A free bus service provided by the Selangor government were launched in three municipalities in the state today.

The municipalities are Shah Alam, Klang and Subang Jaya. Four buses will play the service in Shah Alam, three in Klang and four in Subang Jaya.

 
"Selangor is the first state to provide free bus services," Selangor state executive councillor Teng Chang Khim said at the launch of the service in Shah Alam.

All three bus routes will have stops at important government offices, railway and light rail commuter stations, schools and certain landmarks.

The services will begin at 6am and end at 10pm, with 15-minute intervals between each bus.

The Shah Alam route is 10.5km and has 22 stops, while the Klang route is 8.5km with 11 stops. The Subang Jaya route is 14.5km with 19 stops.

As of now, there are no plans to make the routes longer, as Teng ( second from right ) explained they need to keep the routes within manageable distances to maintain their targeted 15-minute intervals between each bus.

The buses are disabled-friendly and will be equipped with free WiFi soon, he said.

'Eventually, inter-city transport'

While they hope to encourage more people to take public transportation with the free bus service, Teng said the service is targeted  mainly at senior citizens, students and low-income earners.

The state government expects a high ridership, although currently it is not able to estimate any specific number.

The state also expects this bus service to help reduce bad traffic as well as pollution of the environment.

Plans to expand this bus service are already under way, and Teng said the next two municipalities the state is targeting are Ampang Jaya and Kajang.

"It's going to be next year, but we are hoping to push for the launch (at Ampang Jaya and Kajang) this year, if we can," he said.

Right now, the focus is on inner-city bus routes, but eventually, Teng hopes that they will be able to provide free transport between towns and cities in the state.

In May last year, the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) launched a free bus service, together with RapidKL, within the Petaling Jaya area, which has become very successful.

The MBPJ has, since March this year, expanded the routes.