Liow: World-class transportation system right on track

PETALING JAYA: The goal of achieving world-class urban public transportation system is well on track.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the Government had succeeded in providing efficient, cost-saving travel options for the public who now spend less time caught in traffic.

“The year 2016 ushered in a new era of urban public transportation with the opening of the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Line 1, spanning Sungai Buloh to Semantan.

“The completion of the MRT represents a promise delivered by the Government, paving the way towards a world-class public transport system,” he said in the National Transformation Programme Annual Report 2016.

Phase 1 of the MRT, the nation’s largest infrastructure project, was completed on time with cost savings, and began operations on Dec 16 last year.

The second phase is scheduled to be launched this year, connecting Semantan to Kajang, and will see some 529,000 commuters using the Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya Line once fully operational by 2022.

Liow added that the LRT Line Extension Project (LEP) was also launched as scheduled in July 2016, connecting Kelana Jaya and Sri Petaling to Putra Heights.

He said the LEP saw the construction of 23 new stations with 35km of new rail tracks added between the Sri Petaling and Kelana Jaya stations, extending the Kelana Jaya Line to 46.4km and the Ampang Line to 45.1km.

There is some 440,000 average daily ridership for both Kelana Jaya Line and Sri Petaling Line, which also helps extend commuters’ accessibility to other urban rail networks such as Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) Komuter stations and Bus Rapid Transit Sunway services.

Besides this, Liow said measures to improve the bus services and taxi industry were also underway.

“We are confident of attaining our target of 40% modal share for public transportation in Greater Kuala Lumpur/Klang Valley by 2030,” he added.

Based on a 2016 Customer Satisfaction Survey by the Land Public Transport Commission, there was an overall improvement in satisfaction in public transport with the likelihood of more people using public transport in the future.

There was an increase in overall customer satisfaction with public transport from 74% in 2015 to 84% last year while the likelihood of more using public transport had risen from 67% to 78% for the same period.