Congestion Charging
It's really rare that we get this sort of reasoning from Malaysian politicians (especially those from UMNO) so I thought I'd share this Facebook post here, although I'd recommend skipping the comments section altogether.
The Government should make public the results of their study which shows commuters stand to save up to RM180 million per year with reduced traffic jam during peak hours. Under Malaysia Baru, references to vague studies should not be the basis for key decisions (who can forget MRT's claim that it would contribute RM20 billion per annum in time savings?).
While I fully support congestion charging, I don't see why so much needs to be spent to acquire highways just to replace the existing toll mechanism. Highway operators in Malaysia already seem to be able to do anything they want irrespective of the government of the day (the case of DASH being a prime example) and this plan feels like another victory for them. It would be better to just invest in improving public transport from the get go if reducing congestion is really what the Government is aiming for.
Furthermore, it's hard to see how this plan fits in with the bigger picture of eventually "abolishing" tolls in stages. If congestion charges are meant to drive people towards taking public transport, what benefit is there in eventually going toll-free?
The Government should make public the results of their study which shows commuters stand to save up to RM180 million per year with reduced traffic jam during peak hours. Under Malaysia Baru, references to vague studies should not be the basis for key decisions (who can forget MRT's claim that it would contribute RM20 billion per annum in time savings?).
While I fully support congestion charging, I don't see why so much needs to be spent to acquire highways just to replace the existing toll mechanism. Highway operators in Malaysia already seem to be able to do anything they want irrespective of the government of the day (the case of DASH being a prime example) and this plan feels like another victory for them. It would be better to just invest in improving public transport from the get go if reducing congestion is really what the Government is aiming for.
Furthermore, it's hard to see how this plan fits in with the bigger picture of eventually "abolishing" tolls in stages. If congestion charges are meant to drive people towards taking public transport, what benefit is there in eventually going toll-free?
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