Govt Yet to Decide on Toll-Free Travel for Next Year’s Festive Season

The government hasn’t made a decision on whether toll-free travel will be offered during next year’s festive periods, says Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi.

He said the 2024 Cabinet meeting had earlier decided to halt the blanket toll exemptions for festive seasons but made some exceptions this year.

“So far, there’s been no discussion on whether we’ll bring back toll-free travel for next year’s celebrations. It’s not yet time for us to table a Cabinet paper on this,” he says in a BH report.

In January, the government confirmed it would discontinue the toll waiver initiative that had been offered during major festive seasons in past years. The decision was made during a Cabinet meeting last year.
However, Nanta said the government is looking at more targeted approaches to ease travel costs for the public.

Commenting on reactions from highway concessionaires following Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s recent move to maintain current toll rates for 10 highways, Nanta admitted responses have been mixed.

“From a business point of view, they’re understandably unhappy because the postponement affects their projected cash flow, which would’ve been factored in from the start

“We acknowledge that it impacts them financially. But I hope they understand the government’s aim, especially to ease the burden on road users, particularly the B40 group,” he stated.

On Tuesday, Anwar, who also serves as Finance Minister, announced a freeze on toll hikes for 10 expressways, allowing motorists to continue enjoying current rates.

Among the affected highways are the Senai-Desaru Expressway (SDE), East Coast Expressway Phase 2 (LPT2), South Klang Valley Expressway (SKVE), Butterworth Outer Ring Road (LLB), and the KL-Putrajaya Expressway (MEX).