Kuala Lumpur City Guide - Getting Around

Kuala Lumpur has an increasingly fast, efficient and cheap public transport system, overseen by the government-run Rapid KL (tel: (03) 7625 6999. website: www.rapidkl.com.my), which comprises 48 railway stations. Integrated transport tickets are available from all trains and buses that come under the scheme.

Rapid KL runs the two Light Railway Transit (LRT) lines in the city, the Kelana Jaya Rail Line and the Ampang Rail Line. Ampang Rail Line trains run south from Sentul Timur to Sri Petaling and Ampang in the east. Kelana Jaya trains run between the Putra Terminal in the northeast of the Lembah Subang Depot on Kuala Lumpur's western outskirts. Previous problems with ticket machines causing serious congestion have largely been ironed out.

Keretapi Tanah Melayu - KTM (tel: (03) 2267 1200; website: www.ktmb.com.my) operates two KTM Kommuter lines. These electric trains run from Sentul to Port Klang and Rawang to Seremban and on to Kuala Kubu Bharu. KTM offers two-day passes, the Kembara Ticket for unlimited travel within the KTM network on weekends, school holidays and public holidays and the Mana Mana Tickets for unlimited travel within the KTM network during weekdays. These are available from the KTM vending machines at the stations.
 
Rapid KL runs over 160 bus routes. The most useful for tourists are the ten City Shuttle services that provide efficient transport around the centre.

The KL Monorail (tel: (03) 2273 1888; website: www.monorail.com.my) has been beset by serious financial problems, but is still a handy way of getting around the city. The monorail serves destinations from Titiwangsa in the north to a stop near Kuala Lumpur's Sentral Station and also covers destinations in the Golden Triangle.

You can pre-book taxis from Public Cab (tel: (03) 6259 2020) and Sunlight Taxis (tel: (03) 9057 5757), or you can hail them on the street. Taxi ranks are also found throughout the city. Queues at the ranks are especially long during rush hour. During the regular thunderstorms, hailing a taxi in the street is near to impossible.

Driving in Kuala Lumpur is fast becoming as hair-raising as driving in other South East Asian cities. The roads are in good condition and driving standards are reasonably good, however, the maze of one-way systems in the city centre and the large number of fuel-choked traffic jams make patience and a good road map essential requirements.

Car parks are generally located at large hotels and city-centre shopping malls. Three central public car parks are Asia Park on Jalan Bukit Bintang, and the two car parks behind the Dorsett Regency Hotel just off Jalan Imbi.

A national driving licence is required to hire a car in Malaysia; it is also advisable to hold an International Driving Permit. Without the latter, the Road Transport Department must endorse any national licence. Age limits apply and drivers must usually be at least 23 years old and have held a full driving licence for two years.

Major providers include Avis (tel: 1 800 88 1054; website: www.avis.com.my) and Hertz (tel: (03) 2148 6433; website: www.hertz.com.my).

Kuala Lumpur is not a safe city in which to travel around on two wheels. Road accidents involving bicycles, scooters and motorcycles are very common. Tourism Malaysia's official line is that two-wheeled transport is not generally available for hire.