Eat Travel Write Putrajaya here I come!

By Laura Lee

The night before the start of our Eat.Travel.Write (ETW) Putrajaya programme on 16 December morning, inevitably the conversation in our group chat was how to get to our new meeting point, Putrajaya Sentral, as indicated in our latest itinerary from our organiser Gaya Travel.

Our earlier tentative programme had KL Sentral as the meeting point. It was a venue most of us are familiar with unlike Putrajaya Sentral. Participants to the ETW Putrajaya programme were informed that they could park inside Putrajaya Sentral for RM4 a day if they were driving to the venue.

Since it is costly to park at the KL International Airport, the more seasoned travellers have been parking their cars at Putrajaya Sentral, especially those for three to four days' travel. Parking here would work out to be cheaper than taking a taxi to KLIA.  

See the number of cars
already parked along the road at 8.30am on 16 Dec '15

A few weeks ago on a Sunday when I was shown Putrajaya Sentral by a developer, I could see cars parked indiscriminate-ly along the road. I was told that the authorities are quite lax about issuing summons to the cars along the road where white lines have been drawn.

For those of us heading for Putrajaya Sentral from KL Sentral, we have been advised to take public transport to avoid the morning crawl.

Although I have travelled from Kuala Lumpur to Putrajaya many times on the MEX Highway, which has proven to be a breeze, driving during the early morning or peak office hours on this stretch can be quite nightmarish. 

I decided to take the KLIA Transit train. A check with the website, www.klia2.info, showed that the one-way fare costs RM9.50.  

Since the website also provides information on the time schedule, it helps me to plan my travel arrangements for the next day. I was elated to find out that KLIA Transit offers 30% discount on the normal fare for senior citizens who are 55 years and above.

I occasionally commute on the KTM Komuter from Kepong to KL Sentral or Mid Valley but do not qualify for senior citizen privileges as most places, including hotel restaurants, give discounts to those who are 60 years and above.

I eagerly tested out on 16 Dec morning the genuineness of KLIA Transit's offer for seniors like me. All I had to do was to show Mykad (Malaysian identification card) at the counter to qualify for the discount.

I was given a receipt which shows that my discounted RM6.70 fare is valid for travel two hours from the time of issue. By the way, there’s a KLIA Transit train plying every 20 minutes from 6.03 am.   

Owing to the efficiency of the KLIA Transit service, I arrived very much earlier than our 9.45 am appointed meeting time. It gave me the opportunity to explore the Putrajaya Sentral station, which has a board announcing that come 1 January 2016, the fares will be increased.

New rates
The normal fare from KL Sentral to Putrajaya will cost RM14 one-way in 2016 but if you were to buy it from the self-service kiosk, you can save 10% and pay RM12.60 instead. 

Use these kiosks to enjoy more savings

Apparently, a 10% savings apply for those who buy their tickets on the website or app.

The board also mentioned that you can enjoy 20% cash rebate and pay only RM11.20 a trip if you use your credit cards during promotion.

The good news for senior citizens, they still get the 30% discount for their one-way fare for 2016 alongside with the OKU (or disabled) cardholders.