BRT Sunway Line

BRT Sunway Line
BRT Sunway Line
	BYD battery-powered electric bus approaching SunU-Monash station
Overview
Native name	BRT Laluan Sunway
Status	Operational
Owner	Prasarana Malaysia
Line number	B1 (dark green)
Locale	Bandar Sunway
Termini	SB1 Sunway-Setia Jaya; SB7 USJ 7;
Stations	7
Website	myrapid.com.my
Service
Type	Elevated bus rapid transit
System	Rapid KL
Services	Setia Jaya – Sunway Lagoon – USJ 7
Operator(s)	Rapid Bus
Daily ridership	15,322 (Q2 2024)
Ridership	5.09 million (2023)
History
Opened	2 June 2015; 9 years ago
Technical
Line length	5.4 km (3 mi)
Route map
Route map
	Legend
	Interchange stations
	integrated paid area
	single fare trip
	non-integrated paid area
	multiple fare trips

Location of BRT Sunway line

The BRT Sunway Line is a bus rapid transit (BRT) line that is part of the Klang Valley Integrated Transit System servicing the southeastern suburbs of Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. It is the world's first all-electric Bus Rapid Transit system.^[2]

This line is operated by Rapid Bus and was introduced in 2015 to service the high-density areas of Sunway and Subang Jaya, replacing an earlier proposal plan for the now defunct Sunway Monorail extension.

The BRT buses have an exclusive right-of-way on an elevated guideway that is not shared with normal road traffic. This specially-dedicated and grade separated guideway for BRT Sunway Line buses is almost similar to rapid transit elevated railways. However, bus operators other than Rapid Bus, do not have the rights to use it and there is no ramp available from at-grade roads to the elevated guideway.

This closed system is dedicated for a high volume of commuters to avoid congestion. However, this system can only be used along the 5.4 km (3.4 mi) track between Setia Jaya and USJ 7 terminals that allow for passengers' interchange to rail transit.

The BRT system has received Bronze rating by BRT Standard score from Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP).^[3]^[4]^[5]^{[verification needed]}

Line information

Halts

Code	Name	Notes
SB1	Sunway-Setia Jaya	Terminus. Connecting station, without paid-area integration, to KD08 Setia Jaya for KTM Tanjung Malim-Port Klang Line.
SB2	Mentari	In front of Sunway Mentari Business Park and walking distance to Makmur Apartments on Jalan PJS 8/9.
SB3	Sunway Lagoon	300-metre (984 ft 3 in) walking distance to Sunway Lagoon theme park and Sunway Pyramid shopping centre.
SB4	SunMed	In front of Sunway Medical Centre, and connected with Taylor's University through an 800-metre (2,624 ft 8 in) pedestrian walkway.
SB5	SunU-Monash	In front of Monash University Malaysia and nearby Sunway University. The BRT Depot and Multilevel Car Park are located beside the station.
SB6	South Quay-USJ 1	Behind Mydin USJ 1. Near Casa Subang Apartment and Impian Meridian.
SB7	USJ 7	Terminus. Interchange station with KJ31 LRT Kelana Jaya Line.

Bus Fleet

In February 2014, BYD won the bid to supply 15 new battery-run electric bus for Prasarana Malaysia. The buses use a lithium iron phosphate battery - which are non-toxic and have increased fire safety, in-wheel hub motors and regenerative braking. There are no caustic materials contained in the battery and no toxic electrolytes or heavy metals and the battery can be completely recycled. The source said that the buses are very quiet and ensures a comfortable ride without vibrations, jerks or noise associated with the conventional buses and combustion engines. The bus can also drive for more than 250 kilometres (160 mi) even in heavy city traffic on a single charge.^[6]^[7] In September 2022, a driverless bus trial has been started that will run after hours. While initially not carrying any passengers, the aim is to allow for increased efficiency.^[8]

Other information

Background

Bus rapid transit (BRT) is a transit system that uses dedicated bus lanes, universal access stations, integrated pedestrian access, rapid boarding and high service frequency. It is a fairly new concept in Malaysia although it has been implemented successfully in cities such as Bogotá, Colombia; Jakarta, Indonesia, and Curitiba, Brazil.^[9]

BRT Sunway is a public-private partnership project between Prasarana and Sunway Group to provide a better and integrated transit service for the residents and commuters of Bandar Sunway and USJ.^[10] The line costs RM634 million and is 70% funded by Prasarana, 15% by Sunway Bhd and the rest by Unit Kerjasama Awam Swasta (UKAS), a facilitation fund.^[11] The system uses eco-friendly electric bus services on elevated tracks ^[12]^[13]^[14]^[15]^[16] and connects major areas within the areas such as hospital, commercial areas, shopping centres and universities. The system is expected to provide services for 500,000 residents.^[9]^[17] The elevated bus lane is said to be the first elevated BRT in Southeast Asia^[18]

Features

The dedicated elevated busway runs isolated from traffic congestion from the Sunway-Setia Jaya Station, which is located near the KTM Setia Jaya Komuter station (linked by covered pedestrian walkways), and ends at the USJ 7 Station of the Kelana Jaya Line extension, where there is "paid area to paid area" integration between the LRT and BRT service by virtue of the BRT platform sharing the paid area of the concourse of the LRT station.

