Every minute one summons is issued to motorists for using the lane meant for buses and taxis at Jalan Ampang, mainly in front of Wisma Central. In 40 minutes, 40 summonses were issued by Kuala Lumpur City Hall’s traffic unit with compounds totalling between RM50 and RM300 in a special operation.
It is an offence under the Road Transportation Act 1987 for drivers to use bus lanes in Kuala Lumpur, between 6am and 8pm except Sundays and public holidays.
During the operation, drivers were caught using the bus and taxi lane to avoid traffic or park on it to run errands. Some were unhappy that they were pulled over and were heard arguing with the officers that they did not commit an offence.
One driver almost ran over an officer who tried to stop him from driving off. A 21-year-old driver said he was caught trying to park at a bus lane to run an errand at a convenience store at Wisma Central. “I know they are just doing their job. I pass here every day but I didn’t expect them to hold an operation here today,” said the driver.
A 60-year-old German, who had been in Malaysia for six weeks, had no idea about the regulation. “I saw other people using the lane and I just followed. I was caught off guard,” he said, adding that it served as a good reminder to him not to commit the offence again.
DBKL Traffic Enforcement Branch head Mohd Hisham Izhar said they had been conducting such operations for years and yet many motorists still used the bus lane. He said although their presence was notified through a navigational app, many motorists still drove on the bus lane.
“We also caught a few e-hailing drivers, who wanted to avoid the traffic from the public lanes,” he said, adding that drivers too disregarded warning of their presence via the electronic signs in the city centre.
Mohd Hisham said DBKL conducted the operations about three to four locations in a week. Jalan Ampang, Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman and Jalan Raja Laut are considered hotspots for DBKL to conduct the operation. Other lanes include Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah, Jalan Dang Wangi, Jalan Pahang and Jalan Syed Putra.
He said the department conducted more operations now following complaints that buses were unable to access bus lanes.
On foreign drivers who claimed they did not know such a rule, Mohd Hisham said: “If we go to other countries, we must know the law. There is no compromise for either local or foreign drivers on this.”
He said DBKL and the Road Transport Department (JPJ) worked together in blacklisting drivers with outstanding summonses, and that blacklisted drivers would not be able to renew their licence. DBKL would also clamp and tow away vehicles parked at bus lanes, he added.
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