Buses, not Vehicle Access Management Needed at KLIA

 

There was hardly any other news in my social media feeds on December 1 when the new Vehicle Access Management System (VAMS) kicked off at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 1. And it was hotly debated, of course. VAMS is to reduce the congestion by speeding up pick-ups.

In my opinion, the implementation of the VAMS will only result in people parking along the highway, despite a free parking space available, but that is a discussion for another day.

The question that should be asked is: why are there so many cars at the airport? I travel a lot and from my experiences, the number of cars is significantly less elsewhere. I believe that the answer is very simple: personal transport, passenger cars, are still the best way to get to the airport or back home after a trip.

I have recently moved from Setia Alam to Subang Jaya. Not once have I taken a bus to the airport. A quick online search might perfectly illustrate why not. From Setia Alam, a bus ride would take three hours to get to KLIA. One would be shuttled to KL Sentral first, then to the airport. Subang Jaya is not any better. It would also be a detour to KL Sentral first and a total travel time of two hours.

Subang Jaya, with the main artery of Persiaran Kewajipan connects nicely to the highway. Imagine, if I could hop to a bus stop, say at Main Place and then go to the airport. Or If I was at the Setia City Mall and a direct bus takes me to KLIA 1 in 40 minutes!

Just how many people arrive in KLIA annually? It is estimated that over 60 million passengers go through the airport in 2025. On top of that, there are all the employees that need to commute. Although I don’t have the numbers, I am sure that a number of people will be dropped off by their spouses, adding passenger car traffic to the vehicles moving passengers. On a recent trip to Beijing groups of people were ferried from the hotel to the airport in a hotel-owned bus. Perfect! It would run every half hour, straight to the departure hall; free of charge and hassle.

Imagine, there would be more buses connecting to the airport: there would be less congestion on the ramps. No more need for VAMS maybe? Another immediate effect would be that there would be fewer vehicles on the highway and other roads. A bus carrying some 50 people would reduce the number of private vehicles ferrying passengers already by a significant number. Furthermore, this will bring about a reduction in harmful emissions. Fewer vehicles, less emissions. Less traffic jam, also less emissions. And less traffic jam means lower chances of missing a flight.

We would also have less stressed spouses dropping off their partners on their airport runs. One could even join on the bus ride even though one is only going to the airport and back. I would dare say that the cost of a bus ticket could also be lower than what it takes to drive in a passenger car.

In my opinion, we shouldn’t be debating if 10 or 15 minutes should be the limit for people to park at KLIA’s departure hall. We should be plotting the most sensible locations for bus hubs. One should be a KLIA itself, maybe taking a page out of Hong Kong airport’s playbook? There, buses are a convenient, fast, efficient and fun way to get to most corners of the island and New Territories.

As Malaysia is gearing up the Visit Malaysia Year 2026, I wonder what the first impression tourists will have. Will it be that of an efficient place that quickly whisks you to your destination in town or a fume-filled and congested struggle through the tropical heat to get out of the airport?