The bus will complement both line by providing the linkage to various forms of public transports. There will be 15 environmentally-friendly buses as they are electrical-powered and travel on a speed of 30 and 40 km/h (19 and 25 mph) on average. The electric buses will not have any gas emission and can operate for 12 hours before the next charging cycle with a range of 250 km (155 mi) or 23 trips per day.^[19] The electric buses are designed to look almost like trains.^[9]^[17]^[18]^[20]

The BRT stations are built with a modern and contemporary design, which include universal access facilities the disabled community such as tactiles for the blind, ramps as well as low ticket counters. Safety features at the stations consist of closed-circuit TV cameras as well as pedestrian bridges so that commuters can cross from one platform to another with ease. SunU-Monash halt has park-and-ride facilities with a total of 1,153 car parking bays, which includes 102 special bays for lady drivers and 23 for the handicapped group, and another 121 bays for motorcycles.^[9]^[18]^[19]^[20]^[21]

According to Prasarana, the ridership for the entire line is forecasted to be at 2,400 riders per hour for 2015 and is expected to reach 5,200 people every hour in 2035.^[19]^[21]

Services

The BRT service was officially launched to the public on 2 June 2015. Rides on the BRT are free for the first two months beginning 2 June 2015. A flat rate of RM4.00 will be charged at the SunU-Monash station park and ride facility from 2 June to 1 August 2015. The electric buses will be available every four minutes.^[22]^[23] The ebus service takes around 30 minutes on full loop journey between BRT halts of Sunway-Setia Jaya to USJ 7 round-trip.

The latest fare has been announced on 1 December 2018 as:^[24]

Station	Setia Jaya	Mentari	Sunway Lagoon	SunMed	SunU Monash	South Quay	USJ7
Setia Jaya	RM 0.90	RM 1.30	RM 1.80	RM 2.40	RM 2.90	RM 3.60	RM 4.30
Mentari	RM 1.30	RM 0.90	RM 1.30	RM 1.80	RM 2.40	RM 3.10	RM 3.80
Sunway Lagoon	RM 1.80	RM 1.30	RM 0.90	RM 1.40	RM 1.80	RM 2.60	RM 3.20
SunMed	RM 2.40	RM 1.80	RM 1.40	RM 0.90	RM 1.30	RM 2.00	RM 2.60
SunU Monash	RM 2.90	RM 2.40	RM 1.90	RM 1.30	RM 0.90	RM 1.40	RM 2.20
South Quay	RM 3.60	RM 3.10	RM 2.60	RM 2.00	RM 1.40	RM 0.90	RM 1.40
USJ7	RM 4.30	RM 3.80	RM 3.20	RM 2.60	RM 2.20	RM 1.40	RM 0.80

Criticism

Affordability

Since the new fare was announced in August 2015, the BRT Sunway Line has been heavily criticised by passengers for its steep and unaffordable prices compared with other public transport services operated by Prasarana.^[25] For instance, travelling on the BRT Sunway Line from one end to another (USJ7 to / from Setia Jaya) would cost passengers RM5.40 (cashless ticket), traversing 5.4 km (3.4 mi) in distance. In comparison, one would be able to travel from USJ7 to Gombak on the Kelana Jaya Line, covering a distance of more than 30 km (19 mi). The National Public Transport Users Association (4PAM) went as far as to call the rates "shocking".^[26]

It has been reported that 13,000 people rode the BRT when it was free during its initial months in June and July 2015, but the number of passengers has since drastically number declined to 4,000 when the fare was introduced.^[27]

However, Prasarana has repeatedly maintained that its fare is relatively low, given the high maintenance and initial cost involved, in addition to various cashless payment options available with discounted fares.^[28]

Gallery

Sunway Pyramid is one BRT Sunway Line route. Photo showed the defunct Sunway Monorail 3 km steel-tracked loop system.
Platform 1 signage at SB5 SunU-Monash station towards SB1 Sunway-Setia Jaya station.
BRT Sunway Line elevated busway
A BYD battery-run electric bus on dedicated elevated busway.
Rapid Bus's battery-run electric bus for BRT Sunway Line at Sunway Depot
Rapid Bus's battery-run electric bus at BRT Depot
Rapid Bus's battery-run electric bus interior for BRT Sunway Line
BRT Sunway ebus approaching SunU-Monash halt.
The BRT Sunway ebus interior on operation.
The BRT SunMed halt is identical to all 6 halts.
The BRT Sunway-Setia Jaya halt is identical to all 6 halts.
Faregates of Sunway Lagoon BRT.
The BRT USJ7 halt and Kelana Jaya Line station.
An aerial view of the USJ 7 LRT Station, with the Sunway BRT Line beneath it.
The BRT USJ7 platform/halt.
South Quay - USJ1 BRT station from the front.
The BRT USJ7 halt signage interchange to upcoming Kelana Jaya Line.
BRT South Quay-USJ1 halt from the ground level.
The road signboard for Sunway Lagoon BRT station.
The platform at BRT Sunway Lagoon. Commuters must not cross the busway directly.