Proceedings of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol.8, 2011 Intercity Bus Transportation System and its competition in Malaysia Bayu Martanto ADJI Angelalia ROZA PhD Candidate Masters Candidate Center for Transportation Research Center for Transportation Research Faculty of Engineering Faculty of Engineering University of Malaya University of Malaya 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Fax: +603-79552182 Fax: +603-79552182 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Raja Syahira RAJA ABDUL AZIZ Mohamed Rehan KARIM Masters Candidate Professor Center for Transportation Research Center for Transportation Research Faculty of Engineering Faculty of Engineering University of Malaya University of Malaya 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Fax: +603-79552182 Fax: +603-79552182 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Abstract : Intercity transportation in Malaysia is quite similar to other countries, which involve three kinds of modes, namely, bus, rail and air. Among these modes, bus transportation continues to be the top choice for intercity travelers in Malaysia. Bus offers more flexibility compared to the other transport modes. Due to its relatively cheaper fare as compared to the air transport, bus is more affordable to those with low income. However, bus transport service today is starting to face higher competition from rail and air transport due to their attractive factors. The huge challenge faced by intercity bus transport in Malaysia is the management of its services. The intercity bus transport does not fall under one management; unlike rail transport which is managed under Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB), or air transport which is managed under Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB). This paper discusses the competition between intercity buses and other modes. Key Words: Intercity bus transport, intercity modes, feeder transport 1. INTRODUCTION Malaysia is a federation formed in 1963 comprising of 13 states and 3 federal territories. It is located between 1° and 7° degrees north of the Equator with an area of 329,758 sq. km. Malaysia is a tropical country, with warm and humid weather all year round. The temperature ranges from 21°C to 32°C. The annual rainfall varies from 2,000 mm to 2,500 mm. The 13 states are Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Malacca, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Penang, Selangor, Terengganu, Sabah and Sarawak while the three federal territories are Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya. The country consists of two geographical regions which are separated by the South China Sea. Proceedings of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol.8, 2011 The region located on the west side is well-known as Peninsular Malaysia and shares a land border on the north with its northern neighbor, Thailand. It is connected by the Johor-Singapore causeway and the Malaysia-Singapore second link on the south with its southern neighbor, Singapore. The other region is called East Malaysia which occupies the northern part of the island of Borneo, bordering Indonesia and the Sultanate of Brunei. It consists of the federal territory of Labuan island and the states of Sabah and Sarawak. The road transportation sector in the country caters approximately 96% of total passenger and goods transport. Malaysia has a road network infrastructure of 90,129 km of which 79% are paved (year 2006). A total of 1,890 km highways are in operation comprising mostly of interurban highways. The Malaysian government believes that economic growth is able to bring prosperity and better quality of life to all segments of society. In this respect, the principle of “growth with equity” has been highlighted in all development efforts since the 1970s, which had contributed to a significant reduction in the incidence of poverty and a more equitable distribution of income. Comprehensive planning for roads in the country began in the First Malaysia Plan (1966-1970). During the Seventh Malaysia Plan (1996-2000), the overall development of roads is guided by the Highway Network Development Plan that was formulated in 1993. The total population in 2009 is 28.31 million and population density is 86/sq. km. Life expectancy is 74.1 years (71.8 years for males, and 76.2 years for females). The infant mortality rate is 9.0 per 1,000 live births (2005). Adult literacy rate is over 88%. The national census revealed that 50.4% of the population are Malays and 23.7% are Chinese. The rest comprised of indigenous peoples (11%), Indians (7.1%) and other ethnicities (7.8%). Around 62.7% of the population is in working age (i.e. between the ages of 15-64). Males comprise 50.7% of the population, while females comprise 49.3%. Malaysian income per capita is 6,812 U$D (2009) or RM 24,541 which allows it to be classified as a middle-income country. 2. INFRASTRUCTURE FOR INTERCITY TRANSPORT Intercity transportation in Malaysia is served by three modes of transportation, namely, air transport, rail transport and intercity bus transport. 