Government serious about revamping public transport

KUALA LUMPUR: With the introduction of e-hailing legislation to govern ride-sharing services and the government’s initiatives to extend and upgrade existing public transport, Malaysia’s transportation industry has rapidly evolved from what it was a year ago, ushering in a new era of a more efficient transportation network.

Since 2010, the government has been continuously working to enable the public to enjoy a world-class public transportation system by incorporating the latest technology.

After a few years of being deemed illegal for operating without the licence to ferry passengers, both Uber and GrabCar can now operate legally following the Dewan Rakyat’s move to pass the e-hailing services bill in July, enabling the government to regulate the service operators.

Under this new law, e-hailing drivers are required to go through health checks, periodic inspection of their vehicles and display security cards issued by the Land Public Transport Commission, while the Commercial Vehicles Licensing Board will regulate drivers in Sabah and Sarawak based on the same requirements imposed on conventional taxi drivers.

By offering up to 20 per cent cheaper fares compared with regular taxi fares, Uber and GrabCar had no difficulty in gaining the public’s favour, and the introduction of the services had revolutionised the local public transport industry and created economic opportunities for many Malaysians.

Unsurprisingly, this negatively affected the ecosystem of taxi drivers and taxi operators and raised concerns in the local taxi industry.

However, Malaysia Institute of Road Safety Research directorgeneral Dr Wong Shaw Voon said the e-hailing concept would not kill the taxi industry as the services were part of the taxi industry, too.

“The government had legalised it to create a single platform for Uber, GrabCar and taxis to operate under the same authority, so that the public can have better services,” he said.

Meanwhile, the launch of the Mass Rapid Transit Sungai Buloh-Kajang’s (MRT SBK) second phase from Semantan to Kajang on July 17 marked a real game changer in train services.

Speaking at the launch, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the completion of the SBK line was at the top of his priority list.

MRT’s second line, which connects Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya is targeted to be fully completed in 2022, with 37 stations along the 52.2km route.

The alignment is expected to reach 19 per cent by year-end, with tunnelling works to begin in the first quarter of next year.

The MRT Line 3 (MRT3) will improve connectivity by linking with the existing urban rail network and will boost economic activity and becomes a catalyst for development, said MRT Corporation Sdn Bhd strategic communication and stakeholder relations director Datuk Najmuddin Abdullah.

MRT3 is also known as the MRT Circle Line as it will encircle Kuala Lumpur with a total of 26 stations. Its construction is expected to kick off in 2019.

Najmuddin said the decision to switch the MRT3 project delivery structure to a turnkey model, from a project delivery partner, could help save billions of ringgit.

In the 2018 Budget, tabled on October 27, Najib announced that MRT3 would be completed in 2025, two years earlier than the expected completion date of 2027.

The MRT, which connects the existing 285km Kuala Lumpur urban rail involving the Light Rail Transit (LRT), monorail and Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd’s commuter service, will accelerate the nation’s economic growth.

The government’s initiative in developing reliable and sustainable land public transport system continues with the LRT Line Extension project (LRT3), consisting of 26 stations.

Set to complete in August 2020, the RM9 billion LRT3 project is expected to serve 74,000 commuters daily between Bandar Utama and Johan Setia, Klang, said Prasarana Bhd.

Meanwhile, on the development of the 350km-long KL-Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR), the designs of its seven stations have been unveiled, along with a public inspection exercise from November 1 to January 31.

With the assertion that the transportation projects are on track and completed under-budget, the success of these projects, culminating from years of hard work, mirrors the government’s commitment to revolutionise urban transport despite economic challenges such as the weaker ringgit and declining oil prices.

Going forward, considering Malaysia’s desire to become a world-class economy in 2020, people can expect this current decade to witness an acceleration of construction activities, particularly on projects that can boost the country’s infrastructure and utility services in order to keep up with the growing demand from the public. Bernama