Rapid Bus
![]() Rapid KL Alexander Dennis Enviro500 MMC parked at Cheras Selatan depot. | |
Parent | ![]() |
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Founded | January 2006 |
Headquarters | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
Service type | Bus service |
Routes | 167 |
Fleet | 1,400 |
Daily ridership | about 400,000 per day |
Website | Rapid Bus |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b8/RapidKL_electric_bus.jpg/220px-RapidKL_electric_bus.jpg)
Rapid Bus Sdn Bhd is the largest bus operator in Malaysia operating mainly in urban areas of Klang Valley, Penang & Kuantan. As of 2011, Rapid KL service brands unit of Rapid Bus, has operates 167 routes with 1,400 buses covering 980 residential areas with a ridership of about 400,000 per day.[1]
Rapid Bus routes were previously operated by Intrakota Komposit Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of DRB-Hicom Berhad; and Cityliner Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Park May Berhad. When it took over, there were 179 routes. Since January 2006, Rapid KL has redrawn the entire network.
Rapid Bus is however not the only bus operator in Kuala Lumpur and the Klang Valley. Other bus operators such as Metrobus, Len Seng Omnibus Co Ltd., Nadi Putra and Selangor Omnibus Co. Ltd also serve the Klang Valley.
History
In October 2003, Prasarana Malaysia Berhad 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.
Rapid Bus began the first phase of the revamp of its bus network in January 2006 by introducing 15 City Shuttle bus routes which serve major areas in the central business district of Kuala Lumpur. The buses run between four hubs at the edge of the central business district, namely KL Sentral, Titiwangsa, KLCC and Maluri, and Medan Pasar in the city centre. These bus hubs also serve as rail interchanges, with the exception of Medan Pasar, although it is at a walking distance from Masjid Jamek LRT station.
In March 2006, Rapid Bus revamped the bus network serving Kepong, Selayang, Gombak, Batu Caves, Bandar Sri Damansara and Bandar Manjalara areas which it called Area 2. The areas are now service by four Trunk Routes and 35 Local Shuttle routes when fully implemented. The four trunk routes all begin from the Titiwangsa hub where passengers can change to City Shuttles. At the other end, the trunk routes serve regional hubs where Local Shuttles fan out into the residential suburbs.
On 30 April 2006, the bus network in Area 3 covering Setapak, Ulu Kelang, Wangsa Maju, Keramat, Ampang and Pandan was revamped. Three trunk bus routes serve this area, one from Titiwangsa and two from KLCC while 26 local shuttle routes complete the network for this area.
On 1 July 2006, two express services, four trunk lines and 32 local services were introduced in Area 4. It covers areas including Cheras, Serdang, Kajang, Balakong, Putrajaya, Cyberjaya and Bandar Baru Bangi.
On 23 September 2006, Rapid Bus' revamp of the Klang Valley's bus network became complete with the introduction of new routes in Area Five which covers Subang Jaya, USJ, Puchong, and Petaling Jaya, Shah Alam and Klang south of the Federal Highway; and Area Six which covers Damansara, Bandar Utama, Kota Damansara and areas of Petaling Jaya, Shah Alam and Klang north of the Federal Highway.
On 21 April 2007, sixteen months after the first step of the first revamp, a second major revamp was undertaken on the entire bus network on grounds of feedback from commuters who wanted the buses to ferry them from their housing estates direct to the city centre, that is with less or without much need to change buses in the middle of their journey.[2]
This revamp saw the routes being adjusted (e.g. B112 [Maluri — KL Sentral], formerly 112, now passes by Jalan Hang Tuah/Pudu/Tun Tan Cheng Lock instead of Jalan Maharajalela/Sultan Sulaiman), extended (T40 [Kajang — Maluri], is now U40 and is extended to Pasar Seni LRT), merged (T41 [Serdang Komuter — Maluri] and 414 [Serdang — Bandar Sungai Long] become U41 [Pasar Seni LRT — Bandar Sungai Long]) or discontinued (route 107 ceased operations on that date).
On 1 December 2015, a third revamp, known as The Bus Network Revamp (BNR) was carried out by SPAD to improve urban public transport in Greater Kuala Lumpur/ Klang Valley. This procedure has caused RapidKL to surrender most of its bus routes to other bus providers such as Causeway Link, Selangor Omnibus, Setara Jaya and Nadi Putra, and also changes to the route numbers.
On 18 June 2020, Rapid Bus released new features on real time locations of bus in Google Maps, via collaboration with Google Transit[3][4][5][6]. Almost 170 RapidKL's bus routes are covered with this real time feature, and were expanded to MRT feeder bus service. Rapid Bus also plans to expand the application to Rapid Penang, and Rapid Kuantan in the future.
