The abolition of the toll at Sungai Rasau, Klang and Batu Tiga here effective Jan 1 as announced during the tabling of the 2018 Budget today provided relief for frequent users of the expressway which came into operation 25 years ago.

A civil servant, Juliana Andelan, 35, said the abolition should have been made much earlier because all this while, the toll collection was seen as contributing to the excessive congestion during peak hours from 7am to 10am and from 4pm to 8pm.

The Shah Alam resident who had been passing through the Sungai Rasau Toll Plaza for the past 11 years to get to her work place in Klang and the Batu Tiga Toll Plaza to get to Kuala Lumpur for official business was however grateful that the toll collection at both places had eventually been abolished.

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"The abolition of the toll collection had eased the financial burden of users of the federal highway who not only had to pay the toll but also bear the higher expenses for petrol due to the frequent congestion at the highway," she told Bernama, here today.

Teacher Mohd Fadzil Ismail, 48, who is also a regular user of the highway, concurred with Juliana that the abolition of both toll plazas would help in reducing the rising cost of living faced by the people currently.

At the moment, the toll that road users pay at the two toll plazas to go to work in Kuala Lumpur and back per day is RM4.20 or about RM84 per month.

The toll rate at Batu Tiga is RM1.10 for one way and RM1 (one way) at Sungai Rasau.

Shah Alam UMNO division head Datuk Azhari Shaari, when contacted, said the abolition of toll collection at both toll plazas showed that the government was concerned about the hardship of the people, especially the residents of Klang and Shah Alam.

Meanwhile, Selangor Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Tan Sri Noh Omar, who is also the Minister of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government, said the abolition of the toll would smoothen traffic flow besides easing the financial burden of the consumers in future.

Meanwhile in Alor Setar, Bukit Kayu Hitam assemblyman Datuk Ahmad Zaini Japar said the abolition of the toll at Bukit Kayu Hitam (BKT) beginning next year could attract more tourists from Southern Thailand to spend in Kedah.

He said this was because the exchange rate for our currency would benefit people living in Dannok and Sadao to shop at Changlun and BKT. -- Bernama

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