Malaysia Embarking On More Efficient Public Transport System

By Nurunnasihah Ahmad Rashid KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 21 (Bernama) -- With ride-sharing services making inroads and the high-speed rail project set to take off, 2016 saw Malaysia embarking on a progressive journey towards a more efficient public transport system to reduce road congestion and satisfy the rakyat's (people's) needs. Besides bridging the infrastructure gap among the states, Malaysia has also been playing an essential role in the quest to connect all ASEAN countries. The signing of an agreement on Dec 13 at the 7th Singapore-Malaysia Leaders’ Retreat to build a 350km-long Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR), an ambitious 10-year project, marked an important milestone in the development of the country's transportation system. Speaking at the signing ceremony, Prime Minister Najib Razak said the HSR project would be a game changer for Malaysia and Singapore, including for economic generation, lifestyle and property value. The project, which is due to take off in 2017 and complete in 2026, will generate new impetus in terms of economic development along the way not only in the Klang Valley and Singapore, but also the designated towns in between. For Singapore, the HSR terminus will be located in Jurong East, while Malaysia will have seven stations -- in Bandar Malaysia, Putrajaya, Seremban, Ayer Keroh, Muar, Batu Pahat and Iskandar Puteri. It was reported that the gross domestic product (GDP) resulting from construction, operations, ancillary services, and indirect multiplier benefits such as tourism and property appreciation would be about US$22.32 billion (RM100 billion). (US$1 = RM4.47) Upon its completion, the capitals of the two countries will no longer be seen as distant cities but two closely-connected ones, as travel time would be reduced to just 90 minutes as the trains would run at a top speed of more than 300kph, compared with four hours by car. This is a positive project that also heralds the beginning of a larger vision of a Pan-Asia Railway network to connect China and all countries in mainland Southeast Asia, Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport Council Member Abi Sofian Abdul Hamid said. "As long as the overall economic activities are enhanced, there will be equitable benefits (from the project)," he told Bernama. In fact, with Singapore being Malaysia's second largest trading partner in 2015 with total trade of US$59.5 billion (RM190.6 billion), the HSR project could be a catalyst for both nations to enhance stimulus and increase their trade value. Sunway University Business School’s Professor of Economics Prof Dr Yeah Kim Leng said the long-term benefit would be attracting investors to set up bases in Kuala Lumpur, thus strengthening the country's competitiveness, dynamism, as well as attractiveness. With time savings travelling on HSR trains, Malaysia's economy will get closely integrated with that of Singapore, hence stimulating more business opportunities and becoming a catalyst for foreign direct investment. Another mega infrastructure the government is passionate about in its stride to create more growth centres is the East Coast Rail Line (ECRL), connecting Kuala Lumpur and Tumpat, Kelantan, passing through Kuantan, Pahang and Dungun, Terengganu. The 620 km ECRL, one of the high-impact projects earmarked under the 11th Malaysia Plan, was announced by the prime minister when tabling the 2017 Budget in October. The project, which is expected to start next year and complete in 2022, is set to give a positive impact on the local economy and social sector besides cutting travel time. Costing RM55 billion, the new double-track rail project will be built in phases and funded via soft loans by the Export-Import (Exim) Bank of China. The first phase is from Port Klang to Gombak and Dungun, while second phase is from Dungun to Tumpat. The ECRL engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning deal was inked between Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd, China Communication Construction Co Ltd and China Communications Construction Co (M) Sdn Bhd during Najib's six-day official visit to the China in October this year. Once fully operational, the train service will link the east coast to the Klang Valley in the west coast, Singapore in the south, and China in the north. Despite being good news for those who make frequent trips to the east coast of the Peninsula, it is not without issues. Najib has refuted a claim that the project is too costly, describing it as value for money and unique in terms of topography. It won an attractive project package that include funding from the Exim Bank of China with favourable terms and is capable of boosting gross domestic product of Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang by up to 1.5 per cent, he added. Addressing skeptics over the cost, he pointed out that the government has proven that not all infrastructure projects were lavish as about RM2 billion had been saved from the initial targeted cost of RM23 billion for the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project. The 51-km Sg