KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 — The government’s initiative to introduce an unlimited monthly pass for rail and RapidKL bus services from next year could benefit nearly one million public transport users.
Prasarana Malaysia Berhad (Prasarana) in a statement today said the initiative would also encourage urban residents to utilise public transport services, reducing traffic congestion in the process.
Fewer vehicles on the road would also help the government realise its aspirations of making Kuala Lumpur a carbon-free city.
According to the statement, Prasarana says it is committed to improving its bus network by fully utilising all its assets, comprising 1,131 RapidKL buses, 408 Rapid Penang buses, 69 Rapid Kuantan buses and 300 Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) buses.
Prasarana said it was also ready to work with private bus companies to manage routes and services as well as control costs, to maximise efficiency and quality of service.
When tabling Budget 2019 in the Dewan Rakyat today, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said the government had allocated RM240 million to introduce the new monthly pass.
Apart from that, Lim said an unlimited travel pass of RM50 per month for RapidKL buses was also available.
Meanwhile, Prasarana lauded the government’s effort to allocate RM20 million to the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to provide the free GoKL bus service which is expected to cover more rail transit stations and major bus hubs in the capital.
The company also welcomed the government’s move to continue the 37-km LRT3 project with a huge reduction in cost, namely from RM31.6 billion to RM16.6 billion.
The company is also confident that the LRT3 project will complement the urban public transport network for the Bandar Utama corridor through Shah Alam to Klang. — Bernama
