Govt urged to re-evaluate public transport policy

The Working Group on Public Transportation today urged the government to provide a more effective and efficient public transport system to consumers.

It's coordinator A.Sivarajan said among the main problems of the present system were bus services being mostly concentrated within Kuala Lumpur, Light Rail Transit (LRT) stations located far from housing estates and bus stops at unsafe locations. "There are also places with bus stops but without buses passing through. The network connectivity is also poor as passengers have to walk a distance to LRT stations after taking a bus from their homes," he said at a press conference on the Public Transport in Malaysia Forum, today.

Aside from that, there were still cases of taxi drivers taking advantage by charging exorbitant fares and not using meters, he added.

Sivarajan expressed hope that the government could take over the country's entire public transport system as a Government Linked Company.

The Forum will be held on Nov 3 and expected to pass several resolutions on public transport issues.