PUTRAJAYA: Traffic volume is expected to increase starting tomorrow, with an expected 2.62 million vehicles using the main expressways heading towards the north, south and east coast in conjunction with the Deepavali celebration this Thursday.

Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) director-general Datuk Sazali Harun said 2.13 million vehicles are expected to use the PLUS expressways, 198,000 vehicles on the Kuala Lumpur (KL)-Karak Highway, East Coast Highway Phase 1 (78,220 vehicles), East Coast Highway Phase 2 (59,220) and the West Coast Expressway - WCE (153,700 vehicles).

"To deal with the increase in the traffic volume, LLM has instructed all highway concessionaires to make thorough preparations so that the journey of highway users is safe and smooth throughout this period," he said in a statement today.

The government today announced free tolls on all expressways for two days starting at 12.01 am tomorrow until 11.59 pm on Oct 30 (Wednesday) in conjunction with the Deepavali celebration.

For the convenience of highway users, Sazali said the LLM Traffic Management Centre will operate from 7 am. to 10 pm.

He said highway users can also get the current status of highway traffic or any incident on the highway through the official social media of LLM and the concession companies such as the official Facebook of the Malaysian Highway Authority, the X application @llmtrafik as well as tiktok @llmtrafik or contact the Traffic Management Center, LLM, on hotline 1 - 800 - 88 - 7752.

To obtain information on current traffic conditions through CCTV displays on all highways, users can visit the LLM website at https://www.llm.gov.my, he said.

He also advised highway users to plan their journey by referring to the MyPLUS-TTA application and ensure that the balance of their Touch 'n Go card and e-wallet is sufficient.

He also reminded motorcyclists that the emergency lane is not an exclusive route for them but is also used by vehicles stopping in case of emergency cases.

-- BERNAMA