Govt approves RM50m to extend special bus lanes

 

The government has channelled an allocation of RM50 million for the expansion of special bus lanes and to purchase 100 units of demand response transit vans in the Klang Valley starting in September.

Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also the Cabinet Committee on Road Safety and Traffic Congestion chairperson, said studies showed that the implementation of special bus lanes in Jalan Ampang and Genting Klang since July 3 has shown a favourable response with time savings.

"The data shows that there is a time saving of up to 18 minutes for the bus journey at the location (point-to-point) and based on the savings there is an increase in the number of passengers daily by 20 to 45 percent.

"Thus, with the effectiveness of the reduction in travel time there was an increase in bus frequency and the number of daily passengers so the committee meeting decided to maintain the special bus route in Jalan Ampang and Jalan Genting Klang," he said in a statement issued after the meeting today.

The meeting also agreed to extend the special bus route to Jalan Klang Lama starting in June and carry out a study for the implementation of bus lanes in Jalan Cheras (Taman Connaught-Jalan Pudu) and the Federal Highway (Kuala Lumpur City Centre-Shah Alam Interchange).

New dispersal system

Zahid said the meeting had decided to implement a new dispersal system in stages for critical locations of congestion, after receiving information from the police, Kuala Lumpur City Hall and the Public Works Department.

The government had also implemented contra routes to help traffic congestion, especially at peak times and the results of a study by the Malaysian Road Safety Research Institute (Miros) showed that 88 percent of highway users agreed that contra routes are effective in reducing traffic congestion, he added.

"(Thus) the meeting agreed to improve enforcement and operational measures to avoid issues such as accidents resulting from the installation of cones and addition of lighting when it rains and when it is dark," the rural and regional development minister said.

In addition, he said PlanMalaysia will examine proposals for development projects using the concept based on 'Transit Oriented Development' as a long-term measure to reduce road congestion, particularly in the development and operation areas of the East Coast Rail Line Project, Mass Rapid Transit, Light Rail Transit and Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad.

DPM Ahmad Zahid Hamidi

Regarding data related to road safety, he said Malaysia recorded a total of 6,443 traffic-related deaths last year with an average of 18 deaths per day, and of these, 4,480 deaths involved motorcycle users.

Other plans

The committee meeting discussed other proposals such as the dispersion of Johor Bahru traffic submitted by the Johor government.

It also agreed to the proposed construction of a 7.4km long covered footpath and the addition of 175 bus stops by the Housing and Local Government Ministry for this year in Klang Valley.

"I hope that this initiative can be implemented in accordance with the plan to ensure that the quality of the public transport services can be improved, thus further attracting the people to switch to the use of public transport services to meet their mobility needs,” Zahid said.

- Bernama