Why express bus Aeroline’s suspension exposes cracks in KL’s transport planning

KUALA LUMPUR – Passengers were left in the lurch after the Malaysian authorities suspended popular express bus service Aeroline for not operating from an out-of-town transport hub, exposing gaps in Kuala Lumpur’s transport planning and last-mile connectivity.

Malaysia’s Land Public Transport Agency (Apad)

suspended Aeroline’s operating licence

from Nov 6 to Dec 5, saying the company breached regulations by operating from unauthorised locations in the Malaysian capital.

In a statement on Nov 2, Apad said the operator had been found operating outside designated bus terminals on three occasions between February and October 2025.

Apad also accused Aeroline of abusing its express bus licence by picking up and dropping off passengers at unauthorised locations.

The Straits Times contacted Aeroline for comments but was told the firm was not ready to speak on the matter.

The company services routes from Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru in Malaysia, as well as Singapore.

The suspension hit passengers like Ms Iyra Zainal, a Malaysian working in Singapore who has relied on Aeroline for cross-border travel over the past four years, making up to six trips a month to visit her ailing parents.

“I engage their services as a convenient, safe and affordable mode of transportation to see family and friends in Kuala Lumpur over the weekend,” Ms Iyra told ST, calling the suspension “highly disruptive” and disappointing.

In her early 40s and employed as a trader in the energy sector since 2021, she said that her planned trips on Nov 21 and 23 have been affected, while plans for December remain uncertain.

“I am still puzzled as to why, after 23 years of being in operation, Aeroline has been subject to the recent directive,” she added.

Singapore-based Malaysian citizen Akmal Afandi Azhar, 37, who travels back and forth between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur every month, said that the authorities should consider a more flexible approach in balancing convenience and order.

“Singapore and London allow limited city pickups through designated bays and permit systems, ensuring smooth traffic flow without penalising bus operators,” said Mr Akmal, who is a manager at a real estate business in Singapore.

“With proper scheduling and enforcement, there’s no reason Malaysia can’t adopt a similar system for reputable operators.”

With his November trips cancelled, he foresees fewer trips in the future if Aeroline’s service is interrupted further.

Several other companies, including StarMart Express, Grassland Coach and Eltabina, were also picking up passengers in Kuala Lumpur’s city centre around the Bukit Bintang district. These firms also service the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore route.

But in an Oct 15 notice, Apad banned all express bus passenger pickups and drop-offs from downtown areas in the capital. The ban, which came into force on Nov 1, was met with public criticism online.

Apad defended the action as a measure to ensure passenger safety, reduce traffic congestion in the city centre, and help Kuala Lumpur City Hall manage order within the city.

Express bus services used to be centred at the Puduraya terminal downtown. To ease traffic, the government began relocating hubs to the city’s outskirts, consolidating operations in 2011 at the RM570 million (S$177 million) Southern Integrated Terminal (TBS) in Bandar Tasik Selatan, around a 30-minute drive from the city centre.

TBS is connected by the Express Rail Link to the airport, and by the KTM railway and LRT lines to the rest of Klang Valley.

However, its distance from central and western suburbs such as Damansara and Petaling Jaya forces passengers to spend up to an extra hour on public transport, or pay more for ride-hailing services to reach their destinations.

Another hub, the Gombak Integrated Terminal, was opened in September to cater to bus journeys between Kuala Lumpur and the states on the peninsula’s East Coast.

Aeroline has instead been operating from a hotel on Jalan Ampang – across from the Petronas Twin Towers – in downtown Kuala Lumpur. It also stops at the 1 Utama and Sunway Pyramid shopping malls in Damansara and Subang Jaya, respectively, catering to commuters in those districts.

In Singapore, the firm operates from HarbourFront Centre in Keppel Bay with no regulatory issues.

On a bus enthusiast group on Facebook, one user called for flexibility for passengers.

“The regulations on the pickup and drop-off points should not be as rigid as boarding a plane,” said Ahmad Shahar on Facebook.

Malaysian urbanists and planners told ST the issue highlighted the disconnect between bureaucratic planning and actual public needs.

Public transport advocate Ernest Wong said that while TBS is well connected by rail, it remains inconvenient for many.

“A lot of people are miffed at the idea of changing trains, and private hire is expensive,” Mr Wong said.

He added that frustration with TBS goes beyond its location.

“Many facilities such as toilets are in poor condition, and the exterior links to rail and city buses are unsafe, with narrow corridors and poorly lit bus stands at night,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Badrul Hisham Ismail at the Atlantic Fellows for Social and Economic Equity research group, said Malaysia’s transport policies are often drawn up from the top down to appear orderly on paper.

“The main problem with public transportation in Malaysia is the first- and last-mile gap. Sending buses to TBS doesn’t solve it,” Mr Badrul said, adding that many planners “drive their own cars and can’t understand the realities on the ground”.