‘More trains needed during peak hours’

KUALA LUMPUR: Regular commuter Tia Parthiban, 26, is tired of delayed Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) and Light Rail Transit (LRT) trains due to “technical glitches”.

“There should be more trains during peak hours and, therefore, the launch of the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) service was a very welcome addition to rail services,” the student from Klang told New Straits Times yesterday.

Last year’s 61,978 passengers per hour per direction (pphpd) was expected to grow to 127,578 pphpd by 2020.

In preparation, activities last year were focused on expanding rail services, like the launch of the MRT and LRT Extension Project.

With measures to improve bus services and the Taxi Industry Transformation Programme (TITP) underway, the government was confident of obtaining its target of 40 per cent modal share for public transportation in Greater KL/KV by 2030.

In terms of rail connectivity, the Klang Valley MRT Line 1 will be completed by July, followed by Line 2 in 2022.

The KL Monorail Expansion Project will add capacity to the service, which serves a daily ridership of 63,778 and registers an average load factor of 89 per cent during morning peak hours.

Demand was expected to rise further due to population growth and the completion of other rail projects.

TITP was introduced to improve the taxi industry in a comprehensive manner, encompassing not only the fleet of registered taxis, but also ride-sharing or e-hailing services like Uber and Grab.

Tia said the government made the right direction in legalising the latter services.

“It’s affordable, convenient and safe. And these services accept cashless payment via debit or credit card,” she said.

TITP also looks at the improvement of taxi drivers’ income