KL’s MRT: What’s Holding It Back?

0:02 Like many large cities in the world Kuala Lumpur has a massive traffic problem. People waste hours each week in traffic jams or while searching for a parking spot. This has a big negative impact on the quality of life for everyone. In order to improve the situation 2 world-class metro lines were inaugurated in the last couple of years with a third line currently in the planning phase. The price tag of 120 billion Ringgit makes it the largest infrastructure project ever undertaken in Malaysia. Those lines are as modern as the best metro systems in the world with stylish stations and state of the art driverless trains. But you know what? The residents of the city don't use it all that much.

0:48 The Kajang Line was expected to have 440,000 daily riders in its first year, and the Putrajaya Line 500,000. These estimates were based on metro lines in areas with similar population densities, like Singapore's North-South Line and Hong Kong's Tuen Ma Line. By late 2024—seven years after the Kajang Line fully opened and two years into the Putrajaya Line— ridership numbers remain far below projections. On average a driver in KL spends 166 hours a year on the road, with a staggering 81 hours wasted in traffic jams. The number of car sales is constantly going up as well. In this video we try to find out why the people of KL rather spend their time in grid-locked traffic and hunting for car parks instead of switching to the MRT.

1:37 We will also come up with ideas on how to change the situation and boost ridership without the need to spend much money. It all can be brought down to 3 main reasons. KL still has plenty of neighborhoods which are poorly served by rail transit. In these areas, you need a bus or Grab to reach the train station, making many commuters reluctant— especially if it takes four times longer than just driving to their destination. Addressing this issue needs politicians who set the right priorities and continuously expand the public transport network in the city. Now, let's talk about some operational problems that can really sour your experience with public transportation in Kuala Lumpur.

2:29 Take the Kajang Line, for instance. In 2022 and 23 after just five years in operation, nearly half of the trainsets were unexpectedly out of commission. This resulted in passengers having to wait for multiple trains during rush hour until they finally found enough space to board a coach. Whenever there are sudden interruptions in train service commuters rarely get properly informed and are left in limbo. This is another point that stresses people out after a long day at work and makes them stick with their cars. Then you have service outages. Some of those are ridiculously long like the one at Seri Petaling line for example. It had part of its track closed for 10-months due to an accident at a construction site. Commuters had to switch to shuttle busses in order to continue their journey.

3:17 In my opinion outages that long only convene one message to the public: 'We have other priorities than public transport!' This video will focus on the bad location of many MRT stations though. They were often not built where people live and work but rather along busy highways or in the middle of nowhere. So what is supposed to be the cities most precious land is often occupied with highways, parking lots, police and fire stations, private parks or simply…. Nothing. At least it is still possible to develop a high-density, car-independent neighborhood around those stations. Let's talk about another big challenge - the tangled web of roads and highways.

4:05 Some of them look like a plate of tarmac-colored spaghetti. This ever increasing road network rips long established neighborhoods apart and makes it often impossible for residents to reach their nearest MRT station. Residents of Taman Menjalara for example have no chance to reach the MRT station without a motor vehicle even though the station is just a few hundred meters away. Those highways act like walls that restrict the freedom of inhabitants. More and more private gated communities make live for the public transport user difficult as well. These closed-off places force pedestrians and cyclists to take a diversion on their way to the station - often along a busy road. All the challenges mentioned before are made so much worse due to the lack of even basic pedestrian infrastructure.

4:53 Anybody who has ever walked or cycled in the city before knows what a hostile environment it can be. They feel like third class citizen. Why for example do pedestrians need to climb up 6m into the air just to cross a street? How are elderly people or wheelchair users supposed to do that? Drivers often treat pedestrians as obstacles rather than stopping for them—even at green pedestrian lights. It's no wonder that most people prefer the safety of their own car when commuting! The situation for cyclists is just as bad. Setting up bike lanes in the city center is a great step, but they’re useless if parked cars are constantly blocking them. Because of those shortcomings most commuters cannot walk or cycle to one of the MRT stations.

5:41 They need some kind of motor vehicle, be it their own cars, motorbikes, a Grab or the feeder buses. All those options have their own drawbacks. Commuters who drive in their own cars to stations often end up stuck in the same traffic they hoped to avoid. Even if they reach the station, finding a spot at the overcrowded Park N' Ride lot can be a struggle. And it doesn’t end there—after the train ride, they usually need another mode of transport to reach their final destination. The entire journey is often slower and as stressful as driving the whole way. To use e-hailing services like Grab or normal taxis to cover the first and last mile greatly increases the cost of using public transport.

6:29 The MRT is supposed to be a cheap and reliable alternative to your own car, after all! And by the way: You'll be stuck in traffic as well. Feeder buses play a crucial role in connecting people to train stations. But the current system has its flaws. There aren’t enough routes, and buses run infrequently. During rush hour, short trips on feeder buses can feel painfully slow due to traffic jams. Dedicated bus lanes could help—but they’re often blocked by cars. All of those transport modes have one scary thing in common: They might injure or kill you - especially if you are using a motorbike. Let's not just complain but also come up with ideas to improve the situation!

7:19 The most efficient way to boost ridership is to increase the population density around the stations. One mid-sized condo leads to more MRT users than a huge park-and-ride lot at the same location. Rededicate land near MRT stations wherever necessary, for example by relocating police stations or low density industrial zones. Especially yet undeveloped stations like Bandar Malaysia and Cyberjaya City Center present a unique opportunity. Starting from scratch, transit-oriented neighborhoods can be designed with a pedestrian-first approach. This should massively increases the quality of life for residents.

