perodua Bezza and Myvi being the best selling local brands, beating foreign brands by a good mile.
The last mile connectivity is probably what is hamstringing our transit system given how the city was initially built without proper rail transit in mind.
Moreover given how underdeveloped the transit system is outside of KL/Selangor, having a car is almost a necessity to get around, unfortunately.
Great post Reece. Looking at the broader context there's an important and influential oil company as a major economic player, perhaps THE major player, and the long rule of the famously car enthusiastic Mahathir, with two national car manufacturers (Perodua and Proton) making very affordable cars, and with petrol costs one fifth of European prices. The corrupt crony capitalism of road building in Malaysia is well known, with fortunes made by building unnecessarily large and sinuous roads. Basically it's a playbook for induced demand - build the infrastructure AND the cars AND provide cheap fuel and there is no way that you don't get a car centric culture. The irony is that whether by car or by public transport getting from A to B anywhere in the Klang Valley is rarely easy or enjoyable, yet on a material level the roads and public transport components are of a standard of quality that would be the envy of any city or country.
It is a very interesting case of a developing city with incredibly comprehensive road infrastructure that has PT, but with limited reason for residents to actually use it!
people talk about last mile connectivity in terms of full new transportation links and such, but we're honestly at the level where remembering to build bridges and sidewalks would by itself double the networks value. a lot of stations have theoretically great walkability in terms of distance but are just physically impossible to go to.
the Sri Petaling station which i use daily is literally a 5 minute stroll away from an entire townships worth of commercial + residential but completely inaccessible due to the highway to it not having the minimum of a sidewalk
Hi Reece. I am not sure whether you are still on here or not but just want to add. There seems to be a bit of an error here. Rapid KL ridership has actually reached 1 million last year. While one might argue 1 million is still very low for such an extensive transit system, it certainly isn't as bad as u mentioned which is in the 100,000s. Another error is, while Malaysia do have oil, it actually is very2 tiny compared to countries like Saudi Arabia, UAE, Canada, Qatar or even the US. In fact Malaysia has been a net oil importer for 2 decades already.
Anyway, great job on your analysis. I agree with you on a lot of things. I used to live in KL suburb name Taman Connaught. They have an MRT station over there. This MRT station is not located anywhere near the residential area. It is located in front of a mall which nobody ever goes. What is even worse is that there are no special parking lots for commuters. To walk there is impossible because of the dividing highways they have from the residential areas to the MRT station.
Currently I am living in Cyberjaya. They just recently completed a "Cyberjaya City Center" MRT station. What's laughable is, this station is located in the middle of nowhere. 🤣. It's a jungle surrounding area. Supposedly they want to build a new city center over there. The funny thing is Cyberjaya is already a dead city. It's a ghost town & many real estate are not selling in Cyberjaya & they are thinking about building a new city center. 😅. There are rumors that they have been lobbied by developers. It's ridiculous that we have been wasting our money to the tune of billions just to build a pathetic transit system. KL city center train connectivity is quite good though. It hit many of the important areas. The suburbs is the major problems here to me.
I also am not a fan of Malaysia's city planning, to me it is terribly plan. A supposedly "planned" new city center like Putrajaya & Shah Alam is nothing but a hot mess. I was also born & raised in Ipoh, a city 2 hours away from KL. While Ipoh is booming & I love that it is finally growing. It's obvious that Ipoh is becoming one big urban sprawl. Many other cities in Malaysia are becoming more & more sprawling. I don't know why Malaysian city planners love urban sprawl so much. It's a shame that this country never learn from its terrible choices throughout history. Having said that, you are right. Malaysian cities have much more densely populated urban sprawl compared to US cities. I don't know why Malaysian city planners. I guess it's not game over yet.
Btw Reece. There is a new LRT project in Penang, Malaysia. I am quite excited about this project. Can u cover this project? Hopefully someone can comment & give constructive suggestions before the project started.
While the KTM Komuter service is bad, it's not as bad as the trains (Class 81,83 and 92) which are poorly maintained and (in the class 92's case) severely vandalized.
As a KL local, KL has a pretty good transit system to get you to important locales but the end to end connection is still a bit lacking (insufficient buses or other transportation links that connects residential areas to the stations etc).
The park and ride system at several stations is pretty quaint but represents an unnecessary additional cost in terms of parking fees.
Recently ridership had seen an increase due to the launch of the MY50 transit pass initiative to get more people off their cars and into public transits but it won't resolve the issue of lack of investments in making it easy for people to get to the station in the first place.
A very good piece I might add.
Thanks for reading!
I think the fundamental issue is that transit is mostly as competitive as its going to be without cars becoming significantly less attractive as an option. Its worth looking at Singapore and how it has restricted car use as an example!
