KUALA Lumpur will be getting a facelift with new bus shelters and taxi stops that are designed not only to be stylish but also to last longer.

New concessionaire Ritz Outdoor Worldwide (ROW) has been chosen by City Hall to spearhead the efforts to change the look of bus shelters and taxi stops to make KL a world-class city. ROW will be responsible for the development, installation and maintenance of 910 bus and taxi shelters in 11 districts in Kuala Lumpur.

“We are satisfied because the company is very comprehensive and has come up with interesting concepts for the bus shelters and taxi stops,” said Federal Territories Ministry deputy secretary-general Datuk Bakaruddin Othman during a site visit to the company’s factory to inspect the manufacturing processes of the bus shelters.

This project is part of the KL Street Furniture Concession, which is a new initiative by the Federal Territories Ministry and City Hall to redevelop all the existing bus and taxi shelters in Kuala Lumpur to ensure better transport shelters for commuters and create a new identity for KL.
 
It is also aimed at reducing government and local authority operational spending through privatisation.

“The 910 shelters will be built over three years and we will replace the old stops with new ones. There are five different models that we have designed to suit different places and sizes,” said ROW executive chairman Abdul Manan Nasir.

The stops are also built to last longer as they incorporate features to prevent vandalism.

“We use tempered glass of 8mm to 9mm thickness so that it will not break easily. We also have a comprehensive main-tenance programme, under which we will clean the stops every few days. We use chemicals that will remove any unwanted stickers or banners stuck on to the stops,” Abdul Manan explained.

ROW is also looking at using rough surface so that stickers cannot be stuck onto the shelters.

“We also use uniquely de-signed screws to put together the shelters so that they cannot be removed with normal screwdrivers. We have factored in vandalism when designing these shelters,” he added.

The smaller stops cost about RM30,000 each while the bigger ones cost about RM70,000 each.

“The building cost is borne by the concessionaire but they also have the exclusive rights to advertising. That said, content of the advertisements will still be regulated by City Hall,” Bakaruddin explained.

ROW will be using the network concept to sell advertisements rather than selling the whole bus shelter space.

“We will be using the network concept where we move the advertisements from one shelter to another within a particular time-frame. This is the latest advertising trend that the world is moving towards,” Abdul Manan said.

All the other concessionaires will have to follow the new models and specifications of these shelters designed by ROW.

http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2008/6/18/central/21578949&sec=central