Public Transport

Public transport, especially in the major towns like Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor Bahru and Kota Kinabalu need to be fixed. Over the years, while the government has done well to improve the road system in our country, it has failed to address public transport system. Hence, the usage of public transport has dropped dramatically to only about 16 percent.

While good road system is important, we need to improve the public transport system, otherwise our roads will continue to be clogged by motor vehicles. It is a chicken and egg situation whereby because of the poor public transport system, then having your own mode of transport becomes a necessity and not a luxury. It is not uncommon to find an employee not coming to work because his car or motorbike breaks down. Many areas in Kuala Lumpur are not served by public transport. Hence, the ownership of motor vehicle by Malaysians is one of the highest in Asia.

Najib chairs the Cabinet Committee on Public Transport and this is tasked to improve public transport so that the usage of public transport would increase to 25 percent in the short term and ultimately 40% in the long term. This may be a difficult target to achieve until greater commitment is shown to improve the public transport system.

The latest budget shows that the government has announced a number of initiatives to improve the public transport. However, this looks like a piece meal effort. The major cities need an integrated transport master plan. Until there is better connectivity between the various mode of transport, people will shun public transport. The various public transports available in KL are not inter-connected. When you buy a bus ticket, you cannot travel in a commuter train. The first act of improving the connectivity is to make travel in the public transport system hussle free.

There are too many departments involved in looking after public transport. The latest count is 13 departments. There should be a body like the Cabinet Committee on public transport that is the supreme body that oversees all public transport problems from application of licenses, planning of routes, better equipments, more efficient service and cost-effective way of delivering the service.

Right now, Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad has done a poor job in the procurement of buses and equipments. RapidKL is not as rapid as it should be. It is hoped that through better coordination, the development of the public transport system will not be in an ad-hoc and haphazard manner.

A land transport commission may be required so as to bring different agencies in line and engage the public in order to plan a more people’s friendly route. The support of the rakyat is important if we want to promote better usage of public transport system. There is a need to educate the taxi and the bus drivers that they are not kings of the road.

蔡細歷：更有協調性‧應設監管公共交通委會

（布城）馬華前署理總會長拿督斯里蔡細歷建議政府成立一個全權負責監管所有公共交通問題，如同內閣委員會的機構，負責所有執照申請、路線規劃、更好的設備、更有效服務和具有成本效益載送服務等事項。

發展不會雜亂無章的進行
蔡細歷也是國陣總協調，他於週四（10月29日）在部落格貼文中指出，政府可能需要成立一個陸路交通委員會，結合不同的機構和徵詢公眾的意見，以便策劃更友好的路線。

他說，大馬的公共交通，尤其是主要城市如吉隆坡、檳城、新山和亞庇的公共交通服務有必要整頓，吉隆坡的公交系統更是互不連接。

公共交通使用率降至16%
“主要城市需要一個綜合交通大藍圖，只有在各種公共交通有更好的連接系統，人們才會改搭公共交通工具。”

他說，政府多年來盡力改善公路系統，但是卻未解決公共交通系統，使到公共交通的使用率急降至只有16%。

他說，這是雞和雞蛋的問題，因為公共交通系統的不完善，車輛變成一種需要而非奢侈品，由於吉隆坡很多地區交通不便，導致大馬成為亞洲擁車率最高的國家之一。
由首相拿督斯里納吉主持的內閣公共交通委員會會議，期望在短期內將公交使用率提昇至25%，並在長期達致40%的目標。

他認為，除非政府對改善公共交通服務有很大的承諾，否則這項目標將難以達致，政府在新出爐的財政預算案中所宣佈的若干改善措施，看來很零碎。

星洲日報‧2009.10.30