Thousands of Malaysians rely on public transport on a daily basis, so it’s understandable that some riders may be dissatisfied with the steep fares!
Now, according to the Malay Mail Online, Pakatan Harapan (PH) has reportedly promised to implement unlimited travel passes for public transport commuters worth RM100 a month if they were to win the 14th General Elections (GE14).
Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming from DAP stated this would greatly help cut costs and encourage more Malaysians to use public transportation during their daily commute.
Source: MMO
He cited statistics from the Ministry of Transport, which showed that there was a significant increase in ridership back in August last year when there was a 50 per cent discount on fares.
262,606 people reportedly took the LRT Kelana Jaya line during that month, but the number dropped to 43,038 riders in the following month after the discount period was over.
A similar drop in ridership was also observed in the LRT Ampang line, the MRT and KL Monorail.
The Serdang MP said that this significant drop in riders highlights the need for cheaper public transportation fares as most riders are price sensitive. On top of that, he stated that since billions of ringgit was spent on these services, more affordable fares should be implemented to ensure that more people actually use them.
Source: The Star
“This is why it is necessary to introduce an affordable monthly public transportation pass to allow passengers to have unlimited rides on the LRT, MRT, Monorail and Rapid KL buses as a way to increase public transportation usage,” Ong stated.
“I am confident with the introduction of this pass, public transportation usage especially on the LRT, MRT and Rapid buses will increase significantly, perhaps even beyond the daily ridership figures set in August 2017 when the LRT and MRT fares were reduced by 50 per cent.”
What do you think of this proposed monthly pass? Let us know in the comments below!
Also read: DBKL Considering to Disallow Parking Bays in KL Buildings to Encourage Use of Public Transport
