Friday March 31, 2006

Shift to public transport

ROADS in the Klang Valley will see a drastic drop of private vehicles if the Government's plan to reduce the usage of private vehicle and increase public transport usage is realised within the next five years.

In 2003 only 16% of people travelling within the Klang Valley used public transport, while the figure in 1985 was much higher at 34%.

According to the 9MP the development of urban transport will focus on a shift from private vehicles to public transport. The government’s target is to improve the public to private transport split by achieving a ratio of 30:70.

These include expansion of Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Komuter services, procurement of more rolling stock and buses, enhancement of stations as well as park and ride facilities.

Integrated transport terminals would be constructed as transit hubs to enable inter-city passengers to access the central areas of Kuala Lumpur by urban rail systems.

To realise this the allocation for urban transportation under the 9MP has been more than doubled to RM1.56bil compared with RM706mil under the 8MP.

A commission would be set up to regulate public transport systems in the Klang Valley. The commission would also be responsible for the planning, coordinating and licensing of all public transport modes in the Klang Valley.

The 9MP would see the construction of ring roads and bypasses at Georgetown, Seremban and Johor Baru.

The Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel project in Kuala Lumpur is scheduled for completion in December 2006. The motorway section of the tunnel is expected to ease traffic congestion at the southern gateway to Kuala Lumpur.

Existing public transport facilities and services would be upgraded and further integrated to encourage a modal shift from private vehicle usage to public transport.

The allocation for road building and maintenance in the urban areas under the 9MP is RM17.3bil, a reduction of RM1.1bil or 6.2% compared to the 8MP.

However, the allocation for rural roads has increased to RM3.64bil, an almost 60% increase compared to RM2.28bil for the 8MP.

Under the rural roads programme, more roads would be constructed to improve the transportation of agricultural produce from rural areas.

The programme would be expanded to connect resettlement areas to rural industrial areas and estates, particularly in Sabah and Sarawak.

The review of the Highway Network Development Plan to be completed by the end of the year would identify priority projects to improve the national road network in peninsular Malaysia.

As for rail transport, a sum of RM3.63bil was allocated, a drop of 31% compared to the 8MP. The development of rail transport would focus on increasing operational efficiency as well as a major mode of freight transportation and an effective alternative inter-city transport for passengers.

These include track realignment and improvement works from Taiping to Padang Rengas.

New stations would also be built to serve new growth areas as well as replace old ones. However, old stations that have heritage value would be restored.

Rail services in Sabah particularly the stretch from Tanjung Aru to Tenom would be upgraded to reduce travel time between the two destinations by half.

The overall allocation for transport under the 9MP is RM30.3bil, slightly lower than the RM30.9bil allocated under the 8MP.

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