KL Traffic Raves & Rants

Living in KL, one must tolerate the extend of traffic hold-ups or congestion. I am not sure if the locals are accustomed to such jams or they view it as part of their daily routine.
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We are able to avoid such jams, however, if you'd give the driver the green light to use the highways. In Singapore, its the natural thing to do - just go by the expressway to get to your destination. But over here, it seems, obviously to me, many rather get their butts & boots stuck in the jam than to cruise along the highways just because of the toll charges. They could not afford the toll? Or perhaps; rather not pay. The toll charges on the highways range up to RM2.30 to my knowledge so far.
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EXAMPLE of TOLL-FREE vs. TOLL HIGHWAY
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I booked the taxi uncle yesterday morning at 7am to take me to Bandar Sunway. My apartment is located in KL and Bandar Sunway is situated in Petaling Jaya, Selangor - the locals call it PJ. (Major malls like Utama 1, The Curve are all situated in PJ. Sungei Wang, KLCC, Bukit Bintang are all in KL itself while MidValley MegaMall sits in the middle of it all!) Usually, all I needed to do was to tell uncle my destination & the time I would need to reach & he'd arrange the time. So i got the cab at 7am. I reached my destination at 7.45am. There was bad jam as it was a rainy day. You think the traffic congestion in KL was bad; wait till you experience the traffic congestion in KL on A RAINY DAY! My training was supposed to commence at 8:30am. So i was happy I was not late.
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I waited at Sunway Shopping Mall outside our store. My phone rang. I was notified that the staff might be late due to heavy traffic. I expected it & I was not bothered by it. One of the staff finally arrived & we were chatting & I happened to ask about her congestion earlier. Turned out she had also travelling in from KL to PJ. She used the toll-free route. She left her house at 6:45am & she reached at 8:50am. A whopping 2 hours! It only took me 45mins to get here though my travelled distance was much longer.
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We are so fortunate we'd always have a booked cab waiting specially for us when we are travelling from places to places. There are a few local chinese taxi drivers whom we would hire if we need to travel. Though we do pay higher but they guarantee us TO THE DESTINATION ON TIME - which i guess we need it.
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I have a regular old taxi uncle whom I would call to pick me up from KLIA every time I am here. He charges me RM70 for the trip from KLIA to either PJ or KL. I can understand the fare is high as these uncles come up in empty cab all the way to KLIA. The other reliable taxi uncles charge us RM30 to travel from KL to PJ or PJ to KL or between RM10 to RM15 if we are travelling within PJ or within KL. Reasonable to me as you may not even be able to get a cab if you stand by the roadside. If we need them to ferry us from malls to malls, we can even book them by hours - RM20 per hour & they take you wherever you want to go. Not a bad deal for them as well as for ourselves seriously.
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CANNOT-GET-TAXI & Bitten by Operator Episode
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I was supposed to get to KLCC by 8am I set myself the time & had planned for 30mins allowance. Training was scheduled to commence at 8:30am. I was told that I do not need to book our taxi uncle because it was a short distance. Instead I was given a Cab Line to call, similar to our Singapore Cab Booking system. I called in at 7am - a lady answered & I gave my destination. She asked, "PJ or KL?" I told her the latter. Her tone changed completely. She asked me to 'Hold on!' in an unfriendly tone. She revert to me in 1 sec.. no, to be specific - less than 1 sec & told me rudely, there were no cabs in the area. Due to the fact that I was desperate, I humbly asked her to try again. She shouted, "I tried 4 times already." & KA-PAK.. she hung up. Later on I learned from our taxi uncle that many drivers are not willing to go into KL as they usually get stuck in jams which are not profitable.
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Fuming & desperate. I called my room mate & seek her to help me call for a taxi using a local telephone number. 15mins later MISSION was declared IMPOSSIBLE. I finally succumbed & asked her local for a ride & I was already late. Her friend arrived at 8am & we were caught in congestion until 8:45am & KLCC was supposed to be just a stone's throw away. SIGH!
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After living here for a good 7 days, i must exclaim my life here is really decent. We get to travel everywhere in taxis, reliable taxis which would be waiting for you as long as you call them in advance. Uncle called it - PRIVATE BOOKING. They are responsible & would usually arrive early in case your meeting ends early & such. Though I wonder how much do they earn if their PRIVATE BOOKING business is good. *cheeky*

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You'll grow to appreciate the fact that though in Singapore we may face traffic congestion, but NONE like any of those here which are everyday affairs. Ironically speaking, the local cars are so cheap & afforable that the people can all afford a car to travel around. When this happens, quantity of cars congest the roads & highways! Of course at the end of the evil cycle, you'd never fail to hear a KL-tizen proclaiming that in KL you must own a car to move about conveniently. Well HELL yes, conveniently they also piled up the roads! How convenient can it be with all the congestions caused by the people themselves affecting their own lives.
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