Selangor encouraging electric vehicle use

MBSA encourages micro mobility through the use of ebikes and escooters for recreational activities. — Filepic

SELANGOR is committed to encouraging the use of electric motorcycles as a way to reduce carbon emissions.

State investment, trade and mobility committee chairman Ng Sze Han said electric vehicles including electric-powered motorcycles could play a big role in Selangor’s stated aim of becoming a low-carbon state.

He said that under the National Low-Carbon Cities Masterplan launched in 2021, seven local authorities in Selangor were taking follow-up measures to reduce carbon emissions in urban areas.

“Among the efforts include the use of electric motorcycles for patrols and enforcement activities by several local authorities.

“As of now, Petaling Jaya City Council uses five such vehicles, Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) uses two, Ampang Jaya Municipal Council has three and Kuala Langat Municipal Council has two,” he said at the state assembly sitting.

He was respondng to Chua Wei Kiat (PH-Rawang) who asked what the state government was doing to encourage more people to use electric vehicles to bring down carbon emissions.

Ng said several local authorities, including MBSA, encouraged micro mobility through the use of ebikes and escooters for recreational activities.

Though transport policies are under the Federal Government, he said the state hoped to hasten the adoption of low- carbon transport mobility that focused on electric vehicles.

“We are also looking at developing the infrastructure for charging electic vehicles as underlined in First Selangor Plan (RS1),” he said.

He added that the Town and Country Planning Department (PLANMalaysia) had published guidelines to help state and local authorities plan, design and build infrastructure lots to charge vehicles.

To another question, Ng said the state government was concerned about the safety of all road users, especially motorcyclists.

“However, the Selangor government does not plan to build dedicated motorcycle lanes like those on some highways, as roads under the state and local authority jurisdictions are limited by width,” he said.