‘No return of investments through fares from MRT project’

PARLIAMENT | The government will not obtain any return of investments through the collection of fares from the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nancy Shukri said this during Question Time in Parliament today, in response to Nurul Izzah Anwar (PKR-Lembah Pantai), who had asked the prime minister to state details of the structure and mechanism in determining the MRT fare.

“On the question of return of investments, you must remember that the MRT project is part of long-term plans in line with the government’s efforts to improve the public transport service in greater Kuala Lumpur.

“As the government, we are aware that we won’t obtain back the funds spent for the MRT project through the  fares collected,” Nancy (photo) said.

Explaining the mechanism used to determine the MRT fares, Nancy pointed out how fares for the both the light rail transit and light rapid transit, as well as KTM systems, were different, according to the respective concession agreements.

The government restructured the fares of all rail systems in the cities at the end of 2015, she added.

Like the LRT and KTM systems, the structure in determining the MRT fare was also based on the basic fare of 90 sen, as well as on distance per kilometre.

“The distance per-kilometre fare for every system is different as each rail service has its own features and operations costs,” Nancy said.

For the MRT, LRT and monorail systems, the fares decrease at every four or five kilometres while the KTM fare will decrease every five to 30 kilometres.

Responding to a question from Ahmad Fauzi Zahari (BN-Setiawangsa), on the structure for the increase in fares, Nancy said the government would revise the structure every five years.

“But this doesn’t mean that the fares will increase,” she said.

Revisions, she added, would take into account incurred costs, insurance, maintenance and electricity fees as well as the depots, among others.

“From there, we will consider what has been received by MRT, be it profit or otherwise.

“For now it is too soon to answer in more detail, but according to the concession agreement, it won’t increase.”

The first phase of the Sungai Buloh-Kajang (MRT-SBK) line service, involving 12 stations between Sungai Buloh-Semantan, opened in December last year.

Commuters are charged fares of between RM1.20 and RM3.90 depending on the distance travelled under the cash fare structure and between RM1.20 and RM3.40 under the cashless system.

The second phase of the MRT SBK line, involving another 30km for 19 stations from Semantan to Kajang, is expected to be fully operational from July 31.- Mkini