The Kuala Lumpur City Hall’s (DBKL) plan to exact a congestion charge on private vehicles from 2017 onwards hasn’t exactly garnered a positive reaction, particularly from city planners. According to The Sun, the Malaysian Institute of Planners (MIP) has said that such a move should only be done as a “last resort,” and that other measures should be put in place first to tackle traffic congestion.
President Md Nazri Mohd Noordin told the English language daily that the authorities must prioritise multi-prong strategies before moving onto urban road pricing. “For a start, the authorities [have] to do it incrementally and not jump into it because it won’t work in such a way,” he said.
He added that although many cities such as London, Singapore, Seoul and Barcelona have successfully implemented congestion charges, “good public transport infrastructure, services and pedestrian-friendly facilities must be in place before introducing such measure.”
Additionally, Nazri also listed adequate Park n’ Ride facilities in suburban areas, along with the introduction of a tram network on the city’s roads, as some of the more suitable ways to reduce congestion.
“I think trams are a feasible option and a good addition to what we already have in KL for internal circulation. When you have trams, it would take up space on the road and this in turn will reduce cars,” said Nazri, adding the decrease in cars on the road will also cut down on pollution.
Nazri said that he hoped the city hall can take more than a few pointers from Singapore, which provides adequate facilities for pedestrians despite a similarly hot climate.
In response, Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) CEO Mohd Azharuddin Mat Sah said that the government is indeed not pursuing the implementation of a congestion charge as a top priority at this time.
“We need to work closely with the city hall as we need to put in ample infrastructures first before implementing a congestion charge in KL. We also need to further improve the bus and taxi services in the inner circle of the city,” he said.
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I think a good start is to have smart traffic lights at some major intersections in the city. Sometimes, without police coordinating the traffic, motorist are left sitting ideal looking and one another while it is green in one section where there are no vehicles.
I ‘Park n Ride’, and my car got broken, stolen and damaged. So i’ll ride. thanks.
It is all about money. You think they will care about you? The ministers not even travel in KL now.
which park n ride did that happen..? sorry to hear though..
true.you are pushing for efficient and better public transport..but at the same time, you are killing 3rd party small scale operator such as uber and other similar services..why not just support them since to complete all those plan for public tranport service will take additional years..
When the car owners got nothing left squeezed by the them, they aim at those who couldn’t even afford a car.
Shame on you!
Without wanting to look at alternatives or solutions, Malaysians insisting on keeping on driving personal cars to work.
Plain selfish.
Mean what you say.
Things to do before the last resort should include replacing you with a more capable person to try and resolve the issue first…
A good cityhall will upgrade the parking system like the one in dubai and more flyover not just some smart traffic light. Make use of the river for other mean of transport. Don’t just punish people to pay, just beacause DBKL staff have no experties in doing thing right.
Please stop developing new building in KL. traffic congested due to increase of individual transport and people. you must limit the people to come in the KL area. Please open new area. then new developing cities can growth. New developing only make traffic worth. DBKL just want rich with money without think and caring to the community.
totally agreed….stop approving more building in city centre and give incentive for offices to be outside of the city centre instead. reduce the number of offices in the city centre, u’ll decrease the traffic.
“When you have trams, it would take up space on the road and this in turn will reduce cars,” said Nazri,
That’s the most stupid logic I’ve heard. Yeah, also let those sidewalk hawkers, construction barriers, illegal parking take up space on the road and see what happens!
Let’s charge DBKL for do nothing about congestion during rush hour.
Can i impose “pothole charges” on DBKL for every pothole tat i drove over and damaged my car..Not only DBKL but Mppj, Mpsj…maybe can arrange “pothole tours” for tourist where they can see world class potholes
isnt it we suppose to charge the authority instead of them charging us?! They did not managed the city well that why jam are getting from bad to worst…this is their problem they need to sort it out from their end else the need to pay us back for the time, gas, energy we spend in the jam….