Making progress in Urban Transport
By LESTER KONG
lester@thestar.com.my
The GTP aims to raise the public transport modal share to 13% by 2010 and to 25% by 2012 during the morning peak period and apply successful initiatives to Penang and Johor Bahru.
Malaysia is at the crossroads of change and the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) forms the roadmap to transform Malaysia into a fully developed nation by 2020.
The GTP’s goals are not just economic but also encompass political, social, spiritual, psychological and cultural dimensions of development.
Although the country has progressed by leaps and bounds since Merdeka, it is in danger of becoming stuck as a middle-income nation and losing competitiveness amid rapidly developing economies.
Under the GTP, major areas of necessary change were outlined as the six National Key Results Areas – the NKRAs.
The NKRAs are reducing crime, fighting corruption, improving student outcomes, raising living standards of low-income households, improving rural basic infrastructure and improving urban public transport.
These are the priority areas for the nation to overcome in order to become a developed nation. They impact the people directly and have bearing on how safe people feel, how competitive they could become and the level of comfort that Malaysians across the board enjoy.
As Performance Management and Delivery Unit (PEMANDU) of the Prime Minister’s Department chairman Senator Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon said: “We must achieve our national vision of a developed nation that is prosperous, peaceful, safe, and united, with social justice.
“To do so, the Government will champion the spirit of 1Malaysia, put the people first, and perform and deliver results in the best interests of the people. This roadmap provides the way forward to address the basic concerns of the people.”
Under the main NKRAs are the equally important underpining ministerial KRAs,” he said.
These MKRAs include targeted outcomes that the rakyat can see and feel (such as faster responses to public complaints and reducing the number of road traffic accidents).
Similar to the NKRAs, MKRAs and Ministerial KPIs (MKPIs) continue to be refined and improved over time and accountability for delivery rests with each respective minister.
The Prime Minister has also committed to reviewing the progress of all ministers every six months to ensure their performance is on track. The first reviews took place between November 2009 and January 2010.
Log on to www.pemandu.gov.my to get a clearer idea of how the GTP will guide the public and private sectors to collectively achieve a paradigm shift to bring the country to greater heights for all Malaysians.
URBAN PUBLIC TRANSPORT: THE KEY RESULTS AREAS
High peak period congestion, often unreliable service with frequent delays and cancellations, poor connectivity between modes in certain areas and poor access to public transport services (e.g., only about 61% of Klang Valley’s population lives within 400 metres of a public transport route).
These, in combination with continued growth in the number of private vehicles, has contributed to public transport modal share in Klang Valley falling steadily from 34% in 1985 to 20% in 1997; today it is closer to 10–12%.
Overall, the GTP aims to raise the public transport modal share to 13% by 2010 and to 25% by 2012 during the morning peak period of 7am to 9am in Klang Valley and apply successful initiatives to Penang and Johor Bahru.
Improving reliability and journey times, enhancing comfort and convenience and improving accessibility and connectivity such that the percentage of the population living within 400m of a public transport route increases from 63% to 75% in 2010.
In meeting these KPIs (key performance indicators), four steps will be taken between 2009 and 2012 and one beyond 2012 to secure and extend targeted improvements.
By 2012, capacities of the KTM Komuter and LRT lines will be increased by up to 4.0 times (depending on specific lines).
This will involve refurbishments and purchases of rolling stock and trainsets such as 35 new four-car trains for the Kelana Jaya LRT line.
Dedicated rights-of-way for buses will also be introduced across 12 major corridors in Klang Valley by 2012 starting with four in 2010.
These 12 corridors will in total carry 35,000 to 55,000 passengers during the morning peak hours, or 6% to 9% of total public transport ridership by 2012.
The existing bus fleet will be boosted by 850 buses by 2012. This will improve services on current routes and provide service to 53 new routes to address currently unserved areas.
Initiatives to stimulate demand to attract people to use public transport include introducing an integrated ticketing platform and fare structure such as the 1Ticket, 1Seamless Journey concept across all 16 operators in Klang Valley.
Parking problems will be mitigated by adding roughly 6,800 new parking spaces by 2012 across 14 rail stations outside the urban core, enhancing feeder services into rail stations and upgrading high-traffic stations, terminals and bus stops.
Physical connectivity between modes such as enclosed walkways will also be increased.