Services
- Rapid KL, a unit of Rapid Bus currently the largest operator stage bus services in Klang Valley.
- Rapid Penang, a unit of Rapid Bus currently the only one operator in Penang island & largest operator stage bus services in Penang northern state of Malaysia.
- Rapid Kuantan, a unit of Rapid Bus currently the largest stage bus services in Kuantan, Pahang east coast state of Malaysia.
- Rapid Kamunting, the stage bus service at Kamunting & Taiping, Perak.
- Go KL City Bus, one of the operator for free bus service funded by Land Public Transport Commission (Malaysia) (SPAD).
- PJ City Bus, a free bus service funded by Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ).
- Smart Selangor Bus, a free bus service operated by Rapid Bus funded by Selangor State Government.
- MBPP Rapid Penang Free Shuttle for Bridge Express Shuttle Transit (BEST), Central Area Transit (CAT) and Pulau Tikus Loop (PTL) funded by Penang Island City Council (MBPP).
- Rapid Manjung
Using Rapid Bus in Rapid KL brands
Nomenclature (Before BNR): 2006-2015
Rapid Bus operates four types of bus services: City Shuttles (Malay: Perkhidmatan bandar), Trunk Buses (Perkhidmatan utama), Local Shuttles (Perkhidmatan tempatan) and point-to-point Express buses (Perkhidmatan ekspres).
City Shuttles have red destination boards, trunk buses have blue boards, local shuttles have green boards and express services have orange boards.
Rapid Bus has also divided up the Klang Valley into six areas:
- Area One : Kuala Lumpur City Centre (Central Business District)
- Area Two : Kepong, Segambut, Selayang, Batu Caves, Gombak, Jalan Ipoh and Sentul
- Area Three : Setapak, Wangsa Maju, Ulu Klang, Setiawangsa, Keramat, Ampang and Pandan
- Area Four : Cheras, Kajang, Ulu Langat, Putrajaya, Cyberjaya, Semenyih, Sungai Besi, Seri Kembangan, Serdang and Balakong
- Area Five : Klang, Shah Alam Selatan, Bandar Sunway, Subang Jaya, Jalan Klang Lama and Puchong
- Area Six : Shah Alam Utara, Subang, Damansara, Petaling Jaya Utara, Bangsar and Kota Damansara
Route numbers for the local shuttle are prefixed by the letter T (for Tempatan), e.g. T323. Route numbers for the express services are prefixed by the letter E (for Ekspres), e.g. E1.
There was a prefix for trunk shuttles which is U (for Utama) e.g. U410 and for city shuttles which is B (for Bandar), e.g. B114. Later all the prefix were demolished due to the revamping of the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) except the local shuttle T (Tempatan) services.
The Bus Network Revamp (BNR): 2015-present
The Ampang Corridor, Cheras Corridor, Sungai Besi Corridor, Klang Lama Corridor, Lebuhraya Persekutuan Corridor, Damansara Corridor, Jalan Ipoh Corridor, and Jalan Pahang Corridor were revamped under the Bus Network Revamp reorganization.
The Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) has divided up the Klang Valley into 8 stage bus corridors:
- Jalan Ipoh Corridor
- Jalan Pahang Corridor
- Ampang Corridor
- Cheras Corridor
- Sungai Besi Corridor
- Klang Lama Corridor
- Lebuhraya Persekutuan Corridor
- Damansara Corridor
The Bus Network Revamp has been implemented by Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) as of 1 December 2015.
Bus routes
Former bus routes served by Rapid Bus
Before the implementation of the Bus Network Revamp (BNR) by the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD).
