PETALING JAYA: With the traffic build-up for balik kampung rush expected to start tomorrow (Friday), PLUS Malaysia Bhd (Plus) has urged motorists to plan their journey during the Hari Raya holiday season and follow its Travel Time Advisory (TTA) for the North-South Expressway (NSE).
PLUS managing director Datuk Azman Ismail said the TTA, issued to guide motorists between May 30 and June 10, was aimed at dispersing the traffic and alleviating congestion caused by vehicles converging at the same locations along the highway.
"The traffic will start to build up starting from Friday and continue towards Saturday and Sunday. School holiday, which started early, helped (to ease congestion) to a certain extent. However, there are a lot of people who are still working and will only go back to their hometowns starting this Friday.
"Based on our observation, traffic was generally smoother when more drivers followed the TTA during the previous festive seasons,” he said, adding two million vehicles were expected to ply the NSE during the festive period.
He advised motorists to use PLUS' mobile application to check the traffic condition along the routes.
"Just click on the map to see the traffic flow. There is only a 10-second delay for the visuals," he said.
Those from Klang Valley heading to Perlis, Kedah, Penang, Perak (northern) and Johor are advised to start their highway journey before 10am, while those heading to other states are encouraged to enter the NSE after 10am.
Meanwhile, motorists from Perlis, Kedah, Penang, Perak (northern) and Johor heading towards Klang Valley are advised to enter the NSE before 10am, while those from other states are encouraged to start their journey after 10am.
PLUS chief operating officer Zakaria Ahmad Zabidi said to further help monitor the traffic flow, two of the four drones it recently purchased would also be deployed at hotspots, namely, near Rawang, Sungai Perak, Slim River and Gua Tempurung.
"This is the first time we are using drones for this purpose and we will start with the Raya festive period. We will probably start using them for the southern part of the highway after Raya," he said.
In a separate statement, PLUS announced that the Ipoh highway stretch on the NSE is now operating as usual.
“The repair works at KM272.7 (north bound) were completed in less than 24 hours and yesterday (Tuesday) at approximately 5pm, all lanes were opened to vehicles,” it said.
The latest traffic information on PLUS operated highways are also available on PLUSTrafik Twitter or PLUS Mobil or PLUS Line (toll free number) at 1800-88-0000.