It was the 5pm rush hour as I made my way from KL Sentral to the Rapid KL bus stop below the KL Monorail station. I had just met up with former NS buddies, Zac and James at KLCC earlier and was heading home, destination — Aman Sari, Puchong. Being not familiar with the Rapid KL bus codes, I took some effort getting on the right bus home. Nonetheless, I hopped on bus U70 heading for Puchong Prima.
I chose a seat right behind the driver for a good view of the road ahead so that I could identify the bus station I would alight after hitting the STOP button.
Rapid KL buses literally dominate the city’s public bus transport. There are at least two or three Rapid KL buses at a junction in any given time. Their fleet being new, it is arguably more comfortable in a Rapid KL bus, air conditioning on full blast so that you’re oblivious to the scorching heat outside, comfortable seats and clean interiors. All these plus points in Rapid KL has somehow left the other private bus operators desperate to be more competitive to lure customers.
Rapid KL buses
So unsurprisingly, our Rapid KL bus was caught in a stop and go traffic jam and there was this left turn. As the driver prepared to turn left, a Metrobus made seemingly illegal turn and cut in front of our bus. Our bus driver was furious and slammed the horn a few times.
Now surprisingly, the Metrobus, now in front of us, slowed down and because it was a turn into a narrower road, I saw it’s bus doors flip open and the bus conductor stepped out into view. There was no traffic in front of the Metrobus and probably in response to the honks our bus driver gave earlier, the bus instructor made a few head gestures towards the Rapid KL bus behind, as if provoking for a fight. All our bus driver did was mumbling and kept shouting, ‘buat apa main macam itu, hah?’
And then as if it was another attempt to bully, the Metrobus came to a complete halt, obviously on purpose for there were no vehicles ahead, forcing our driver to hit on his brakes with a screech. The Metrobus then accelerated forward and away into the main road, leaving our bus driver grumbling under his breath even more.
There wasn’t much reaction in our bus which made me wonder if this is common on KL roads. I was surprised at the immaturity of the bus drivers’. I know that there is stiff competition between the operators and the Metrobus drivers are probably agitated of Rapid KL’s dominance, but there really is no such need for actions like these. Go figure.
Anyway, Zac, James and I watched Wild Hogs at TGV earlier. Freaking hilarious movie I must say. After that, we just made a few rounds of window shopping before heading home via LRT.
If we all practise humility, then the world will be a much better place to live in.
haha.…..nice job…