It is always wonderful to hear news about improvements to public transit (i.e. public transportation) in Malaysia's cities. It is even better when these improvements are not limited to the biggest cities in the country.

Kuala Lumpur and Penang have seen the return of government-sponsored public transportation. Terengganu is looking at introducing a state bus service. Now in Seremban, the local council has introduced a free shuttle bus service to help deal with urban congestion and change the lifestyle for residents there. In Shah Alam, the council is considering the location for a new bus terminal.

It is good to see that the Seremban council has introduced their city shuttle bus service. Hopefully this service will receive strong support from residents of Seremban and will encourage visitors to come and visit. I would like to humbly suggest to the council that they could also charge a nominal fee (say, 25-50 sen) which would allow them to maintain the service and keep the quality of service high.

The free shuttle in Georgetown (operated by the MPPP) suffered because it did not have enough funds. And, while free is always good, many of the people who enjoy public transport are not from the low-income group and would be happy to pay a reasonable fare if it means that they will enjoy reliable service.

It is also good that the Shah Alam council is considering moving ahead with the bus terminal project. It would be even better if the bus terminal can be linked to the public transportation network, including the KTM railway network. The proposed site is at Batu Tiga, near the federal highway.

I hope that this site is chosen and that the design of the terminal will make the KTM Komuter as well as the RapidKL and KL-Klang bus services easily accessible. This would allow the terminal to become an important hub in the public transportation network in the Klang Valley.

Both the Shah Alam and Seremban councils are to be congratulated for their actions. We can only hope that other local councils follow their example.