KL Sentral was developed to be the iconic intermodal transportation hub for Kuala Lumpur. The early phase of its mega-scale development stage is the KL Sentral station itself. The 700 ft x 515 ft station that opens in 2001 is now facing some of the problems that become a nuisance for commuters and tourists.
One of the problems highlighted is the abundance of stalls selling small items such as souvenirs and headscarves. As long as the stalls are carefully placed around the station that should not be a huge problem. Small stalls can also be seen around other transport hubs such as Port Authority Bus Terminal and Grand Central Station, both located in Manhattan, New York City, United States.
Another problem highlighted is the poor integration of bus system with the station, resulting in inefficient usage and confusion among travelers. As said in my previous article, in order to build a transport hub, we need to have a robust plan, make it future proof and have excellent integration across services.
In general, KL Sentral has already been doing its job greatly as rail transport hub. However, it needs to improve on its way of handing bus and taxi service.
Read more here:
- [The Star] – Traffic consultants highlight KL Sentral’s failure as the bus hub for Klang Valley
- [The Star] – Commuters have difficulty navigating KL Sentral’s haphazard layout
Author’s Note
- Original version published on 4 April 2013