THOSE in Hulu Selangor will finally get to enjoy free bus rides as the Selangor Smart Bus service will be expanded to the district starting tomorrow.

Two buses, each with 40-passenger capacity, will ply a 37km route from 8am to 10pm every day.

The service will start from the Kuala Kubu Baru (KKB) bus terminal and proceed to the KKB KTM Komuter station, Rasa town and the Bukit Sentosa bus terminal in Rawang. There will be a one-hour interval between buses.

In KKB, the buses will service residential areas such as Taman Teratai, Taman KKB Utama, Taman Ampang Pechah, Taman Tanjak, Desa Bukit Bujang and Desa Damai.

It will then head to Rasa residential areas such as Desa Rening, Kampung Melayu Rasa Tambahan, Taman Keruing, Kampung Chuang, Kampung Kandaiah, Bukit Beruntung and Bukit Sentosa.

Hulu Selangor District Council secretary Azman Dahlan said the route would go past government hospitals and departments, post offices, schools, KTM Komuter stations as well as commercial and industrial areas in the district.

“Previously, there was no bus service from the KKB KTM Komuter station to KKB town and people had to use taxis.

“It will definitely benefit people in the area including the orang asli community.

“I hope the service will be expanded to other rural areas in the district especially the northern part of Hulu Selangor such as Hulu Bernam, Kerling and Kalumpang,” he told StarMetro.

Azman said a proposal was being drawn up to introduce bus service from Batang Kali to Sungai Tua in Batu Caves.

“This will offer Batang Kali folk an alternative route to Selayang, via Ulu Yam,” he said.

On July 1, 2015, Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Azmin Ali launched the Selangor Smart Bus for Shah Alam, Subang Jaya and Klang.

On Jan 1 this year, the service was extended to the Ampang Jaya and Kajang municipalities.

Last year, Selangor allocated RM6,013,840 for the service in five municipalities.

For 2016, RM10mil had been allocated for the Selangor Smart Bus service to be extended to another two municipalities and four districts. In addition to Hulu Selangor where the service has started, the rest are Selayang, Sepang, Kuala Langat, Kuala Selangor and Sabak Bernam.