BRT Sunway Line

Hello, everyone !!!

Today, I am going to talk about Malaysia's first elevated electric bus service - Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). One step nearer to Malaysia's Vision 2020!! *Cheers*

BRT service was launched on 2nd of June and it has 7 stations around Sunway and Subang Jaya to ease the traffic congestion in the area. The first station will be at USJ  7, follow by South Quay (behind Mydin), Sun U-Monash, SunMed, Sunway Lagoon, Mentari and the last station at Sunway-Setia Jaya (or it can be the other way round). USJ 7 station is an interchange station with the future LRT and to Rapid KL's Kelana Jaya Line, which will definitely benefit the citizen around the area.

BRT has similar features of  Light Rail Transit (LRT) in Malaysia.
It has:
  • Dedicated elevated lanes - This means that the buses have a special lane all by itself. There will be no other vehicles except the electric buses. No other vehicles = No traffic jam !
  • Environmental-friendly buses - The buses are electrical-powered. They use iron-phosphate battery which is fire-safe and non-toxic, in-wheel hub motors and regenerative braking (sources from Wikipedia), which means no pollution. Besides, the buses are quieter than the usual buses we have in Malaysia and they are less jerks, vibrations and noises. (Smooth like LRT~). Don't believe? Try it yourself!
  • Environmental-friendly infrastructure - It minimises the use of air-conditioner, but fret not, the stations are airy. You can feel the breeze even when you are climbing the stairs. 
Look! It is not totally covered with glass panes. Those tiny hole - that's where the breeze from!
  • Customer-friendly buses - The buses can hold a capacity of 60-70 passengers, with about 29 seats (if I'm not mistaken). Among them, 4 seats are for passengers who needs special care, such as pregnant ladies, senior citizens,... The buses have a wide automated door, and spaces for the disabilities, which ensure that everyone has the opportunity to use this facility. All the buses also have 3 displayed boards that inform the passengers the next stop.
Wide automated door - photo from Google
Comfortable seats - photo from Wikipedia
Photo from Wikipedia
Display board
  • Customer-friendly infrastructure - BRT stations, too, are user-friendly. The stations have stairs, escalators and elevators (ONLY for disabled!!!), wheel chair ramps, tactiles for the blinds and low ticket counters to cater the needs for all the customers. There are also sign boards everywhere.


The electric buses are said to be available every 4 minutes, but I waited for about 20 minutes yesterday, which is equivalent to about a full loop journey between BRT halts of Sunway-Setia Jaya to USJ 7 round-trip (It seems that it still needs to work on the timing). 

BRT adopts a distance-based fare structure. This means that you will be charged according to how far you travelled.
Pic from Paultan.org
To tell the truth, it is way too expensive, though I understand they want to cover the cost. I doubt there will be many people who will take BRT, unless they are in a rush or they have no other choices. BRT is a good and fresh concept and they should have charged a cheaper price to encourage more people to take this environmental-friendly bus. I would rather take Rapid KL than take BRT as they charge a lower price for the same distance (or maybe even longer distance) or Sunway Pyramid shuttle bus would also be a better choice, for those who only wants to travel around Sunway (it's free). 

For more information, click here.


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