More commuters opt for public transportation

PETALING JAYA: Commuters in the Klang Valley are gradually switching to public transportation, with the adoption rate rising from 19.6% in 2012 to 20.8% in 2013, said the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD).

The number of trips made during the morning peak period increased by 9% to 5.7 million trips in 2013 compared to 5.3 million trips in 2012.

The KTM Komuter ridership went up by 48% to 51,200, while the LRT saw 21,500 riders last year, 40% more than 2012.

The monorail saw a 40% increase in passengers with 192,200 passengers last year, while the Express Rail Link (ERL) experienced a 29% increase to 6,200 passengers.

In a statement, SPAD attributed the increase to several government initiatives implemented by SPAD and public transport operators.

The initiatives include 470 new RapidKL buses, 1,388 new or refurbished bus stops, nine bus expressway transit corridors, 35 additional four-car sets to the Kelana Jaya LRT line and 37 six-car sets added to the KTM Komuter lines.

SPAD said these measures had been implemented after continuous monitoring to improve service quality.

“For example, SPAD has instituted a regular monitoring system to measure and enhance service quality. This has resulted in improvements to KTM Komuter’s on-time performance during the morning peak period. In November 2012, the on-time performance during the morning peak period for KTM Komuter was 79%. In November 2013, this increased to 96%,” said the statement.

SPAD said the results were encouraging, and showed that the public would use public transport if the system was good, efficient and reliable.

It expects better response from the public once ongoing projects such as the MRT, the extension of the Kelana Jaya LRT Line and the expansion of the monorail are completed.

The introduction of the bus rapid transit (BRT) system is also expected to boost public transportation, it added.