Public transportation key to ease traffic congestion

I couldn't agree more with the reader who wrote that improving public transport is the key in our continuing fight to ease the traffic congestion on the roads. He observed that many give priority to car ownership especially in the urban centres directly contributing to our daily road congestion and the less than satisfactory service provided by the public transportation system. He felt that the people in the public transport services are the most crucial factor.

His conclusion might be correct but in Malaysia at the moment, no public transport operator is totally free from the directives of the main planners. Once upon a time, we had fewer cars and our roads were relatively well maintained, As the nation moved into its next developmental stage, there was an emphasis to build our own car industry and incentives were given to spearhead that ambition. At the same time, a similar push was not given to the public transportation sector. Today, we reap the “benefits”.

The political will to change and revolutinise the present public transportation system has to be seen and felt throughout all strata of society. The decision to build more highways to ease the traffic congestion in the urban centres does not solve the problem as anyone who is honest to himself will acknowledge. A radical approach has to be embraced and we have the experts who can contribute to make the public transportation system better. The solution should be comprehensive and not just a patch up job on how to ease the present traffic mess but with a long term goal to make public transportation the preferred choice.

As it is the Land Public Transport Commission central role is limited to improving road and rail-based public and freight transport in the country. The commission is not in the group that plans the whole transportation network in the country in their initial stages. The planning stage is the most crucial as it can then ensure and demand that public transportation is given priority. That should be the objective and we must not diverge from that aim.

Image from fastmotoring