Three-time Ampang MP Zuraida, who is defending her seat in the general election (GE15), said the free rides should apply to all services provided by RapidKL in the Klang Valley, including the Ampang LRT line and RapidKL buses.

She added that the free rides could help commuters make up for the unexpected expenses they incurred due to the current disruption to the Kelana Jaya LRT line.

Many commuters have reportedly been using alternative modes of transport, including e-hailing and taxis, despite the free bus service provided by RapidKL at the 16 LRT stations affected by the service disruption.

She said she received numerous complaints from Ampang residents about the disruption and said it was unfair for them to bear such extra expenses.

“The disruption in the LRT Kelana Jaya line has adversely affected my constituents in Ampang, many of whom are heavily reliant on the LRT to get around, including to go to work,” Zuraida said in a statement.

“The breakdown is most unfortunate and unnecessary. In this respect, I urgently call on RapidKL to provide free rides for commuters for at least a month after service is fully restored.

“This is the least the company can do considering that many commuters had to incur extra expenses to move around following the disruption to the services.”

She also asked the government, which has a stake in RapidKL, to hold accountable those responsible for the disruption – adding that the chairman and director of MRT Corp resigned in 2014 following a workplace tragedy at its construction site.

On Wednesday, RapidKL announced it had to shut down 16 stations along the Kelana Jaya LRT line for a week due to an automatic train control (ATC) system malfunction.

The affected stations are Kelana Jaya, Taman Bahagia, Taman Paramount, Asia Jaya, Taman Jaya, Universiti, Kerinchi, Bangsar, Abdullah Hukum, KL Sentral, Pasar Seni, Masjid Jamek, Dang Wangi, Kampung Baru, KLCC and Ampang Park.

The same rail line suffered from an ATC system fault on Monday, disrupting regular service.