Transport minister: Govt committed to ensure My50 price remains unchanged despite RM100m funding shortfall

PETALING JAYA, Jan 7 — The My50 public transport pass programme is grappling with a RM100 million funding shortfall after passenger claims significantly outpaced the budget allocated by the Ministry of Finance.

Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook revealed that the initial RM200 million allocation is insufficient to cover the total cost of subsidising the popular pass. 

To bridge the gap, Prasarana Malaysia Bhd absorbed a portion of the deficit, while the remainder was settled via emergency additional funding at the tail end of 2025.

“This year, again, we are committed to ensure that My50 will continue,” he said at a media briefing on Prasarana Malaysia Berhad’s 2025 performance, adding that his ministry is currently lobbying for an increased allocation to keep the programme sustainable.

For every My50 pass, a subscriber gets a monthly subsidy of about RM100, Loke said. A single pass gives subscribers 30 days of unlimited rides on Light Rail Transit, Mass Rapid Transit and bus services in the Klang Valley. 

As of December 2025, the total number of My50 reached 254,329 subscribers.

To demonstrate the scale of the government’s financial support, Prasarana announced a “savings tracker” feature for the Touch ’n Go eWallet app starting January 19.

The tracker will show commuters the disparity between their RM50 payment and the actual market value of their commutes. 

Loke said he hopes the feature would boost public awareness of the subsidy’s value and encourage more residents to shift toward public transit.

“People are only paying RM50, but the actual travelling cost could be RM200 to RM300 if you are using it daily,” the minister explained.

Loke was responding to a query about the increase in the daily pass rate. 

He said the daily rate increase is justified to cover the huge costs to run public transport in the Klang Valley. 

Prasarana is facing a RM1.1 billion deficit just to cover operations annually alone, the minister disclosed.

“From RM6 to RM10 is an increase, yes. But it still costs much more to run our operations. In terms of operations, the deficit for Prasarana is RM1.1 billion,” he said.