RIDES on the Putrajaya MRT line will be free of charge from today until March 31, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said today. 

He announced this at the full launch of the 57.7km line at Serdang MRT Depot this morning. 

Feeder buses to the new MRT line will also be free of charge. 

The MRT Putrajaya Line, which was developed in two phases, will serve commuters from Kwasa Damansara to Putrajaya Sentral. It has 36 stations, nine of which are below ground. 

In a speech, Anwar said he would give top priority to public transportation in the next federal budget. 

He said Budget 2023, which he tabled in February, focussed more on education and health. 

“I’m not saying the other ministries are not important, but I wanted schools and health to be prioritised (in Budget 2023) as it involves everyone. 

“Next year will be for transport because people lose productivity due to traffic jams and congestion,” he said. 

Anwar also pointed out that a study in Bangkok showed billions of dollars were lost in terms of productivity due to extreme traffic congestion. 

The study revealed that the solution to overcome this lay in public transportation, he said. – March 16, 2023.