Free shuttle bus service from KL Sentral to Parliament begins today - Loke

KUALA LUMPUR: A free shuttle bus service from KL Sentral to the Parliament building is available from today to overcome the shortage of parking bays as well as traffic congestion in the area during Parliament sittings, said Transport Minister Anthony Loke.

He said the shuttle service is available to all members of parliament, duty officers as well as media practitioners from 8 am until the close of daily sittings, with a travel frequency of every 30 minutes during peak hours and every hour at other times.

"The aim (of the service) is to ensure there is a mode of public transport that goes straight to the Parliament building. The journey that is about five kilometres will also make a stop at Taman Botani as there is a car park there so workers can 'park and ride'," he told reporters at the Parliament building today.

Earlier, Loke boarded the shuttle bus service from KL Sentral to the Parliament building.

He said congestion happens because there are about 2,000 vehicles entering the Parliament complex daily, but there are only 500 car parks available at the said location.

"With this bus (service), workers can save time as the shuttle will stop at the (Parliament building) security post for them to collect their passes. This bus service will bypass the queue (for visitors) to enter the Parliament building," he said.

Loke also said that the cost of chartering a shuttle bus is RM800 per day, and this is fully borne by the Transport Ministry, adding that two buses will be chartered daily.

-- BERNAMA