Bus & tram

Bus
KL has streamlined its confusing bus system. Now you’ll mainly see Rapid KL (1800-388 228; www.rapidkl.com.my) and Metro liner buses. There’s an information booth (7am-9pm) at the Jln Sultan Mohammed bus stop in Chinatown, where you can pick up a route map and information on various season tickets.

Local buses leave from many of the bus terminals around the city, including the huge Puduraya bus station on Jln Pudu, the Klang bus station, the Jln Sultan Mohammed bus stop, and from along Medan Pasar and Lebuh Ampang near the Masjid Jamek LRT stations. The maximum single fare is usually RM1 for destinations within the city limits. A RM2 ticket allows you one day’s unlimited travel on Rapil KL’s 15 different city routes.

Since KL’s inexpensive taxis and reliable LRT systems are more efficient, not to mention air-conditioned, there’s little point in using buses unless you’re going to be in KL for some time. You’ll only really need the bus for trips to outlying areas, such as the Batu Caves.

Local transport

Taxi
KL has plenty of taxis, and fares are cheap, starting at RM2 for the first kilometer, with an additional 10 sen for each 200m. From midnight to 6am there’s a surcharge of 50% on the metered fare, and extra passengers (more than two) are charged 20 sen each. Luggage placed in the boot costs an extra RM1.

Even though the law mandates the use of the meter, you’ll often find taxi drivers unwilling to use it, citing KL’s traffic or the out-of-the-way location of your destination as a reason. Taxi drivers lingering outside luxury hotels are especially guilty of this behavior. Stand your ground and, if necessary, walk off and hail another taxi. If you choose to bargain, fares around town start at RM5 and it should cost no more than RM10 to go right across the central city area.

Be aware that taxis will often only stop at the numerous officially signposted taxi stands and although it is possible to wave one down, some drivers are reluctant to stop.

History

Kuala Lumpur has its origins in the 1850s, when the Malay Chief of Klang, Raja Abdullah, hired some Chinese laborers to open new and larger tin mines. They landed at the confluence of Sungai Gombak and Sungai Klang (Klang River) to open mines at Ampang. Sungai Gombak was previously known as Sungai Lumpur, which means muddy river. The Original name for this city was “Pengkalan Lumpur”, which means bundle of mud. As time passes by the name changed to Kuala Lumpur which literally means “muddy confluence” in Bahasa Melayu. Later, tin mines were opened at Pudu and Batu. Among the early notable pioneers are Hiu Siew and Liu Ngim Kong.

These mines became a trading post and were considered a frontier town with many problems including the Selangor Civil War; it was also plagued by diseases and constant fires and floods. Around the 1870s, the Chinese Kapitan of Kuala Lumpur, Yap Ah Loy, emerged as leader, and became responsible for the survival and subsequent systematic growth of this town. He is the one who began to develop Kuala Lumpur from a small unknown place into a mining town with economic boom. In 1880, the state capital of Selangor was moved from Klang to the more strategically advantageous Kuala Lumpur.