Previous route number | Destination | New route number under BNR |
---|---|---|
U3 | Bandar Baru Selayang - Medan Pasar | Setara Jaya (Route 151) |
U4 | Desa Aman Puri - Medan Pasar | Selangor Omnibus (Route 104) |
U5 | Taman Melati LRT station - Lebuh Amapng | Not in service (replaced with route T203 by Rapid Bus; towards Danau Kota / Jalan Genting Klang) |
U8 | Damansara Damai - Medan Pasar | Selangor Omibus (Route 103) |
U11 | Taman Sri Sinar - Medan Pasar | Selangor Omibus (Route 121) Previously served by Setara Jaya (December 2015 - March 2016) and Causeway Link (March 2016 - July 2017) |
U13 | Taman Ehsan - Medan Pasar | Selangor Omibus (Route 120) Previously served by Setara Jaya (December 2015 - March 2016) and Causeway Link (March 2016 - July 2017) |
U21 | Ukay Perdana - Chow Kit | Not in service (replaced with route T222 by Rapid Bus; towards Sri Rampai LRT station) |
U22 | Sri Nilam - Lebuh Ampang | Not in service (replaced with route 300 by Rapid Bus) |
U25 | Section 10, Wangsa Maju - Lebuh Ampang | Leng Seng and Rapid Bus (Route 251/252) |
U42 | Putrajaya Sentral - Serdang railway station | Nadi Putra(now transferred route to KR Travel and Tours, Route 502) |
U69 | Putra Perdana - Pasar Seni | Causeway Link (Route 601) Previously served by Metrobus (December 2015 - October 2016) |
U75A | Pantai Dalam Komuter station - Pasar Seni | Not in service |
U83 | KL Sentral - Solaris Dutamas | Rapid Bus (Route 850) No longer in service as of 1 December 2017, replaced with Route 852, starting from Titiwangsa |
U84 | Kelana Park View - Pasar Seni | Not in service |
U85 | Taman Paramount LRT station - Pasar Seni | Not in service (replaced with route T790 by Rapid Bus; towards Mid Valley Megamall) |
U91 | Klang - Pasar Seni | Not in service (replaced with routes 700 by Seranas, KKBB and 708 by Rapid Bus) 700: Klang - Pasar Seni 708: Klang - Sunway Pyramid via Shah Alam |
U209 | Taman Selayang Utama - Medan Pasar | Setara Jaya (Route 152) |
U222 | Jinjang Utara - Medan Pasar | Selangor Omnibus (Route 120) Previously served by Setara Jaya (December 2015 - March 2016) and Causeway Link (March 2016 - July 2017) |
U429 | Putrajaya Sentral - Cyberjaya | Nadi Putra (Route 520) |
E1 | Putrajaya Sentral - Pasar Seni | Nadi Putra (now transferred route to KR Travel and Tours, Route 500) |
T515 | Puchong Utama - Pulau Meranti | Causeway Link (Route 608); from IOI Puchong Jaya LRT station Previously served by Metrobus (December 2015 - January 2016) and Nadi Putra (January 2016 - October 2017) |
Using the service
Rapid Bus new bus system expects users to hop on more than one bus to complete a journey. This is unlike the previous Rapid Bus bus system and that still in use by other bus operators in the Klang Valley, where most bus services begin in the suburbs, follow a trunk route to the city, then perform a sweep in the city centre before terminating.
Instead, Rapid Bus users are expected to use a combination of its four types of services to complete journeys. Local Shuttles take users in the suburbs to hubs, usually bus terminals or LRT stations, where users transfer to LRTs or trunk buses to continue their journeys to the city or elsewhere in the Klang Valley. The city centre is served exclusively by GoKL City Bus.
Fares
Effective 1 September 2009, all Rapid Bus buses will be issued a single journey tickets for their city shuttle (BANDAR), local shuttle (TEMPATAN) & express (EKSPRES) bus routes which replaced the daily unlimited ride tickets. As for trunk shuttle (UTAMA) bus route, the tickets will be issued based on the number of zones covered. For example, if a person travels across three zones on the trunk shuttle (UTAMA) bus route, the bus fare is RM 2.50 for single journey. The ticket must be kept while on board for inspection by RapidKL officials failure of which the ticket must be purchased again if the ticket is lost while on board during the inspection.
Spouse and a total of 4 youngsters under 15 years old are allowed to accompany the pass holder free on weekends and public holidays.
Effective 10 April 2019, all RapidKL buses is implementing full cashless journey for all routes by stages, in which the bus only accepts Touch n Go card only for user convenience. The systems were fully implemented by 27 May 2019.[7]
Schedules
Detailed schedules of bus services are not published, although headway information and operating hours is publicly available.
Headway:
- City Shuttle:10 to 20 minutes
- Trunk Line: 15 to 30 minutes
- Local Shuttle: 15 to 30 minutes
- Express: 30 to 60 minutes
There are scheduled services that are not subject to the above headways.
RapidBET - Rapid Bus Express Transit
BET (also known as E in RapidPenang) is an express system where the buses utilize less congested highways to link between heavily populated areas and city centers in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Penang. Naturally, by using the highways, travel time is reduced as the highways are less congested than the normal routes. The service will have limited stops and rely on feeder buses and park-n-ride facilities to ensure sufficient ridership. With BET, travel time is expected to be reduced by up to 50 percent on certain BETs.
