The free rides include MRT, LRT, BRT, monorail and RapidKL buses

by ANIS HAZIM / pic by BERNAMA

MALAYSIAN government has subsidised a total of RM155 million for a month of free public transportation in the Klang Valley area including the mass rapid transit (MRT), light rail transit (LRT), bus rapid transit (BRT), monorail and RapidKL buses.

RM15 million from the total will also be subsidised to Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd commuters in the Klang Valley line which also provided free rides for a month starting today together with the RapidKL transportation, in conjunction with the opening of the MRT Putrajaya Line Phase 1.

“I hope the Malaysian Family involved take advantage of the public transportation service and park their respective vehicles at Park N Ride and #JomNaikMRT,” Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said at the launch ceremony today.

According to him, the monthly fare per passenger is RM200, of which RM150 of the total has been subsidised, which passengers only have to pay RM50 monthly.

Meanwhile, the MRT Putrajaya Line Phase 2 is currently at 98.38% progress and is scheduled for completion by early next year which will benefit about two million people in the corridor starting from the Kwasa Damansara to Putrajaya.

For Phase 1, the route involved 12 stations, namely Kwasa Damansara, Kampung Selamat, Sungai Buloh, Damansara Damai, Sri Damansara Barat, Sri Damansara Sentral, Sri Damansara Timur, Metro Prima, Kepong Baru, Jinjang, Sri Delima and Kampung Batu.

For Phase 2, the routes will pass through strategic areas including Kuala Lumpur City Centre with underground stations such as Titiwangsa, Hospital Kuala Lumpur, Ampang Park, Persiaran KLCC and Tun Razak Exchange.

“The full opening of the MRT Putrajaya Line is expected to record an initial number of more than 104,000 daily passengers.

“This is expected to reduce the traffic jams that currently haunt Kuala Lumpur. My beloved Malaysian family,” he said.

Additionally, MRT is currently planning to add another four new stations in the future so that the accessibility to public transportation will continuously improve.

Prasarana Malaysia Bhd president and CEO Mohd Azharuddin Mat Sah said that the group witnessed an increase in the number of public transport passengers after the country moved to the endemic phase.

“As of today, the average daily number of passengers on buses and rails has reached 700,000 passengers. We aim to increase passenger volume by 800,000 by the end of 2022,” Mohd Azharuddin said.

Therefore, Prasarana through its subsidiaries Rapid Rail and Rapid Bus is increasing its capabilities and frequencies to meet passengers’ demands.

“The number of buses will be increased in the corridors of bus routes as well as railway stations that have high load factors so that waiting times can be shortened,” he added.