KUALA LUMPUR: PRASARANA Malaysia Bhd is confident of achieving this year’s revenue target of between RM800 million and RM900 million.
While it strives to enhance fare revenue by increasing ridership and service efficiency, Prasarana has also adopted non-fare revenue ideas such as transit-oriented development (TOD).
One such development was its high-rise residential project with TRC Synergy Bhd, involving the Ara Damansara light rail transit (LRT) station, said president and group chief executive officer Datuk Mohamed Hazlan Mohamed Hussain.
Prasarana was expected to receive a 15 per cent share of an estimated gross development value (GDV) of about RM1 billion, he said at a media briefing, here, yesterday.
Three other projects are being built in the vicinity of the Dang Wangi LRT Station, Brickfields/Tun Sambanthan Monorail station and IOI Puchong Jaya LRT station.
But Hazlan was evasive when asked about Prasarana’s past financial performance, including the purported net losses of RM3 billion to RM5 billion for financial year 2018, as reported by a financial daily earlier this month.
“We would like to move forward by looking at improving ridership, cost containment and operations efficiency, among others. At the same time, we have to keep up with the trend and stay relevant, including with the millennials who make up 30 per cent of our users,” he said.
Hazlan said Prasarana had yet to enter any negotiations for joint development of the remaining six plots of land that it owned.
He said TOD was among the key considerations to find the first and last-mile solution.
“Apart from providing modes of transportation, it is (equally) important to look at other services such as laundry, retail and banking. Basically, the daily lives of the users, connectivity and mobility for all.
“TOD operates by providing these services and infrastructure within walking distance from public transportation like the LRT. For instance, in Hong Kong, 1.34 million, or 40 per cent of commuters, live within 500m from rail stations.”
Meanwhile, he said the government-owned company also regarded its staff as valuable assets and they must undergo training to improve their skills and knowledge.
“I have instructed our human capital (management) to ensure that each employee undergoes 32 hours of training every year, so that they could provide better services to customers. This includes a shorter inquiry response time from 12 minutes to seven minutes this year.”
Prasarana is the operator of LRT (Ampang, Sri Petaling and Kelana Jaya lines), monorail, MRT Sungai Buloh-Kajang, Rapidbus and Rapidferry.