Malaysia's Public Transport Modal Share To Surge With MRT

By Azizul Ahmad KUALA LUMPUR, July 18 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's public transportation modal share is expected to increase with the completion of the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Sungai Buloh-Kajang (SBK) Line. Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) Acting Chairman Isa Samad said the modal share, currently at 25 per cent, would surge with the rise in MRT ridership. "The transformation, introduced by the Prime Minister, via the construction of an integrated urban MRT system is a big success and it has brought Malaysia's rail-based transportation to a new level. “It will benefit the people and will soon cover more areas,” he told Bernama prior to the launch of the second phase of the MRT SBK Line by Prime Minister Najib Razak at the Tun Razak Exchange underground station here Monday. The MRT SBK line trains run at a frequency of one train every 3.5 minutes during peak hours and has a total capacity of 1,200 passengers per trip, with daily ridership estimated at about 400,000 passengers. The SPAD National Land Public Transport Master Plan aimed to increase modal share of public transportation to 40 per cent by 2030, an achievable target according to Prasarana Malaysia Bhd (Prasarana), the official operator of the MRT service in the Klang Valley. Meanwhile, President/Group Chief Executive Officer Azmi Abdul Aziz said the company had forecast a 10-fold increase in the number of MRT users in the coming months. "The time which commuters would have, otherwise, been wasting caught in traffic congestion can now be spent for productive economic activities and they would also have more time to spend with their families," he said. Azmi urged the public to use the free MRT phase two service from Kajang Station to National Museum Station, launched Monday, until 11.30pm on Monday night and called on service users to take advantage of the 50 per cent discount for all MRT, light rail transit (LRT), monorail and Bus rapid transit (BRT) from tomorrow until August 31, 2017. He said Malaysia's MRT system was the latest in design and technology compared with the MRT system of other countries. "Being latest, our MRT offers a very comfortable experience and in terms of its preparation, it matched and in some areas, surpassed the current global standard. “Prasarana will make sure that there will be no service and maintenance delay to ensure the frequency capability of the Malaysian MRT system,” he added. -- BERNAMA