Enforcement and monitoring efforts will be critical to ensure operators adhere to minimum service and operational standards. In order to achieve this, backend IT systems will be integrated with joint on-the-ground enforcement efforts, across all major enforcement agencies – the 10 local authorities, Commercial Vehicles Licensing Board (CVLB), JPJ and PDRM.
Heavy vehicles will be diverted from the central business district to reduce congestion.
To do this, three major integrated transport terminals (ITT) outside the city core, beginning with ITT-South in Bandar Tasik Selatan in 2010.
This will be supported by ITT-East in Gombak by April 2011 which will divert more than 350 inter-city buses from the east to the city centre every day and then a third terminal will also be built to serve the northern inter-city express buses beyond 2012.
Within the city centre, there will be two types of public transport hubs – first, the intra-city terminal at Pasarama Kota, Hentian Putra and Pudu to facilitate the flow of traffic from the suburbs into the city, and second, 14 Hentian Akhir Bandar that will facilitate the movement of passengers and public transport vehicles within the city centre to reduce congestion and streamline overlapping routes.
The current system of having 12 ministries and various agencies involved in different aspects of public transport will be funneled into the proposed Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD – Suruhanjaya Pengangkutan Awam Darat).
A prerequisite for success will be the creation of a single point of accountability for policy planning and regulatory oversight.
Beyond 2012, once public transport modal share is above 25% and the public transportation system has been improved in terms of reliability, journey times, comfort, accessibility and connectivity, initiatives will be implemented to increase the relative attractiveness of public transport vis-à-vis private vehicles.
One example is congestion pricing, which has been implemented successfully in London and Singapore. A series of detailed initiatives have been formulated to support the achievement of the KPIs.
EARLY SIGNS OF PROGRESS ON URBAN PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Realignment of 45 RapidKL routes has reduced passenger transfers, saving time and costs, and improving coverage in November 2009.
Optimising deployment of trainsets on highest traffic segments in the same time also reduced KTM Komuter headway from 20 minutes to 15. These are on the Sungai Buloh-Kajang and Kuala Lumpur-Shah Alam routes.
Launch of RM 150 RapidKL integrated travel passes also allowed unlimited travel on all Prasarana services including Rapid KL buses, Kelana Jaya LRT, Ampang LRT and Monorail.
A set of 10 four-car trains were also added to the congested RapidKL Kelana Jaya LRT line since December 2009.
lester@thestar.com.my
The GTP aims to raise the public transport modal share to 13% by 2010 and to 25% by 2012 during the morning peak period and apply successful initiatives to Penang and Johor Bahru.
Malaysia is at the crossroads of change and the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) forms the roadmap to transform Malaysia into a fully developed nation by 2020.
The GTP’s goals are not just economic but also encompass political, social, spiritual, psychological and cultural dimensions of development.
Although the country has progressed by leaps and bounds since Merdeka, it is in danger of becoming stuck as a middle-income nation and losing competitiveness amid rapidly developing economies.
Under the GTP, major areas of necessary change were outlined as the six National Key Results Areas – the NKRAs.
The NKRAs are reducing crime, fighting corruption, improving student outcomes, raising living standards of low-income households, improving rural basic infrastructure and improving urban public transport.
These are the priority areas for the nation to overcome in order to become a developed nation. They impact the people directly and have bearing on how safe people feel, how competitive they could become and the level of comfort that Malaysians across the board enjoy.
As Performance Management and Delivery Unit (PEMANDU) of the Prime Minister’s Department chairman Senator Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon said: “We must achieve our national vision of a developed nation that is prosperous, peaceful, safe, and united, with social justice.
“To do so, the Government will champion the spirit of 1Malaysia, put the people first, and perform and deliver results in the best interests of the people. This roadmap provides the way forward to address the basic concerns of the people.”
Under the main NKRAs are the equally important underpining ministerial KRAs,” he said.
These MKRAs include targeted outcomes that the rakyat can see and feel (such as faster responses to public complaints and reducing the number of road traffic accidents).
Similar to the NKRAs, MKRAs and Ministerial KPIs (MKPIs) continue to be refined and improved over time and accountability for delivery rests with each respective minister.
The Prime Minister has also committed to reviewing the progress of all ministers every six months to ensure their performance is on track. The first reviews took place between November 2009 and January 2010.
Log on to www.pemandu.gov.my to get a clearer idea of how the GTP will guide the public and private sectors to collectively achieve a paradigm shift to bring the country to greater heights for all Malaysians.
