KUCHING: Sarawak has become the first state in the country to offer free electric public buses with four of them officially commenced operations last Tuesday.
I also did not miss the opportunity to take a ride on the electric bus. I used to take the express bus when going back to my village during holidays.
While boarding the bus, I was warmly greeted by the bus driver Ransing Madan.
During my trip, the bus did not make so much noise, there was no odour pollution (due to smoke) and the driver was prudent in operating the bus.
I also had the chance to have a chit-chat with Ransing along the way.
He said before operating the electric bus, he was a full-time express bus driver.
When asked about his experience on the first day, Ransing said during his three trips, not more than 20 passengers boarded the bus, probably because there are some people out there who are still not confident in riding it as it runs on electric power rather than diesel.
“Besides that, maybe the community still does not know about the electric bus service,” he said.
On each trip, there is a voice navigation system in three languages so it will be easier for passengers to know their next stop.
The bus is also disability-friendly and offers free wifi service.
The four buses will operate on a specific route and have a capacity of 26 seated passengers and 26 standing.
Operations begin at 6am from the main stops at the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) building in Petra Jaya as well as the Semenggoh Wildlife Centre.
One bus starts its service from DUN while the other starts from Semenggoh at 6am followed by the other two buses at 8am.
The buses will stop at each of the 107 stops (inbound and outbound) along the route until 4pm with each journey lasting about two hours — a total of six journeys per day.
Among the stops are the Darul Hana Bridge, Chinese History Museum, Kuching Waterfront, Jalan Abell, Padungan, Ang Cheng Ho, Kuching South City Council (MBKS), iCom Square, Jalan Pending, MBKS Recreational Park, SJK(C) Chung Hua No 3, Jalan Central Timur, Jalan Ban Hock, The Hills, Riverside Majestic Hotel, Main Bazaar, Kuching Post Office, Sarawak Museum, Wisma Satok, Al-Idrus Commercial Centre, Wisma ASSAR, Satok Bridge, Jalan Kulas and Jalan Haji Taha.
These routes pass every heritage areas in Kuching up until the Semenggoh Wildlife Centre as well as Kuching International Airport.