2.1 Roads Network and Intercity Bus transportation system The road network in Malaysia has expanded by almost 8,100 km, from only 41,000 km in 1990 to slightly over 49,000 km in 2000. One of the most important component of the country’s road system is the 864 km North-South Expressway (NSE), which stretches from Bukit Kayu Hitam on the Thai border to Johor Bahru in the South of Peninsular Malaysia. All major economic centers are linked to one another and have good connection to the ports by good road networks. The rural and outlying areas are also connected to the main inter-urban road grid. The federal and state roads in this country together with the privatized roads thus form an extensive and nation-wide road system for Peninsular Malaysia. Proceedings of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol.8, 2011 The average speeds of the vehicles on the major roads are quite high due to the relatively high geometric characteristics. However, the speed limit for motorcars is between 90 to 110 kilometers per hour; while for buses and trucks, the range is 80 to 90 kilometers per hour. With the growing and booming local automobile industry, the automobile population in Kuala Lumpur has been rapidly increasing over the recent years. Subsequently, the significant effect is the increase number of vehicle ownership. This can be seen by looking at the number of vehicles owned per household in Malaysia. Based on the authors’ point of view, a family unit on average possesses two or three cars. Coupled with the declining use of public transport this situation results in road congestion and high parking demand especially in the city. The government has made significant investment to keep planning and constructing roads to cope with the problem. On the other hand, public transport infrastructure also has to be improved as it can be seen as the best way to solve the traffic congestion problem. In order to encourage people to choose public transport, the infrastructure has to be improved to reach the satisfaction level among the passengers. Until a few months ago, the main intercity bus terminal in Kuala Lumpur area was Puduraya intercity bus terminal, supported by intercity bus terminal of Shah Alam, Duta terminal and Bus Terminal of Kajang. After the government planned to change Puduraya terminal to be the urban public transport terminal, all the activities in Puduraya were moved to the Bukit Jalil Sport Center area. Starting on January 2010, intercity passenger movement will be served by an integrated transportation terminal of Bandar Tasik Selatan for the southern corridor of Malaysia. Later in 2012, the Integrated Transport Terminal of Gombak will serve the intercity passenger movement to the northern and eastern corridor. The main intercity passenger movement in Malaysia can be observed in Table 1. Table 1 : Intercity bus destination in Malaysia DIRECTION OF BUS DESTINATIONS/ STATION COACHES Northbound Coaches Bukit KayuHitam, Changloon, Kangar, AlorStar,SungaiPetani, Kroh, Baling, Lenggong, Gerik, Penang, Butterworth, ParitBuntar, Kuala Kangsar, Taiping, IpohLumut, TelukIntan, Batu Gajah, Kuala Perlis , Padang Besar, Hadyai (Thailand). Northeastbound Kota Bahru, Jerteh& Kuala Besut, GuaMusang&Merapoh, Kuala Terengganu, Coaches Dungun, TasikKenyir . Eastbound& Westbound TasikChini, Kuantan, Lanchang, Karak, Raub, Kuala Lipis, Mentakab, Temerloh, Coaches Bentong, Fraser's Hill & Kuala KubuBaru, Genting Highlands, Cameron Highlands, Kuala Pilah, Jerantut. Southbound Coaches Melaka(Malacca), Seremban, Port Dickson, Kluang/Kota Tinggi, Johor Baru, Singapore, Mersing . Coaches from Bidor, Chemor, Genting Highlands, Gopeng, Grik, Ipoh, Jertih, Johor Baru / Senai Singapore Airport , Kampar , Kota Bahru, Kuala Kangsar, Kuala Lumpur, Lumut(PulauPangkor), Malacca(Melaka), Merang(Terengganu Islands), Mersing, Penang, Seremban, Taiping, TanjungMalim, Tapah, Terengganu. Source : http://www.Malaysiasite.nl/busstationskleng.htm Proceedings of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol.8, 2011 2.2 Intercity Rail Transportation System Rail transport in Malaysia is handled by a state enterprise named Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB). The railway transportation has 3 major corridors: first, from Kuala Lumpur to the north -with the destination ending at the border town of Padang Besar; second, from Kuala Lumpur to the South- with the last destination at Johor Bahru; and third, from Kuala Lumpur to the East- with the destination ended at Tumpat. Although currently most of the rail network is still having a single track, there has been stretches built with double tracks and finally the northern and southern corridors will be double-track. 2.3 Air Transportation System The main airport in Malaysia is the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), managed and operated by Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd, and located in Sepang which is about 55 km south of Kuala Lumpur. Before the opening of KLIA in 1998, Subang Airport served as the main Kuala Lumpur international airport. There are four other international airports, located in Langkawi, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching and Penang.