A TOTAL of 84% of commuters are satisfied with the urban public transport system, said Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Najib said overall feedback from commuters has been positive, as evidenced by a Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) survey undertaken last year.

“The Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI), an independent survey carried out by SPAD, showed that 84% of respondents were satisfied with the urban public transport.

“This is an increase of 10% from 2015,” he said at the Reimagining Transportation: Sustainable Mobility Symposium today.

Najib said these findings showed that the government was on the right track in the planning and implementation of initiatives under the National Land Public Transport Master Plan. 

“The land public transport agenda is not just about mega infrastructure projects, which, undoubtedly generate significant economic benefits for the country. What is of greater importance is that it is a pathway to higher productivity and better living conditions for Malaysians.”

Najib said that the daily average ridership across all rail lines from January to August had increased.

“Ridership saw a significant 12% increase from 570,021 to 638,605.

“To continue to attract more ridership by making transit more seamless, SPAD will soon launch the Journey Planner by the end of this year and implement the integrated common payment system (ICPS) by 2019.”

Najib said that over the past decade, the government has invested billions in building and upgrading intercity rail networks as well as within the Klang Valley.  

“We have expanded the urban rail network from 279km to the present 369km, and this will grow to 505km with the completion of LRT3, MRT2 and MRT 3 Circle Line.
 
“By 2027, when the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), the KL-Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR), JB-Woodlands (North) RTS and other urban rail lines are completed, rail mileage across the nation will come close to 3,000km, 65% more than the present rail network, which is a major infrastructure enhancement.”

Najib said that 10 years from now, the land public transport sector will create about 100,000 technical and high-skilled engineering jobs.

“There will be opportunities in cutting-edge projects, like the HSR, ECRL and MRT.

“They will be the backbone of our rail system. If we get it right, we may be able to export high-quality and high-value Malaysian expertise overseas to help build mega infrastructure projects in other countries requiring expert input.

“These are the added benefits that we stand to gain as we continue to build projects for the rakyat and invest in strengthening our human capital.” – October 23, 2017.