There were only 3 BET services operated by RapidKL and 1 express service in RapidPenang. Except for RapidPenang, these services are only available on weekdays and during the morning and evening rush hours only. For this initial introductory stage, BET will run at 15 to 20-minute intervals during the morning and evening peak hours. Frequency and service periods will be increased at a later stage depending on the demand for each route.
Buses for BET routes are about two to five buses initially and will be reviewed from time to time as the demand grows. BET is more of an enhancement to the current services, whereby the focus is more to shorten the travel time.
Kuala Lumpur district area
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/Volvo_B8L_on_BET7_route.jpg/220px-Volvo_B8L_on_BET7_route.jpg)
The only remaining BET inside Kuala Lumpur district area is the BET7, from Sri Nilam at Bandar Baru Ampang, parallel to 300 service until LRT Ampang, then bypass through Ampang-Kuala Lumpur Elevated Highway (AKLEH) until Jalan Tun Razak interchange, then re-merge on 300 at Ampang Park LRT station before terminating at Lebuh Ampang at Masjid Jamek LRT station. This route is the most heavily used than any other BET's, and the bus only runs on morning rush hour, 5 trips daily. The fleet used is the Alexander Dennis Enviro500 and Volvo B8L double-decker bus.
To Putrajaya
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/42/BET17_Mercedes_Benz_CBC1725.jpg/220px-BET17_Mercedes_Benz_CBC1725.jpg)
Two BET services serve the Putrajaya Presint 2 central district for government employees between Selayang, Batu Caves, Melawati and Putrajaya. The bus runs 4 trips daily per route, 2 morning trips to Putrajaya and 2 return evening trips. Fleet used is Mercedes Benz CBC1725 buses.
- BET16 - Warta Baru, Selayang - Presint 2 Putrajaya via Maju Expressway, Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road and Jalan Kuching
- BET17 - Hab Bas Pinggiran, Batu Caves - Hab Greenwood, Batu Caves - Presint 2 Putrajaya via Sungai Besi Expressway and Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road 2
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f6/BET16_Warta_Baru.jpg/220px-BET16_Warta_Baru.jpg)
Penang express service
- 401E - Pengkalan Weld, Penang - Bayan Lepas International Airport - Balik Pulau via Bayan Lepas Expressway and Jelutong Expressway (normal service as 401)
Discontinued
Below were discontinued routes due to several reasons, such as ineffective route or low demand. This low demand were due to the MRT or LRT services already served the area.
- BET1 - Kota Damansara, Petaling Jaya - Pasar Seni Terminal E via the Penchala Link (normal service as 780, discontinued due to MRT service)
- BET2 - Bandar Sungai Long, Kajang - Lebuh Pudu bus hub via the Grand Saga Cheras–Kajang Expressway (normal service as 590, discontinued due to MRT service)
- BET3 - Subang Mewah, USJ 1, Subang Jaya - Pasar Seni Terminal D via the New Pantai Expressway (normal service as 770, discontinued due to LRT service)
- BET4 - Taman Sri Muda, Shah Alam - Pasar Seni D via the New Pantai Expressway (normal service as 751, discontinued due to low demand)
- BET8 - Semenyih Sentral, Semenyih to Lebuh Pudu bus hub via the Kajang–Seremban Highway (discontinued due to low demand)
RapidPenang Intercity
In 2 August 2015, RapidPenang introduced the very first intercity route from Penang Sentral to Sungai Petani and Parit Buntar. This route uses Scania K250UB (previously Alexander Dennis Enviro500), and the frequency is one hour per bus.
- EB60 - Penang Sentral - Sungai Petani via North-South Expressway
- EB80 - Penang Sentral - Nibong Tebal and Parit Buntar via North-South Expressway
Minibus trial
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/93/RapidKL_midibus_at_Bukit_Indah_hub_terminal.jpg/220px-RapidKL_midibus_at_Bukit_Indah_hub_terminal.jpg)
In September 2019, RapidKL re-introduced the minibus service to improve first-mile connectivity, especially for sharper and narrower routes[8]. T300 is the first trial route to operate minibus service, using Hino XZU high entry midibus leased from Kiffah Travel and Tours for 3 months. Later on 15 September 2019, another route, T304 were put on trial, using Hino XZU high entry midibus leased from Selangor Omnibus for 3 months[9]. One of the fleet were equipped with wheelchair hydraulic lift for wheelchair access.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3c/Hino_Poncho_at_Damansara_Utama.jpg/220px-Hino_Poncho_at_Damansara_Utama.jpg)
On 20 October 2019, RapidKL put another bus on trial using newly imported Hino Poncho minibus leased from Hino Motors Malaysia, which served the T784 service for 3 months[10]. This bus later transferred to Batu Caves for another trial on T201 service.
