It is great to hear that Pemandu doesn't regard the MRT as the sole factor to improving public transport in the Klang Valley, and the solution has to be an integration of multiple modes, including the LRT and buses.

And we also acknowledge the efforts to improve the buses that you have listed, that by itself are commendable moves and efforts, which definitely has benefit.

However, we need to return to the core question - with an increasing population heading to 2020, how do you get Klang Valley citizens to abandon private cars for public transport. And towards that goal, more, much more must be done. Such as:

1. Increasing quantity of buses beyond 1,450 (versus our projected Klang Valley population of 10mil by 2020). Example, London, a city with extensive rail network and a population of over 7mil has 6,800 buses. Buses are so important to complement rail, as there is no way you can link everyone within walking distance of a rail station.

2. Bus stops have been refurbished and some new ones built - but an important element is still not missing - guides/journey planners. Unless you are already a regular public transport user, this makes it very difficult to learn the possible routes and thus hampers use of public transport.

3. An online journey planner also helps users get information on how to get from any one point to another. Examples of these are found in Singapore (www.transitlink.com.sg) and Chicago (www.goroo.com). We need a similar journey planner, and one that covers all modes of transport, and all operators (not just RapidKL).

4. The bit up, bit down system for RapidKL should have been made compulsory for all public transport operators. Also, like Singapore, a discount should be given to users of electronic payment, to (a) speed up boarding of buses/trains, and (b) to gain important information on where people are travelling, to effectively improve routes and services.

5. There must be a program to recruit more bus drivers, as the industry is facing severe shortage of bus drivers. Incentives, such as a bus driving school scholarship and other measures need to be implemented. This also augurs well for the ETP's goal of job creation.

We know there's a lot to fix in our public transport. And all effort must be geared with the single largest objective of getting people to want to leave their private cars and use public transport.

And we are happy to work with Pemandu and SPAD towards improving public transport. We just hope that equal emphasis be given to other aspects of public transport and not just the MRT.

Rajiv Rishyakaran is a member of the NGO Transit.