Kota Kinabalu: Faced with growing public complaints over chronic parking bottlenecks at Queen Elizabeth Hospital II and calls for better patient-friendly transit links, LPKP Sabah chairman Senator Phoong Jin Zhe indicated the authority will study a dedicated express hospital shuttle while moving ahead with tweaks to the existing Pink-Bus (BAS.MY) network.
Phoong was responding to concerns raised by SAPP vice-president Gee Tien Siong about hospital-area mobility.
He noted the current BAS.MY routes S05, S06, S07 and S08 already tie QE1, QE2, Foh Sang and KK Sentral together, with typical headways of 15-25 minutes to serve patients, medical staff and nearby residents.
Routes S05 and S06 run roughly every 18 minutes between QE2 and Foh Sang, while a broader set of lines connects QE1 to KK Sentral, forming an integrated network that also links surrounding residential and commercial zones.
Phoong acknowledged gaps remain such as longer-than-ideal walking distances to bus stops that can make hospital trips less convenient.
He explained BAS.MY falls under the Stage Bus Service Transformation (SBST) programme built to serve the whole community rather than function solely as a hospital-specific service, meaning routes are planned to benefit groups ranging from Lido residents to students and office-workers.
Still, he said Gee’s proposal for a dedicated express shuttle linking KK Sentral, QE1 and QE2 merits feasibility review, covering operational set-up, ridership potential and how it would complement existing bus services.
Phoong added LPKP Sabah has already begun on-the-ground work: officials have held talks with QE2 administrators and Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK), and carried out a site check of a potential pick-up-and-drop-off zone near the hospital entrance.
Proposed adjustments including better links between the Foh Sang multi-storey car-park and QE2 are pending approvals from the Ministry of Finance and relevant agencies due to existing service-contract terms.
He stressed that easing hospital-parking pressures requires joint efforts from transport operators, hospital leadership and local authorities, reaffirming LPKP Sabah’s readiness to keep engaging stakeholders including Gee to develop sustainable, practical mobility solutions.
