13 June, 2008
The government must first enhance the public transport system in terms of quality and quantity before it encourages the people to take public transport.
by SOONG PHUI JEE/ Sin Chew Daily
After the government's announcement of the adjustment for fuel prices, the people have been trying hard to save the cost of living to cope with inflation. Riding public transport is one of the ways to reduce expenses. One of the four measures proposed by the government to reduce the people's burden is to increase the amount of public transport, hoping that the people could ride public transport and reduce driving. This could save energy as well as money.
The public transport industry had expected that more people would take buses and rapit transit. However, the nation's public transport services are still lagging behind the pace of social development. But the current level of the public transport services is not sufficient to meet the needs and make more people to take public transport unless the system could achieve the standard of Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo.
While the government is calling upon the people to fight the hard time of high oil prices, they must go out to experience the people's lives instead of sitting in an air-conditioned room to discuss on counter-policies. Domestic Trade and Consumers Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad has recently experienced a ride on public transport and found various defects with the public transport system, included lack of convergence and expensive parking fees. Such problems as well occur in the public transport system of other major cities like Johor Bahru and Penang.
| "Similarly, the frequency of rapid transit should be increased to meet the possible increase of rapit transit ridership." |
The surge of fuel prices might force the people to save money like riding public transport instead of driving but without the improvement of the public transport system, the people would have to rely on private cars.
When the government raised the fuel prices by 30 sen a litre in the past, it promised to use the RM4 billion fuel subsidy it saved by the price hikes to upgrade the nation's public transport system. But so far, no improvement could be seen. And now, the fuel prices surged again by 78 sen, it is time for the government to fulfill its commitment.
The government must first enhance the public transport system in terms of quality and quantity before it encourages the people to take public transport. Firstly, the number of buses must be increased to shorten the waiting time, especially during peak hours. This could effectively relieve the crowded situation. Similarly, the frequency of rapid transit should be increased to meet the possible increase of rapit transit ridership.
Secondly, the routes of buses must be added or extended. Many flaws could be found in the current bus routes in several major cities of the country. More new routes or extensions should be added and the service area should be extended in order to meet additional demands. In addition, the government must first ensure there are public transport services available before approving housing projects. The order should not be reversed.
As for the rapid transit system, the existing five routes are certainly not sufficient in meeting the demand. It is now the time to improve its convergence, convenience, equipment and capacity. During the planning of new routes, densely populated areas should be prioritised. As for the Penang monorail project, there might be changes due to political factors. Meanwhile, the project to have rapid transit from Johor Bahru to Singapore is yet to be finalised. In the high fuel prices era, the rapid transit system projects should not be further delayed.
Moreover, the public transport managing units should be integrated. Currently, the public transport system is managed by 13 state governments. Different departments are responsible for licensing, License revokation, management and law enforcement of the public transport, complicating its planning process and management structure. To effectively straighten out the public transport system, the government must form an official integrated management body. The Public Transport Committee in the Cabinet has agreed to set up an integrated management unit, but so far, the authority limits of the unit is yet to be finalised. The Ministry of Transport is the best unit to make an overall plan for this. Through coordination, hopefully, a clear decision could be seen very soon.
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