PETALING JAYA, Sept 1 — Pakatan Harapan’s Subang Jaya assemblyman Michelle Ng wants Prasarana Malaysia Bhd to cut the Rapid Transit Bus (BRT) fares between her township and Sunway next door by half.
She believes that doing so will promote the use of the public transport system among residents in the two Selangor suburbs, in line with the government’s effort to make public transport more affordable and accessible to all.
“Between January and July this year, BRT’s daily ridership on working days was at an average of 10,563 persons per day.
“This performance falls far below the initial projection of 2,400 persons per hour,” she said in a statement, citing data by the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD).
She said the figures showed BRT’s operation failed to achieve its full ridership potential.
Ranking the BRT as the most expensive public transport option available, Ng claimed that only 25 per cent of commuters ride on the full fare.
“A large part of the problem is due to the fares with a ticket price of RM1 per kilometre compared to the LRT Kelana Jaya Line with an average ticket price of about RM0.30 per kilometre,” she said.
She said it was questionable as to whether Prasarana’s initial justification for the present fares in sustaining the operational cost of the BRT line could hold water given the low ridership recorded.
“It would be a waste if the usage of public transport do not reflect the purpose behind transport-oriented developments given that five out of seven stops being serviced within Subang Jaya.
“I hope SPAD and the Transport Ministry would also support the proposal as I believe local residents can truly benefit from a good transport alternative,” she said.
