TRANSPORT Minister Anthony Loke has been cracking the whip since day one of his appointment and his main concerns were to ensure efficiency and safety in the nation’s transport system to help long-suffering commuters.

He is doing a commendable job in addressing and rectifying various issues and problems within a short period, and the people are hopeful he will be able to overcome the various shortcomings, both man-made and otherwise. 

Now that the MRT 2 is to be fully operational in mid-March, Loke needs to consider using vans instead of taxis and the Grab service as the best feeder vehicles for the MRT.

The feeder buses are mostly empty or half-full, except during peak hours. The reason for this is that buses move slowly on narrow roads in residential and commercial areas. Many of these roads are congested, making it difficult for the bus drivers to reach the stations on time.

As a result, many commuters are forced to use costly taxis or the Grab service to get to the stations in time. Vans would be better and cheaper to ply routes between stations.

A van can carry six to 12 people, depending on its seating capacity, and can move faster and get passengers to the stations on time. Unlike buses, vans can also travel faster and farther into housing, commercial and industrial estates and pick up more passengers for the MRT.

The MRT ridership can increase exponentially when more people realise the convenience provided by the vans for them to travel from home to the stations and from the stations to their workplaces and other destinations. This will be an effective link to the first-mile and last-mile problems that have been plaguing the public transport system.

No taxi or e-hailing service can be cheaper and more efficient than vans to increase MRT ridership. Taxis and e-hailing rides are costly and they defeat the purpose of providing cheap public transport, especially during the present socio-economic troubles.

Vans can even provide door-to-door services for passengers when it rains, and van drivers can be more friendly. This cannot be provided at a low cost by taxis or e-hailing drivers. Since vans carry more passengers, the fares can be cheaper, unlike taxis.

MRT Corp can sanction a few hundred vans to ply the MRT 1 and 2 routes, and within a short time it will see an exponential increase in MRT ridership. In some countries, vans are being used as feeders for bus and train services due to the convenience they provide and, most importantly, the low fares. Taxis and grab e-hailing simply cannot compete with vans due to their myriad advantages.

A few hundred van drivers can earn a good living from the service. The vans need to be new and properly furnished, the drivers must wear uniforms, have clean driving records, and follow all conditions laid down by MRT Corp and the Transport Ministry.

The vans must have a uniform colour scheme and should be emblazoned with the MRT logo for easy identification. With so many benefits and advantages, it is time to induct vans to help increase the ridership for the MRT and not rely on expensive buses, which have so many problems such as being confined to the main roads, frequent delays and breakdowns, and being unable to increase MRT ridership. Reliance on these buses is the biggest factor for low ridership. – February 9, 2023.

* V. Thomas reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.