PUTRAJAYA: A new agency has been created under the Transport Ministry to plan the development of the land public transport sector in the country.
Called the Land Public Transport Agency (APAD), it will take over most of the functions of the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) which was recently decommissioned.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke said APAD would be a full-fledged department under the ministry, headed by a director-general.
He said it would be tasked with planning the development of the country’s land public transport system, including mass rail transit (MRT), light rail transit (LRT), rail transportation and bus systems.
Loke said the organisational structure of APAD would be discussed with the Public Service Department soon.
“Prior to this, SPAD had been tasked with developing the land public transport system, and this will continue under APAD. What was being done by SPAD will be absorbed into APAD.”
Loke said the enforcement, management and issuance of private and commercial licences would be handled solely by the Road Transport Department (RTD).
“Applying for and paying for licences will be via RTD counters. So after this we will reorganise things... no more separate counters,” he told reporters.
Loke said with the reorganisation, several laws needed to be amended or repealed altogether.
“The SPAD Act 2010 will be repealed and the Land Public Transport Act 2010 will be amended to empower the ministry, APAD and RTD. The Road Transport Act 1987 will also have to be amended to empower RTD further,” he said.
On the reorganisation of SPAD into APAD, he said the details were being seen to by four sub-committees within the ministry, all of which were under the purview of secretary-general Datuk Seri Saripuddin Kasim.