The COE system is definitely something to look at but I doubt there will be any political will do so as it'll quite severely impact our own national automotive industry, the Perodua Bezza and Myvi being the best selling local brands, beating foreign brands by a good mile.
The last mile connectivity is probably what is hamstringing our transit system given how the city was initially built without proper rail transit in mind.
Moreover given how underdeveloped the transit system is outside of KL/Selangor, having a car is almost a necessity to get around, unfortunately.
Great post Reece. Looking at the broader context there's an important and influential oil company as a major economic player, perhaps THE major player, and the long rule of the famously car enthusiastic Mahathir, with two national car manufacturers (Perodua and Proton) making very affordable cars, and with petrol costs one fifth of European prices. The corrupt crony capitalism of road building in Malaysia is well known, with fortunes made by building unnecessarily large and sinuous roads. Basically it's a playbook for induced demand - build the infrastructure AND the cars AND provide cheap fuel and there is no way that you don't get a car centric culture. The irony is that whether by car or by public transport getting from A to B anywhere in the Klang Valley is rarely easy or enjoyable, yet on a material level the roads and public transport components are of a standard of quality that would be the envy of any city or country.
It is a very interesting case of a developing city with incredibly comprehensive road infrastructure that has PT, but with limited reason for residents to actually use it!
Nice to see an article on KL! Hope the video comes out soon
Already here!
https://youtu.be/8K88JvLk9gE?si=4thLPxePAcxktm9h
It is impressive how extensive KL’s transit system is...in a metropolis teeming with houston-raquel highways
Exactly, its probably got the most lane miles + transit miles per capita out there!
Have you ever visited Kuala Lumpur?
Yessir!
Nice, was it recent? And how was your experience?
Not that recent, the city reminded me a lot of a less dry Dubai, big roads and a nice metro with lots of malls, not pedestrian friendly
KL's transit is honestly so close yet so far...
people talk about last mile connectivity in terms of full new transportation links and such, but we're honestly at the level where remembering to build bridges and sidewalks would by itself double the networks value. a lot of stations have theoretically great walkability in terms of distance but are just physically impossible to go to.
the Sri Petaling station which i use daily is literally a 5 minute stroll away from an entire townships worth of commercial + residential but completely inaccessible due to the highway to it not having the minimum of a sidewalk
Hi Reece. I am not sure whether you are still on here or not but just want to add. There seems to be a bit of an error here. Rapid KL ridership has actually reached 1 million last year. While one might argue 1 million is still very low for such an extensive transit system, it certainly isn't as bad as u mentioned which is in the 100,000s. Another error is, while Malaysia do have oil, it actually is very2 tiny compared to countries like Saudi Arabia, UAE, Canada, Qatar or even the US. In fact Malaysia has been a net oil importer for 2 decades already.
Anyway, great job on your analysis. I agree with you on a lot of things. I used to live in KL suburb name Taman Connaught. They have an MRT station over there. This MRT station is not located anywhere near the residential area. It is located in front of a mall which nobody ever goes. What is even worse is that there are no special parking lots for commuters. To walk there is impossible because of the dividing highways they have from the residential areas to the MRT station.
Currently I am living in Cyberjaya. They just recently completed a "Cyberjaya City Center" MRT station. What's laughable is, this station is located in the middle of nowhere. 🤣. It's a jungle surrounding area. Supposedly they want to build a new city center over there. The funny thing is Cyberjaya is already a dead city. It's a ghost town & many real estate are not selling in Cyberjaya & they are thinking about building a new city center. 😅. There are rumors that they have been lobbied by developers. It's ridiculous that we have been wasting our money to the tune of billions just to build a pathetic transit system. KL city center train connectivity is quite good though. It hit many of the important areas. The suburbs is the major problems here to me.
I also am not a fan of Malaysia's city planning, to me it is terribly plan. A supposedly "planned" new city center like Putrajaya & Shah Alam is nothing but a hot mess. I was also born & raised in Ipoh, a city 2 hours away from KL. While Ipoh is booming & I love that it is finally growing. It's obvious that Ipoh is becoming one big urban sprawl. Many other cities in Malaysia are becoming more & more sprawling. I don't know why Malaysian city planners love urban sprawl so much. It's a shame that this country never learn from its terrible choices throughout history. Having said that, you are right. Malaysian cities have much more densely populated urban sprawl compared to US cities. I don't know why Malaysian city planners. I guess it's not game over yet.
Btw Reece. There is a new LRT project in Penang, Malaysia. I am quite excited about this project. Can u cover this project? Hopefully someone can comment & give constructive suggestions before the project started.
While the KTM Komuter service is bad, it's not as bad as the trains (Class 81,83 and 92) which are poorly maintained and (in the class 92's case) severely vandalized.