PARTI Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) today urged the Penang government to be bold enough to choose unpopular policies over building more highways to resolve the state’s traffic problems.

PSM central committee member Choo Chon Kai said the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) should be reviewed to focus on a transport system that moved people and not vehicles, adding the plan for the Pan Island Link (PIL1) highway should be scrapped.

“There are cheaper, faster and more effective ways (to resolve traffic congestion) than building highways, such as building a more integrated bus service network. The government should develop a genuinely sustainable alternative instead of spending more money to cater to the interests of property developers,” Choo said at a press conference today.

“We know everyone in Penang depends on cars. Perhaps the state needs to make unpopular decisions, like charge people for driving into the city, for example,” he said.

Choo said the state’s bus coverage was not extensive enough, and even with the free buses introduced by the state in collaboration with Rapid Penang, there were still connectivity problems that discouraged people from using them.

“The bus network is not wide enough and some people have to change buses several times to get to their destinations. That consumes time.

“People who take the bus also get stuck in jams because we don’t have dedicated bus lanes. To do that, it means room on the roads for cars will have to be sacrificed. Car drivers will have fewer lanes to use on the road, so if they choose to drive, then they choose to be stuck in jams.

“That is the paradigm shift we need. If we do this and the traffic situation improves within the term, people will see a true change. The state has won huge support in GE14. It must have courage to improve the liveability and mobility of the people,” he said.

The 19.5km PIL1 will connect Persiaran Gurney north of Penang island to the south of the island, and 70% of the highway are tunnels through hills of Sungai Ara and Paya Terubong, including Penang Hill. It also has a 250m cable-stayed bridge across Youth Park.

Choo said the party supported civil society group Penang Forum, which had highlighted the shortcomings of the PIL1 project’s EIA (environmental impact assessment) report last weekend.

“The new highway might only solve the traffic woes for five years. And imagine the jam we will be in during the few years the highway is being built,” he said.

“Then we will use the highway (when it is complete) and there will be no jams for a few years, before the problem recurs.” – August 28, 2018.