Public transport aiming to get more cars off the road

KL-MRT-1

Next year will see the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Sungai Buloh-Kajang Line – as well as two Light Rail Transit (LRT) line extensions – begin operations, and the new rail-based services should get more Malaysians commuting via public transport rather than by car in the next couple of years, The Star reports.

The first phase of the 51 km-long MRT SBK Line is set to start running in December, with stations to open up from Sungai Buloh to Semantan, near Pusat Bandar Damansara, and estimates suggest that around 400,000 people will be utilising the trains on the MRT Line 1 when the Phase 2 – from Semantan to Kajang – is operational by mid-2017.

Ahead of that, the 18.1 km-long Ampang Line LRT extension is set to begin running by March, with the 17.4 km-long Kelana Jaya line extension to follow by mid-year. According to the publication, a RapidKL source said both line extensions – which end and link up at the Putra Heights station – could see an additional 310,000 people using them on a daily basis.

LRT rail pix Bernama

Currently, ridership is around 225,000 on the Kelana Jaya line and 173,000 on the Ampang Line each day, according to the Transport Ministry’s third quarter figures.

Bus services are also set to be improved on as part of the government’s transit drive push. Outside the Klang Valley, regular MyBas stage bus services have been planned for Kuala Terengganu, Ipoh and Kuching next year, the report adds.

A new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line to link Kuala Lumpur to Klang is also on the cards – construction is set to get underway next year, and the KL-Klang BRT is expected to be completed by 2018. The plan will see the line – which will be 34 km long and will have 25 stations along the route – run along the Federal Highway, running in the middle on dedicated lanes.

BRT bus

The next stages of public transport infrastructure development include the MRT 2 project, which will span 52 km from Sungai Buloh to Serdang. The government says that MRT 2 will benefit two million people and will incur a cost of RM28 billion. Construction will start in the second quarter of 2016 and the project is expected to finish in 2022.

There will also be an LRT 3 line from Bandar Utama in Damansara to Johan Setia in Klang. This 36 km-long line is set to benefit another two million Klang Valley residents at a cost of RM10 billion. Work will start next year and will go on till 2020.

Members of the public who were interviewed by the publication expressed high hopes for the new services. What do you think? Will the new MRT and LRT line extensions get more cars off congested roads in the Klang Valley?

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Anthony Lim

Anthony Lim believes that nothing is better than a good smoke and a car with character, with good handling aspects being top of the prize heap. Having spent more than a decade and a half with an English tabloid daily never being able to grasp the meaning of brevity or being succinct, he wags his tail furiously at the idea of waffling - in greater detail - about cars and all their intrinsic peculiarities here.

 

Comments

  • ben yap on Dec 31, 2015 at 1:12 pm

    price of public transport also naik…. sit car better, convenient and comfortable.

    maybe along the way, can go online on uber to earn some side income some more.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 21 Thumb down 12
    • Really BS. Objective of public transport is of course reducing traffic la. If government build stupid public transport, who wanna take?

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 11 Thumb down 18
      • George Abdul on Dec 31, 2015 at 5:18 pm

        Government encourage Rakyat use public transport BUT government encourage Cronies to increase price…. and more the cronies onwer’s NEVER use public transport as they own Benz, BMW and Prosche !!! At end Rakyat suffer the most thanks to BN and the ministry !!!

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 15 Thumb down 3
    • Hazri on Dec 31, 2015 at 1:50 pm

      agreed…i drive to my office everyday..eventhough LRT station is just 500m away from my house.

      The reason why? LRT is not convenient at all…sometimes need to wait for the train for ages…it is also toooo crowded..too many immigrants…smells too bad esp in the evening…

      surprisingly, by driving, i can reach my office earlier than commuting by LRT….when i stress due to traffic, i can sing, karaoke, scream etc

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 27 Thumb down 30
      • That is a very wrong statement, LRT headways frequency is about 2 minutes only. Which means new train will arrive every two minute. There is no such thing as waiting for ages. As for KTM, their frequency is 30 minutes. Typical ‘upper class’ malaysian too allergic to take public transport and very car-oriented. So different with western developed countries.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 20 Thumb down 5
        • Evo VIII on Jan 02, 2016 at 3:31 am

          Definitely he is those bashers who are proud using public in other countries but not in he’s own

          Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 0
        • please come and experience by yourself by taking LRT from Salak Selatan or Cheras Station…wait there between 7.30 to 8.00 in the morning and you will definitely agreed what i have said earlier.

          Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • you can kiss my non-royal arse for this statement.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 4
    • If you said that in Thailand you will be jailed for 20 years. Be cukur you in MY yo.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 2
  • Public transport fare also increased, how u gonna get more cars off the road?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 2
    • Even if increase, as long as overall cost is lower than car, and more importantly saves time, public will go for public transport. Some can even do work while travelling. Thats one way to increase productivity

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 3
  • Susukotak on Dec 31, 2015 at 1:54 pm

    A new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line to link Kuala Lumpur to Klang is also on the cards – construction is set to get underway next year, and the KL-Klang BRT is expected to be completed by 2018. The plan will see the line – which will be 34 km long and will have 25 stations along the route – run along the Federal Highway, running in the middle on dedicated lanes.
    Maksud kata… kesesakan lebubraya peraekutuan akan berterusan lagi 2 tahun. Ingat kan batu nak reda.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 1
  • oldcar on Dec 31, 2015 at 2:12 pm

    BRT Sunway within Sunway-Subang area short distance already RM5.40. KL-Klang so “long distance” how much the fare gonna be? RM20 per trip? I rather drive my car then. tq and bye.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 11 Thumb down 1
  • joyah on Dec 31, 2015 at 3:09 pm

    This is BS.. u want people to use Public Transport but at the same time u increase the fare price. Once again Public be the victim…. so who cares anymore… drive or use PT both the same.. always get by the Government.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • mr1031 on Dec 31, 2015 at 3:41 pm

    if government really the one to BUILD it, then I enjoice la..but usually gomen will privatise it as usual and we pay high price for it…

    oh wait, 1st ten years very cheap price than can get more vote..after that baru mentioned dlm perjanjian konsesi kena naik every 2-5 years until die..lol

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
  • azhar on Dec 31, 2015 at 3:45 pm

    parking at station must be adequate..what happened rite now, parking always not enough..how laa u want people to ride a train to office

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
    • Ainon on Dec 31, 2015 at 4:04 pm

      And more feeder bus services to LRT stations from housing estates. I hardly see any buses passing thru my housing area and it is quite a high density area.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
      • Give it time as RAPID just revamped the bus routes. Definitely need some time to work out the kinks and buy more buses to fill the routes. Things dun happen by magic

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 1
  • Pity those who stay far away from the city center..
    using public transport is so time consuming yet expensive.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
  • Dulu ada bas mini…. efisyen… baru 50 sen je. Tp kerajaan bg mcm2 alasan utk hapuskan bisnes mereka… aku tak tahu sebabnya sebab aku budak2 masa tu. … jika sekarang kerajaan boleh bg green light utk uber dan grab car, knp tidak kerajaan pertimbangkan juga utk bas mini diwujudkan semula.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 0
  • Lumpo4x4 on Dec 31, 2015 at 5:06 pm

    If more 3 people want to go to klcc on weekend it is better to ride a car. Imagine i go park my car rm5 per entry and then ride lrt from gombak to klcc nearly rm4 person. I better ride my ride my car with 3 people, parking near red bungalow rm10 max plus rm5 for petrol as it gombak to klcc wont consume too much of petrol. How can you want encourage people to opt for public when it is more expensive?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0
  • If not priced reasonably, giving thoughts to the rakyat then all this is just syok sendiri news. Providing cheap and efficient public transport is one of the purpose and responsibilities of the government. But of late it looks like they think it’s just another channel to make a buck off the common people.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0
  • Kautim Satu Malaysia on Dec 31, 2015 at 8:49 pm

    is this even news???

    The govt should have thought and plan about this 20 years ago……
    Now, traffic jam, jam, jam until kaw kaw….baru came out this idea…

    Too slow, too late….

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
  • Absolutely. Will relegate my car to a weekend car once the LRT extension is operational. And to respond to a comment earlier, the wait time for LRT during peak hours is 2m20secs.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • RiZal on Jan 01, 2016 at 9:44 am

    Why we are slow in improving our public transportation is partly due to the fact most of the people entrusted to do the study on it spend time holidaying during their study trip. Then they will go again to another country the following year. Thus after 5 years only they will conclude their study. By the time they table to the decision maker its already obsolete.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
  • Rakyat on Jan 03, 2016 at 10:47 am

    More Park n Ride facilities please and do not increase parking rate and public transport fares in the future. It is supposed to be subsidized by our tax money. Not crony owned, profit making snakes that we have currently. Full stop

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
 

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