Rapid KL
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| Rangkaian Pengangkutan Integrasi Deras Sdn Bhd (Rapid KL) |
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| Type | Private limited |
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| Founded | July 2004 |
| Headquarters | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| Key people | Rein Westra, CEO / Executive Director |
| Area served | Klang Valley, Malaysia |
| Industry | Public transportation operation |
| Products | Light rail, public buses transportation |
| Owner | Ministry of Finance, Malaysia |
| Website | http://www.rapidkl.com.my |
Rapid KL, short for Rangkaian Pengangkutan Integrasi Deras Sdn Bhd is a government-owned company which was formed in 2004 as part of the restructuring of the public transport system in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's capital.
Rapid KL, which is 100%-owned by the government, is the operator of Kuala Lumpur's three light rail transit (LRT) lines. It is also the largest stage bus (regular or trunk bus route) and feeder bus operator in Kuala Lumpur.
All assets of the LRT and bus service is owned by another government-owned company, Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad (SPNB) which was also formed under the restructuring process.
The Malaysian government has also announced that the bus network in Penang, which has been suffering from many problems, will undergo a revamp in the same manner as the Klang Valley. A new entity Rapid Penang will be set up as a subsidiary of Rapid KL and 150 buses will start operating in August 2007.
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[edit] Rapid KL services
[edit] Rail
Rapid KL operates three LRT lines.
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The entire LRT network operated by Rapid KL is 56km long and has 49 stations. In 2005, the three lines carry a total of over 300,000 passengers daily.
[edit] Bus
Rapid KL is also the largest bus operator in the Klang Valley. Currently, there are 98 stage bus routes and 39 feeder bus services which operate from LRT stations. The bus routes operated by Rapid KL were previously operated by Intrakota Komposit Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of DRB-Hicom Bhd; and Cityliner Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Park May Bhd. In 2005, Rapid KL buses carried around 190,000 passengers daily.
Rapid KL is however not the only public transport operator in Kuala Lumpur and the Klang Valley. Other rail-based services, such as KTM Komuter, KL Monorail, KLIA Ekspres and KLIA Transit are operated by other companies. There are also many other bus operators such as Metrobus, Len Seng Omnibus Co. Ltd., and Selangor Omnibus Co. Ltd.
[edit] Public transport restructuring in Kuala Lumpur
The need for Kuala Lumpur's public transport system to be revamped became apparent almost immediately after the LRT lines began commercial operations when their ridership was much lower than anticipated. This caused lower than expected revenue levels and the two LRT concessionaires, Sistem Transit Aliran Ringan Sdn Bhd (Star-LRT) and Projek Usahasama Transit Ringan Automatik Sdn Bhd (Putra-LRT), could not repay their commercial loans. The financial crisis of 1997/1998 aggravated the situation. The two companies owed a total of RM5.7bil as at November 2001 when the government's Corporate Debt Restructuring Committee (CDRC) restructured the debts of the two LRT companies.
The bus service in Kuala Lumpur was also facing problems with lower ridership because of an increase in private car usage and lack of capital investments. The two new bus consortiums which were formed in the mid 1990s to take over all bus services in Kuala Lumpur - Intrakota Komposit and Cityliner - began facing financial problems. Intrakota had reportedly accumulated losses amounting to RM450mil from the 1997/1998 financial crisis until SPNB took over in 2003.
With lower revenue, the bus operators could not maintain their fleets, much less invest in more buses. Frequencies and service deteriorated as buses began breaking down.
Public transport usage in the Klang Valley area dropped to about 16% of all total trips, one of the lowest in the Asian region.
[edit] Some important dates connected with the revamp
- In 2001, CDRC successfully restructured the two LRT companies' RM5.7bil worth of debts through the issuance of government-guaranteed bonds by SPNB. SPNB officially took over LRT operations from Star-LRT and Putra-LRT on 1 September 2002.
- In October 2003, SPNB bought over Intrakota Komposit and its subsidiaries from DRB-Hicom for RM177mil. It also paid RM14mil cash for the 364 buses belonging to Cityliner. The original companies were appointed interim operators.
- In November 2004, SPNB handed over the operations of the LRT and bus services to Rapid KL.
- In January 2006, Rapid KL began the first phase of a massive revamp of its bus network in the Klang Valley.
- On 23 September 2006, Phase One of Klang Valley's bus network revamp was completed.
- On 19 February 2007, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced that the bus network in Penang will undergo a revamp. A day later, Malaysian Finance Minister parliamentary secretary Hilmi Yahaya said the new entity will be named Rapid Penang.
- On 25 February 2007, Malaysian Second Finance Minister Nor Mohamed Yakcop said 150 buses, at a cost of RM50mil, will make their first appearance on Penang roads in August 2007.
[edit] Steps to improve service
Since taking over the LRTs and bus network, Rapid KL has taken steps to improve their service.
- Increasing LRT capacity: Rapid KL and SPNB have issued tenders for the purchase of new LRT rolling stock to increase carrying capacity. Tender resulted expected in March 2006.
- Boosting bus fleet: As most of the buses Rapid KL inherited were old and poorly maintained, one of its immediate concerns was to get more buses on the road. In 2005, the government promised Rapid KL 200 new buses.
- Increasing bus routes: Rapid KL has put on several new routes to serve areas which never had bus services.
- Scheduled bus services: Rapid KL introduced scheduled services for 16 routes which are not heavily utilised. For the first time in Malaysia, expected bus arrival times and timetables were put up at bus stops along routes.
- Common monthly passes for both LRT and buses: This is the first time commuters have monthly passes which can be used on both LRTs and buses, helping to enhance integration of the public transport system.
- Common signage for all three LRT lines: The renaming of Putra-LRT and Star-LRT together with the changing of its signage will help enhance integration of the previously unconnected systems.
- Revamp of Rapid KL bus network: Rapid KL scrapped the old Intrakota and Cityliner routes it inherited and introduced three types of bus services: City shuttles (BANDAR), trunk buses (UTAMA),, local shuttles (TEMPATAN), and express buses (EKSPRES). City shuttles will operate within Kuala Lumpur's central business district while trunk buses will link hubs at the edge of the CBD with suburban transportation hubs. At these suburban hubs, local shuttles will radiate out from rail-based public transport stations and fan out to residential areas. Express buses provide non-stop point-to-point route to specific destination.
- Common Ticketing System RapidKL has recently announced that by end of this year, Touch 'n Go can be used in all RapidKL buses
[edit] Management team
- Chief executive officer: Rein Westra
- Chief operating officer (rail): Nor Hassan Ismail (formerly Ridza Abdoh Salleh, who became UEM Buildings Bhd managing director at the end of 2005)
- Chief operating officer (bus): Mohd Ali Mohd Nor
[edit] Rapid KL bus routes
[edit] Network Maps
 Area One - Bus Routes in KL CBD |
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 Area Two - Bus Routes for North and Northwest |
 Area Four- Bus Routes for Southeast and East |
 Area Five and Six - Bus Routes for Southwest and West |
