Motorcyclists rejoice as they don’t have to pay toll now

Bikers rejoice: Motorcyclists need not pay toll charges at the two Penang bridges and second link in Johor.

GEORGE TOWN: Motorcyclists who use the Penang Bridge and Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah Bridge are happy they don’t have to pay toll from next year.

Engineer CY Chin, 42, who travels daily from Bukit Mertajam to work in Bayan Lepas said no toll also meant time saved because motorcyclists no longer needed to queue at the toll plaza during the morning rush hour.

“We will be able to cross without needing to stop and this will save time for thousands who use the Penang Bridge daily,” he said.

On a daily basis, up to 20,000 motorcyclists pay RM1.40 toll each to cross the Penang Bridge and another 1,600 pay RM1.70 each to cross the Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah Bridge.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng who tabled Budget 2019 yesterday also announced that toll collection for motorcyclists using the Second Link crossing in Gelang Patah to Singapore will also be abolished.

Johor Indian Business Association president P. Sivakumar said the move would help ease the burden of the lower and middle income groups working in Singapore.

 

 

This would translate to savings and will help improve household revenue besides boosting the local economy as they would have more money to spend, he said.

Johor South SME Association adviser Teh Kee Sin said while the move was good, both Malaysia and Singapore must look at long- term solutions to improve traffic flow and ease congestion at the Johor Causeway.

Lim also announced that the government had allocated RM2bil for subsidy on RON95 petrol by 30 sen per litre, limited to 100 litres monthly for cars 1,500cc and below, and up to 40 litres for motorcycles below 125cc.

The subsidy from the second quarter next year will benefit four million cars owners and 2.6 million motorcyclists.

In an immediate response, marketing executive S. Devaraj, 34, who spends RM500 on pe­­trol every month to travel for work was delighted. “Any subsidy for petrol is great news. I depend heavily on my car as a mode of transport,” he said when met at a petrol station in Penang Road.

College student Mariana Mohd Nazri, 22, was also grateful for the subsidy as she travels daily from Bayan Lepas to George Town.

“It is quite pricey for me to travel to attend classes every day. This subsidy came just in time for me to save on my living expenses,” she said.