URBAN PUBLIC TRANSPORT: THE KEY RESULTS AREAS
High peak period congestion, often unreliable service with frequent delays and cancellations, poor connectivity between modes in certain areas and poor access to public transport services (e.g., only about 61% of Klang Valley’s population lives within 400 metres of a public transport route).
These, in combination with continued growth in the number of private vehicles, has contributed to public transport modal share in Klang Valley falling steadily from 34% in 1985 to 20% in 1997; today it is closer to 10–12%.
Overall, the GTP aims to raise the public transport modal share to 13% by 2010 and to 25% by 2012 during the morning peak period of 7am to 9am in Klang Valley and apply successful initiatives to Penang and Johor Bahru.
Improving reliability and journey times, enhancing comfort and convenience and improving accessibility and connectivity such that the percentage of the population living within 400m of a public transport route increases from 63% to 75% in 2010.
In meeting these KPIs (key performance indicators), four steps will be taken between 2009 and 2012 and one beyond 2012 to secure and extend targeted improvements.
By 2012, capacities of the KTM Komuter and LRT lines will be increased by up to 4.0 times (depending on specific lines).
This will involve refurbishments and purchases of rolling stock and trainsets such as 35 new four-car trains for the Kelana Jaya LRT line.
Dedicated rights-of-way for buses will also be introduced across 12 major corridors in Klang Valley by 2012 starting with four in 2010.
These 12 corridors will in total carry 35,000 to 55,000 passengers during the morning peak hours, or 6% to 9% of total public transport ridership by 2012.
The existing bus fleet will be boosted by 850 buses by 2012. This will improve services on current routes and provide service to 53 new routes to address currently unserved areas.
Initiatives to stimulate demand to attract people to use public transport include introducing an integrated ticketing platform and fare structure such as the 1Ticket, 1Seamless Journey concept across all 16 operators in Klang Valley.
Parking problems will be mitigated by adding roughly 6,800 new parking spaces by 2012 across 14 rail stations outside the urban core, enhancing feeder services into rail stations and upgrading high-traffic stations, terminals and bus stops.
Physical connectivity between modes such as enclosed walkways will also be increased.
Enforcement and monitoring efforts will be critical to ensure operators adhere to minimum service and operational standards. In order to achieve this, backend IT systems will be integrated with joint on-the-ground enforcement efforts, across all major enforcement agencies – the 10 local authorities, Commercial Vehicles Licensing Board (CVLB), JPJ and PDRM.
Heavy vehicles will be diverted from the central business district to reduce congestion.
To do this, three major integrated transport terminals (ITT) outside the city core, beginning with ITT-South in Bandar Tasik Selatan in 2010.
This will be supported by ITT-East in Gombak by April 2011 which will divert more than 350 inter-city buses from the east to the city centre every day and then a third terminal will also be built to serve the northern inter-city express buses beyond 2012.
Within the city centre, there will be two types of public transport hubs – first, the intra-city terminal at Pasarama Kota, Hentian Putra and Pudu to facilitate the flow of traffic from the suburbs into the city, and second, 14 Hentian Akhir Bandar that will facilitate the movement of passengers and public transport vehicles within the city centre to reduce congestion and streamline overlapping routes.
The current system of having 12 ministries and various agencies involved in different aspects of public transport will be funneled into the proposed Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD – Suruhanjaya Pengangkutan Awam Darat).
A prerequisite for success will be the creation of a single point of accountability for policy planning and regulatory oversight.
Beyond 2012, once public transport modal share is above 25% and the public transportation system has been improved in terms of reliability, journey times, comfort, accessibility and connectivity, initiatives will be implemented to increase the relative attractiveness of public transport vis-à-vis private vehicles.
One example is congestion pricing, which has been implemented successfully in London and Singapore. A series of detailed initiatives have been formulated to support the achievement of the KPIs.
EARLY SIGNS OF PROGRESS ON URBAN PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Realignment of 45 RapidKL routes has reduced passenger transfers, saving time and costs, and improving coverage in November 2009.
Optimising deployment of trainsets on highest traffic segments in the same time also reduced KTM Komuter headway from 20 minutes to 15. These are on the Sungai Buloh-Kajang and Kuala Lumpur-Shah Alam routes.
Launch of RM 150 RapidKL integrated travel passes also allowed unlimited travel on all Prasarana services including Rapid KL buses, Kelana Jaya LRT, Ampang LRT and Monorail.
A set of 10 four-car trains were also added to the congested RapidKL Kelana Jaya LRT line since December 2009.
Source: The Star
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