Government To Rope In Cabbies, E-hailing Drivers To Boost Train Ridership - Loke

The Transport Ministry is in discussions with taxi and e-hailing companies to assist in resolving first and last mile connectivity issues for public transportation, particularly train systems. Its minister, Anthony Loke, acknowledged that feeder buses alone are insufficient to address and last-mile connectivity issues, and he stated that the ministry is investigating alternative methods.

"The Land Public Transport Agency is in the midst of carrying out a pilot project to introduce the ride sharing concept among taxi and e-hailing companies on offering optimum rides and most importantly at a lower fare for commuters who are using public transportation," Loke told a press conference after observing a test run of the Mass Rapid Transit 2 or the Putrajaya Line which runs from Putrajaya Sentral Station to Kwasa Damansara Station.
Loke was asked about the reasons for its low rail ridership.

He added that the ministry's target of 40% public transportation usage may take some time to achieve because some train lines are still under construction. However, he believes that in the next one to two years, the number of passengers will increase to 200,000 per day. He also stated that the government is doing its part to promote commuting via mass rail public transportation.

One of the initiatives is the introduction of a monthly pass that covers all public transportation lines. "That is one of the policies which the government has adopted to ensure that public transportation users get to enjoy facilities at reasonable prices. "It's not accurate to say that the ridership is low, as there are some train lines such as the Kelana Jaya Line that have very high ridership," he said. He added that commuters need to weigh the benefits of taking the train to and from work versus driving.

He also stated that the government will continue to look for new ways to address this issue and asked the public for suggestions on how to improve.

The MRT Putrajaya Line (previously known as the Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya Line) is the Klang Valley MRT Project's second line. The Putrajaya Line has 36 stations, nine of which are underground, and runs for 57.7 kilometres.

Ten of the 36 stations are interchange and connecting stations.