KenaSaman.com

KUALA LUMPUR: Motorists “on autopilot” have been blamed for the problems on the first day of a new bus and taxi lane system in the city's Little India.

“It was a little chaotic at first due to people still on autopilot and not being aware of the new system,” said City Hall traffic inspector Gunasegaran Dass.

“But we were there to advise and redirect,” he said, adding that no summonses were issued as they realised that people needed time to get used to the system.

The much-talked-about bus and taxi lane system in Jalan Tun Sambanthan and Jalan Travers was enforced at 8am on Saturday and took motorists by surprise with some fuming.

The new lane begins at the intersection of Jalan Tun Sambanthan and Jalan Tun Samban-than 4, heading towards Taman Seputeh and Jalan Bangsar.

All parking bays along Jalan Tun Sambanthan were removed.

The bus lane enforcement period will be from 6am to 8pm.

All loading and unloading activities at the back lanes or the new bus and taxi lane can only be carried out from 8pm to 6am.

Buses no longer have to travel along Jalan Sultan Abdul Samad.

Meanwhile, eyewitnesses claimed that a father and his teenage son were badly injured yesterday after being hit by a bus while crossing a street in Brickfields. They did not know that the one-way street now allowed contra-flow traffic.

A taxi driver who witnessed the incident said pedestrians did not see the bus coming from the right because they were only watching out for vehicles in the other direction.

“The bus was coming so fast, and the father and son didn't see it,” he said. “The impact was so hard that the father was thrown a few metres onto a pavement.

“The son hit his head against the windscreen and was groaning in pain before an ambulance arrived,” he added.

The victims were taken to University Malaya Medical Centre.

Brickfields OCPD Asst Comm Wan Abdul Bari Abdul Khalid said a police report had been lodged and investigations were going on.

A shop owner claimed that three other pedestrians were hit on Saturday night while trying to cross the street.

Brickfields Business Council secretary Appoo Karuppiah said shop owners had protested against the implementation of a contra-flow bus lane, but this was not heeded.

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