Some 3.6 million people have used the Bas Muafakat Johor since its inception in 2016. — Photos: THOMAS YONG/The Star
State government spends RM28mil yearly to fund Bas Muafakat Johor serving commuters in the state
Johor government wants to encourage more people to make full use of its free public transportation initiative, Bas Muafakat Johor (BMJ), especially to go to Hospital Sultan Aminah (HSA) and Hospital Sultan Ismail (HSI) in Tebrau.
State works, transportation and infrastructure committee chairman Mohamad Fazli Mohamad Salleh said some 3.6 million people had used BMJ since its inception in 2016.
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“The state government introduced the free bus shuttle service to the two main public hospitals last November.
“We provided the shuttle service to HSA and HSI following complaints from the public, especially those who needed to visit the two hospitals frequently, either for treatment or to collect medicine.
Easing traffic congestion: People waiting for a Bas Muafakat Johor ride at Larkin Sentral, which currently offers 67 routes throughout Johor. — THOMAS YONG/The Star
“They said they found it difficult to find parking space at HSA and HSI,” he told StarMetro in an interview at Kota Iskandar.
Mohamad Fazli said Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi had suggested that HSA and HSI be included in BMJ’s coverage, to alleviate parking woes at the two hospitals.
However, ridership of the free shuttle service has not reached a satisfactory level.
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“As of March, the total number of ridership to HSA was about 6,500 while HSI recorded a slightly higher number at 13,000.”
Mohamad Fazli also said that the state government, through the Johor Public Transport Corporation (PAJ), conducted a study to determine why HSA had lower ridership than HSI.
Mohamad Fazli says seven new routes will be added to the current 67.
The Bukit Pasir assemblyman said one of the reasons was the longer route to HSA compared to HSI.
He said the route included Larkin Sentral, the Plaza Larkin overhead bridge, HSA and Mahmoodiah health clinic while for HSI, it covered Lotus’s Tebrau hypermarket, Sultan Ismail health clinic and HSI.
According to him, there are 35 daily trips to HSA and HSI, which run from 6.30am until 6pm from Sunday to Thursday, with a 15-minute frequency.
“We identified an obstacle at HSA where the buses could not stop at the hospital lobby, unlike at HSI, due to a roundabout.
The free shuttle bus service to Hospital Sultan Ismail has been introduced, partly due to parking issues there.
“This forces the shuttle bus for HSA to stop at the main gate and it causes difficulties for the passengers,” he said, adding that the government had identified several measures to overcome it.
Mohamad Fazli said that among the measures was building a covered pathway from the hospital’s main gate to the lobby area.
He also said PAJ would be introducing more disabled-friendly buses.
“Our objective is to get more locals to use Bas Muafakat Johor.
“We are looking to add seven new routes to the current 67 throughout the state.”
The Johor government wants more to use public transportation to ease congestion, especially in Johor Baru.
He said the state government spent about RM28mil yearly to fund BMJ that covered routes not favoured by bus companies.
Mohamad Fazli encouraged people to use public transport as their main mode of transportation.
“The state will soon see major transformation in its public transportation with the Johor Baru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS), which links Bukit Chagar in Johor Baru to Woodlands North station in the island republic.
“The project is on track to be completed by end 2026 and will start operations in 2027.
“Furthermore, the Iskandar Rapid Transit, which covers about 90% of Iskandar Malaysia, and the Gemas-Johor Baru Electrified Double-Track project will boost public transportation in Johor.
“The state will become a major public transportation hub by 2027 and this will benefit the people in the long run,” he said.
Mohamad Fazli said the state government wanted to see more people using public transportation to overcome traffic woes, especially in Johor Baru.
“We are in talks with several major companies to provide incentives to frequent users of public transportation and hopefully, the incentives will get more people to use public transportation,” he added.