Buloh-Kajang MRT project was approved by the government in December 2010 and is seen as the backbone of the public transport system in the Greater KL/Klang Valley region as areas in the northwest and southeast of Klang Valley are not served by any urban rail lines yet. Phase one of the MRT, spanning 21 km, with 12 stations between Sg Buloh and Semantan, was launched by Najib on Dec 15. The journey takes about 30 minutes. Asserting that the project was completed on time and under budget, he said the success in completing the MRT within five years as targeted has not only proven the government's commitment towards providing an efficient and comfortable public transport, but also signified a benchmark for all future plans. MRT Strategic Communications and Stakeholder Relations director Najmuddin Abdullah said the MRT project would become a catalyst in changing the landscape of transportation in Malaysia. "People who are staying near the MRT Sungai Buloh-Klang stations will benefit from easier and better access to affordable and reliable public transport with an affordable RM1 to RM6.40 fares," he said. He said that the 30km Phase Two involving 19 stations from Semantan to Kajang was almost 95 per cent completed. Each train set serving the line will have four cars, allowing a total capacity of 1,200 passengers with the frequency of 3.5 minutes between each train and estimating its daily ridership to be about 400,000 passengers. The MRT which connects the existing 285km Kuala Lumpur urban rail involving the Light Rail Transit (LRT), Monorail and Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB) Commuter Service will enable the nation's economy to grow at a rapid pace. For the users convenience, 112 feeder buses have started operating on 25 routes from the 12 stations for the MRT phase one. The buses, each with the capacity of 62 passengers, run on a frequency of between 10 to 15 minutes with the routes designed to serve residential and commercial areas within three km of an MRT station. On the other hand, the construction work for the second MRT line, Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya, with 37 stations, has already started at end of June and expected to be fully completed in 2022. Meanwhile, Abi noted that the completion and subsequent commissioning of both LRT route extension in June and MRT Phase One, were the most significant development as these would pave the way for a better public transportation system. The LRT route extension, which started in 2011, was a high-impact economic project involving a distance of 35.1 km connecting both the Kelana Jaya and the Ampang/Sri Petaling lines. Among the total 25 new LRT stations are Puchong Perdana, Puchong Prima, Ara Damansara, Subang Jaya, USJ 7, Awan Megah, and Putra Heights. The new LRT routes have been a boon to commuters and testament to the government's continued commitment to improve urban transportation. The Ampang LRT Line extension of Sri Petaling-Putra Heights passing through Kinrara Puchong has been operating since March, followed by the 17.4 km Kelana Jaya-Putra Heights line in June, while the LRT 3 Bandar Utama-Klang Line is scheduled to start in August 2020. Despite the economic challenges such as plunging oil prices, which prompted the recalibration of the 2016 Budget, the government was steadfast in ensuring that high-impact infrastructure projects continued to be implemented. The success of these projects, culminating from years of hard work, proved the government's commitment to revolutionise urban transport in the country. On the squabble between taxi drivers and e-hailing service operators such as Uber and Grabcar, the Land Public Transport Act 2010 and the Commercial Vehicles Licensing Board Act 1987 would be amended to make way for the implementation of the Taxi Industry Transformation Programme. The programme was intended to create a level playing field that benefits drivers, operators and passengers. In order to ease the taxi drivers' burden, a cash grant of RM5,000 has been approved by the government to help taxi drivers exit the existing rental model to buy new cars. Going forward, the decision to improve the transportation system by implementing high-impact infrastructure projects is important in the government's stride to increase public transport ridership to 40 per cent in 2030, Malaysia Institute of Transport (MITRANS) Deputy Director of Industrial Linkages and Commercialisation Dr Shahrin Nasir. "To ridership target is achievable. The rail infrastructure and the changes in bus operation have given the public a better choice in choosing the public transport. "However, the target can be met not only by having good infrastructure and excellent services, but also by making using private vehicles to the city centre 'unattractive'," he said, adding that the government needed to discourage people from using private vehicles to the city centre. "Imposing road pricing, reducing number of parking spaces and increasing parking fees, might restrain the public from using private vehicles to enter the city centre. "The key success criteria of transport service are accessibility, connectivity and better pricing system," Shahrin said. -- BERNAMA