BMW - Bas Mini Wilayah
Mercedes Benz - that is the make of almost every of the BMW that grace the roads in Kuala Lumpur in the 70s and 80s.
Who has memories on the conductor hanging halfway out the door while yelling at the people in the bus "MASUK! MASUK!" when the bus was weaving in and out of traffic at 60km/h?
The bus can seat on average 25 passengers, but during peak hours, they were notorious for squeezing in far more and packed every one in like sardines.
It is always super crowded and hot.
If you are short, you might be standing next to somebody's smelly armpit.
Bus conductors will try and squeeze as many passengers as possible (masuk lagi, masuk lagi, ada tempat lagi).
Somehow the conductors can still make their way from front to back of the bus to collect fares.
When it reached your stop and you want to exit, you are stuck inside.
Want to ring the bell to let the driver know you want to stop, bell pulak rosakkk...
These are some of travails and experiences of riding in the Bas Mini.
The Kuala Lumpur Mini-Bus Service or Bas Mini was one of the oldest and popular Malaysian public bus service, having served in Kuala Lumpur and the Klang Valley region.
The mini bus started operating on 23 September 1975 under the Ministry of Transportation. At that time, the mini bus operated on various routes according to their individual colours (blue-white, yellow-white, red-white, purple-white and dark green-white).
The mini bus was responsible for servicing nearly 60 different routes.
Three major companies, Syarikat Kerjasama Pengaman (M) Bhd, Bas Mini Wilayah and Konsortium Pengusaha Bas Mini Sdn Bhd, monopolized the various bus routes while smaller operators were allowed to service certain areas only.
In 1975, when the mini bus was introduced as a service, the bus-fare was just 40 sen.
Later in 1991, the fare was increased to 50 sen while two years after, the fare was again adjusted to 60 sen.
It doesn’t have any fixed time-table.
The service operates on a commission basis whereby the operators were paid according to the number of trips and fare collection they could raise in one day.
Sometimes, in order to outdo a competitor, a driver would detour from the designated route much to the annoyance of the passengers.
In 1990, the Ministry of Transport, standardized the colour of the mini bus to pink and white. On 1 July 1998, the services of the mini bus were terminated in the city of Kuala Lumpur.
Once a notorious mode of transport for the many commuters in Kuala Lumpur, the "Pink Lady" will always be remembered for its death-defying activities on public roads.
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