The federal government, via the cupboard committee on road safety and traffic congestion, has approved an allocation of RM463 million to enhance public transport services. Based on deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, the allocation follows on that announced within the 2025 budget as a part of the country’s preparation to assume its duties because the ASEAN chair in 2025 and prepared itself for Visit Malaysia Yr 2026.
In a press release, he said that the meeting by the committee to approve the allocation also discussed several primary problems with road safety and traffic congestion in addition to the formulation of comprehensive solution initiatives geared toward encouraging the usage of public transport within the Klang Valley and northern cities.
This includes the continued application of special dedicated bus lanes, which has proved to achieve success in increasing the variety of every day passengers, reducing travel time and improving industrial speed since its introduction in Kuala Lumpur in July last 12 months, as Bernama reports.
Since then, the programme has been implemented in other areas within the Klang Valley in addition to Penang, and further routes in KL have come about from November 2024, involving Jalan Ipoh, Jalan Cheras and Jalan Gombak, with an allocation of RM10 million being placed aside for this expansion.
Moreover, Prasarana Malaysia’s Demand Responsive Transit (DRT) service, which was introduced in June, to enhance last-mile connectivity has reduced waiting times from 40 minutes to 13 minutes. The DRT presently has 20 vans in service, but plans are in place to extend this number to 300 in the longer term.
Ahmad Zahid said the meeting also decided to make it mandatory for all buses under the completely knocked down (CKD) category to have speed-limiting devices installed on them from January 1, 2026 under the vehicle type approval (VTA) procedure. This, he said, would increase compliance with speed limits and reduce the danger of accidents involving industrial vehicles.
He added that the meeting also agreed to strengthen cooperation between agencies by implementing a comprehensive study led by the Malaysian Institute for Road Safety Research (MIROS), including data sharing and engagement sessions to make sure a more practical approach in addressing road safety and congestion issues.
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This Article First Appeared At paultan.org
