Kuala lumpur: Major public transport terminals around the capital are seeing a surge in travellers heading back to their hometowns ahead of the long holiday and upcoming Hari Raya Aidiladha celebration.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, a survey found increasing crowds at key terminals, including Terminal Bersepadu Gombak (TBG), Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (TBS), and KL Sentral, as passengers began making early travel preparations to avoid last-minute congestion. A TBG representative, Mohd Raimi Jusoh, noted that ticket sales for the festive season opened two months ago to give passengers more time to plan their journeys. He reported that daily ticket sales at TBG, which usually average about 1,000, have surged to around 7,000 during the long holiday and Aidiladha period.
Mohd Raimi mentioned that there has been a sharp increase in ticket sales and bus trips as Aidiladha coincides with the long school holidays. TBG, known as a gateway to the East Coast, has seen 70 to 80 per cent of bus operations serving destinations there, although the terminal also caters to other routes. To cope with the increased demand, daily bus trips have been raised to between 200 and 210 from about 150 on normal days, following approval from the Land Public Transport Agency (APAD).
The two-week school holidays have also allowed travellers to spread out their journeys and avoid the usual last-minute rush seen during festive periods. TBG management has provided 14 special buses in collaboration with several boarding schools in Pahang, Melaka, and Negeri Sembilan to facilitate students' travel.
Meanwhile, passenger Muhammad Aiman Nor Hakim, 25, shared that he purchased his ticket two weeks earlier through a bus booking application to avoid ticket shortages and higher fares. He mentioned that booking early is cheaper because ticket prices usually increase closer to the festive season.
TMAS Sdn Bhd, the operator of TBS, reported that ticket sales at the terminal began rising since May 22 and are expected to remain high until June 7. According to its chief executive officer, Shazwan Mohammad, about 50 additional buses have been deployed for various destinations based on routes approved by APAD. He stated that overall, ticket sales have increased by about 20 per cent compared with last year's festive season, driven by Aidiladha and the school holidays.
The company has implemented system upgrades, scheduled maintenance, and increased manpower to ensure smooth operations during the peak travel period. At KL Sentral, many electric train service (ETS) passengers were also seen booking tickets early for their journeys home. Passenger Zanariyah Awang, 60, expressed hope that transport operators would add more train coaches to accommodate the increase in travellers during the festive season.