GOVERNMENT SATISFIED WITH PUBLIC TRANSPORT NKRA

KOTA KINABALU (Sabah, Malaysia), May 11 (Bernama) -- The government is satisfied with the impressive results in the Urban Public Transport National Key Result Area (NKRA) since it was implemented in July 2009, thus reaching its objective set through the Government Transformation Programme (GTP), said Deputy Transport Minister Abdul Rahim Bakri.

He said the Transport Ministry found there was an increase in the use of public transport compared to personal transportation during peak hours, from 10 per cent in 2009 to 17 per cent, or 236,412 users, last year.

Abdul Rahim said according to the projected estimate, public transport usage would rise to 21 per cent this year, followed by 25 per cent by 2012.

"The main reason for this change is the various initiatives carried out such as increased capacity from six new four-car train sets, which results in 24 coaches for the Kelana Jaya LRT line. The number of passengers has increased to 2.6 million," he told Bernama here Wednesday.

Besides that, he said introduction of the Bus Expressway Transit (BET) also attracted 1,500 passengers daily.

Abdul Rahim added that upgrading works on 634 bus stations had furtherimproved the public transport situation in Malaysia.