London buses to be seen on Kuala Lumpur streets

No, it is not a new bus route that takes in Piccadilly Circus and Jalan Pudu, but the new service by Kuala Lumpur’s RapidKL bus company set to be introduced next month. The London-style British-built buses will be plying the high-capacity routes around Malaysia’s capital, mainly from the southern suburbs to the city centre, within the next month.

Malaysia and particularly Kuala Lumpur, the nation’s capital, is in the middle of a major infrastructure upgrade that has seen the streets of the capital city dug up to accommodate a new underground train system designed to make the often very long commute times a thing of the past. The new double decker ‘London’ buses are high capacity people movers and will play a significant role in the future transportation for the good folks of Malaysia’s capital, according to Azmi Abdul Aziz, Group Managing Director of Prasarana, the government-owned public transport operator.

“RapidKL is committed to catering to the increasing numbers of public transport users and double decker buses will specifically cater for this demand,” said Azmi.

According to reports in local newspapers, there have been 40 of the buses in Malaysia for the past year or so and RapidKL has been focusing on the acclimatization process, particularly the training of the drivers at the aptly named Rapid Bus Academy.

The new buses are the environmentally-friendly Enviro 500 low floor buses powered by a low-emissions 325hp diesel engine utilizing low sulphur euro 4 diesel. The bus, which measures 4.2 metres in height and 12 metres in length, comes complete with ABS, ASR and of course power steering. When full to capacity, the buses can hold a stonking 125 passengers - 23 sitting downstairs, 53 sitting upstairs and the remaining 47 standing.

image: The Sun Daily