All buses were returned after trial contract ended, but the news about minibus is still yet to be unknown.
Bus Fleet
As of June 2014, the Rapid Bus fleet consists of 1,400 vehicles.[11]
Double decker buses
- Alexander Dennis Enviro500 MMC - 40 buses [12]
- Volvo B8L Gemilang Body - 90 buses [13]
Single Deck Buses
- Alexander Dennis Enviro200 - 80 buses
- BYD K9 Gemilang body - 15 buses, exclusive for BRT [14]
- SKS SA-9 260L - 80 buses
- King Long XMQ6121G Intracoach body - 80 buses
- MAN 18.280 HOCL-NL (A84) Gemilang body - 150 buses [15]
- Mercedes-Benz CBC1725 Master Builders/SKS body, refurbished by QBC - 210 buses
- Volvo B7RLE Deftech body, refurbished by QBC - 120 buses
- Scania K250UB/K270UB Gemilang body - 830 buses [16] at Rapid KL, Rapid Penang, Rapid Kuantan, Rapid Kamunting & Rapid Manjung.
- Volvo B7RLE Gemilang body - 150 buses at MRT SBK Feeder Bus
- Scania K250UB Gemilang body - 150 buses at MRT SBK Feeder Bus
Decomissioned
- Iveco Turbocity 480 (previously used by Intrakota from 1992, decomissioned in 2012)
- Dongfeng DHZ6120RC2 (decomissioned in 2019, part of RapidKL fleet were sold to Setara Jaya and Kiffah Travel and Tours)
- Anyuan JXK6120 (decomissioned in 2019)
- King Long XMQ6122 (decomissioned in 2017, part of the fleet were sold to Setara Jaya)
- Higer KLQ6118 (decomissioned in 2015, preserved by RapidMobiliti)
- Higer KLQ6121G (decomissioned in 2020)
- JAC (part of RapidPenang minibus fleet)
- Sheng Long (caught on fire in Melawati depot)
- Hino XZU (leased from Kiffah Travel and Tours and Selangor Omnibus, end of trial contract)
- Hino Poncho (demo bus, end of trial contract)
Bus Depots
Rapid Bus headquarters complex were located at Cheras Selatan, where all training purposes, bus academy, new bus testing and major maintenance and overhaul takes place. It also holds as the largest depot than any other Rapid Bus depot. Other depots include Batu Caves, Shah Alam and Maluri depots. Specially built BRT Sunway Line depot located at Sun U-Monash station, Sunway, while Sungai Buloh and Kajang depots houses the MRT Feeder buses.
See also
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Prasarana Malaysia Berhad
- Rapid Bus Sdn Bhd
- Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD)
- Public transport in Kuala Lumpur
- Buses in Kuala Lumpur
- List of bus routes in Kuala Lumpur
References
- ^ Surin Murugiah (27 June 2008). "RM4.9b to boost urban,rail transport systems". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2008.
- ^ "Back to those 'minibus' days". NST. 18 April 2007.
- ^ "Aplikasi Google Maps Untuk Bantu Rancang Perjalanan Dengan Bas". Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- ^ "Google Maps app to help Rapid bus users plan trips". Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- ^ "Rapid Bus collaborates with Google Maps app to help users plan trips, view real-time location of buses". Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- ^ "https://themalaysianreserve.com/2020/06/19/rapidkl-users-can-now-plan-bus-trips-via-google-maps/". Retrieved 21 June 2020.
{{cite web}}
: External link in
(help)|title=
- ^ "Rapid KL Buses to Implement Full Cashless from 15 April - Media Releases | MyRapid Your Public Transport Portal". www.myrapid.com.my. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
- ^ "Minibus returns as RapidKL looks to solve first-mile coverage for commuters | The Star". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
- ^ "Laluan Kedua Projek Percubaan Bas Midi Rapid KL - Media Releases | MyRapid Your Public Transport Portal". www.myrapid.com.my. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
- ^ "Projek Percubaan Bas Midi Dapat Sokongan YB Menteri - Media Releases | MyRapid Your Public Transport Portal". www.myrapid.com.my. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
- ^ "Rapid bus buy tow trucks worth RM3m to reduce maintenance costs". Bernama. Factiva. 5 June 2014.
- ^ [1] 120 RapidKL buses coming to Klang Valley streets
- ^ [2] Rapid Bus gets 90 Volvo double deckers
- ^ BYD delivers 15 electric buses for world’s first battery electrified BRT in Malaysia
- ^ [3] RapidKL adds 150 buses to increase efficiency of public transport system
- ^ Scania to Deliver 360 New City Buses to RapidKL and RapidKuantan