KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 20 — On average, 2,000 cars enter Parliament every day that it is in sitting but there are only 500 parking bays available, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said today.

This was one of the reasons behind the implementation of the free RapidKL “Bas Parlimen” service from KL Sentral to the Parliament that started this morning, he told reporters upon the arrival of the two small buses here.

“This means that three-quarters of cars that enter Parliament will find it hard to find parking unless you come very, very early.

“This also affects those who have work at Parliament, including the media and officers, who are forced to line up for a very long time every morning to enter Parliament and to take their safety passes,” he told reporters.

He added that as he understood it, the process of entering Parliament can take up to an hour.

“We want to provide quality of life,” he said.

The service is currently on a trial run as a proof of concept, he added.

“After this, we will see what improvements need to be made,” he said.

For now, the bus frequency will be every half an hour during peak hours (8 to 10am and 4.30 to 8pm), and every hour during non-peak hours (10am to 4.30pm).

“We will see at night [what time the sitting ends],” he said, explaining that the bus service will continue if required.

He expressed his hopes that Malaysians will be encouraged to use public transport if they see their representatives using the bus service.

Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung was also present as he had used the bus service to go to Parliament to attend the sitting.

“Today is also International Social Justice Day and access to public transport is a form of social justice for all so that we have options in our mobility and how we get around,” he said.

The service was provided by Prasarana Malaysia Bhd at a cost of RM800 per day for each bus.