8:08 Those condos close to MRT stations shouldn't allocate so much precious space to car parks, I would say. How about using the ground or lower ground floor as covered car park with a publicly accessible green space on top? Commuters need to feel safe when they walk or cycle to and from the stations. That's why it is so crucial to implement safe pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure and shift focus away from private cars. Level-crossings should always be preferred to bridges so that older and handicapped people can be mobile as well Like here in Bandar Sri Damansara, the artificial separation of neighborhoods by highways must be reversed.

8:53 In this case they constructed a long pedestrian flyover. Another good example is the pedestrian and motorbike tunnel between Seputeh and Taman Desa. But we need a lot more of that all over the city. Those tunnels and link bridges need to be bright, safe and clean so that women and children feel comfortable using them. When it comes to designing human-centric infrastructure the wheel doesn't even have to be reinvented. Just have a look at the pedestrian and bike infrastructure in Denmark or the Netherlands. The city of Amsterdam even open-sourced their "Red Book". It is a guide on how to best design a city for humans instead of cars. You can find the download link to the PDF version of the book on the "KL Metroscape" website.

9:41 The link is in the video description below. The spread of private gated communities should be stopped as well, so that everybody can enjoy an inclusive and accessible city. Malaysians are rightfully concerned about home security. I wouldn't be surprised if most people know one or more victims of break-ins - at least I do. Reducing crime through stronger law enforcement can help people feel safe at home again - without the need for gated communities. The feeder bus network needs to be expanded, and buses must run more frequently. There’s no point in having MRT trains every 5 minutes if the feeder bus takes 30 to 50 minutes to arrive.

10:27 Dedicated bus lanes on major roads would help reduce delays for passengers. Even drivers would benefit because every new public transport user means one less car on the road. Timetables at bus stops are a great step toward improving the feeder bus network. The MyRapid Bus Kiosk website shows commuters the current location of their bus. This helps a lot to make the experience more pleasant. Make sure that public infrastructure is constantly maintained. Long service interruptions of public transit lines have to be avoided at all costs. The same goes for pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure. Ensure that there is an alternative route for pedestrians during construction work like here next to TRX.

11:18 Stations surrounded by highways or private properties will never have a large ridership. That's why it is important for future projects like the MRT Circle Line to have stations right where people live and work. While this may mean higher initial costs for tunneling or land acquisition, it is essential for long-term success. But when looking at the preliminary route of the Circle Line I am not too optimistic to be honest. Lots of stations are located along busy and inaccessible highways again. Bukit Kiara South for example is in between an expressway and a golf course. It is going to be a valuable interchange station between 2 lines - an even stronger reason to be surrounded by pedestrian friendly mixed-use developments.

12:09 I really hope that the city takes a close look at the location of those stations. It is better to invest 50 billion Ringgit in a better future for all rather than waste 40 on a white elephant project that only benefits a few. In general I think that expert urban planners should decide on technical aspects of new infrastructure projects. They know better than politicians, who seem to change their minds every 4 years. Every new highway only reinforces the status quo and leads to more car traffic in the long term. Instead of building the next monstrous spaghetti junction shift investments to more sustainable alternatives.

12:56 Pedestrian, bicycle and public transport infrastructure is far cheaper than highways and more impactful. Traffic rules should be strictly enforced! Cars parked in bike lanes or on pedestrian walkways? They should be towed, not just wheel-clamped - because clamping still leaves the lane blocked Cars that are using the bus lanes should be fined because public transport has to be more attractive than the private vehicle. And all the extra money from fines? Put it right back into better bike and pedestrian infrastructure. Ensure that fines are fully paid. Offering "Black Friday-style" 50% discounts on fines undermines their purpose and definitely should be stopped.

13:44 In most other countries traffic offenders face legal consequences if they dont pay their tickets. The same should be the case in Malaysia. Unfortunately it might not be enough to just make public transit as convenient and affordable as possible. Some unpopular measures are required to drive the transition to a transit-oriented city. For example, the "London Ultra Low Emission Zone" and "Congestion Charge" has helped to reduce traffic in the city by 30%. The emissions that could be averted equal that of all London airports combined. In the first ten years after its introduction, London reinvested £1.2 billion from these schemes into public transport and cycling infrastructure.

14:30 Once the public transport system is dense enough in the country the petrol subsidy should be gradually phased out as well. Those 37 billion ringgit per year - of which mainly the T20 profit anyway - can be used to further improve public transit. The shift from a car-centric city to one focused on public transport and sustainable mobility requires dedicated leadership. Just look what the mayor of Paris - Anne Hidalgo - managed to do in such a short period of time! Let’s move from general recommendations to specific ones for the Putrajaya Line. I’ve analyzed every station to identify what limits their accessibility.

15:16 The findings are surprising and encouraging - small investments could significantly boost ridership. Here are some examples: Take the new development in Taman Desa for example. Residents live just one kilometer from the nearest MRT station - Kuchai. However a massive highway prevents convenient access to the station. This affects a significant number of people. An estimated 15000 residents will live there soon. With a relatively small investment in a pedestrian bridge and two tunnels these residents could leave their cars at home. In just a 5min bike or e-scooter ride they could hop on the MRT for smooth and stress-free commute.

16:09 The massive Lakecity development faces a similar challenge. Commuters struggle to reach the Sri Delima MRT station due to poor pedestrian infrastructure. While there is a feeder bus, it runs only every 40–50 minutes and often gets stuck in traffic. A simple pedestrian bridge over the lake could solve this issue. The developer has plans for such a footbridge, but since infrastructure like this doesn't generate revenue, it’s likely to be their lowest priority - if it even gets built at all. Examples like these are scattered all across the city. Check out the "KL Metroscape" website to explore a map with all the improvement proposals. You’ll find the link in the description below.

16:57 I think that this video can be brought down to a single sentence. Subtitles created by: Kemalz24