KTM did it again. It was Jan 17 and I was at the KL Sentral KTM station at 9:08 pm to catch the train to Rawang scheduled for 9:16 pm. Unfortunately, the train did not arrive. So again I waited for the next train, scheduled at 9:31pm. To add my frustration, even the second train did not arrive on time.

It was 9:40pm by then. Not one announcement was made to inform the passengers of what has caused the delays. I decided to call KTM's Call Centre to find out what was happening. When I called, the customer service officer told me that the 9:16 train was cancelled and the 9:31 train was delayed. She told me that the delayed train will arrive in five minutes. Finally, the train arrived at 9:51pm.

This is just a day's encounter. Almost every other day, train commuters like me experience at least one delay or 'technical' problem. I ask whether KTM Berhad seriously considers all the hours spent waiting for its trains by its hundred of passengers. Can it compensate all the wasted hours by passengers like me in waiting for its never-on-time trains?

The new KL mayor recently suggested imposing levies to those who drive into the city. According to him, this may reduce traffic congestion in the town. However, if the authorities plan to reduce traffic congestion in the city, why can't they seriously think of improving the public transport system? The basics need to be in order before we think of resolving a bigger problem.

In our case, we don't even have a reliable public transport system, one of the yardsticks for a developing nation moving towards Vision 2020. Yet, the authorities keep complaining that people are reluctant to use public transportation.

So many letters have been written to local dailies complaining about public services, in particular, KTM. People like me just wonder whether all our complaints are being noted and any steps are taken to improve the service. Or whether we are shouting into deaf ears.