KUALA LUMPUR: RM463mil has been approved to improve public transport and enhance road safety as Malaysia prepares to accept more visitors when it assumes the Asean Chair next year and for Visit Malaysia Year 2026, says Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (pic).
The Deputy Prime Minister said the sum had already been earmarked in the 2025 Budget and was discussed by the Cabinet Committee on Road Safety and Traffic Congestion (JKMKKJR) at its third meeting for 2024.
The meeting also discussed plans to reduce traffic congestion by increasing the use of public transport in the Klang Valley and northern cities.
Among others, Prasarana Malaysia Bhd has introduced the Demand Responsive Transit (DRT) service since June 2024 to solve last-mile connectivity issues and with 20 vans in operation, customer waiting time has been reduced from 40 minutes to 13 minutes, he said in a statement, Bernama reported.
Ahmad Zahid, who chaired the meeting, said the new Special Bus Lanes in Jalan Ampang, Jalan Genting Klang and Jalan Klang Lama since July 3, 2023, have also increased the number of daily passengers and reduced travel time.New Special Bus Lanes will be installed in Penang and other parts of the Klang valley including Jalan Ipoh, Jalan Cheras and Jalan Gombak, he said.
The meeting also decided to make speed limiters mandatory on all Completely Knocked Down (CKD) buses starting from January 2026 to reduce accidents.
A total of 5,939 deaths due to road accidents were reported as of November this year, with 4,014 of them or 67.6% being motorcycle users, he said.
This translates to an average of 18 deaths per day.
