KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Public Transport Users Association (4PAM) lauded the government's decision to start a on-demand van service to help resolve the last-mile connectivity issue.
"Last-mile connectivity has been the bane of public transport services in many countries around the world, especially where its planning was done on an ad-hoc basis," said 4PAM's president Ajit Johl.
He said the RM50 million budget may not be enough as the Government also needs to address related issues, such as building walkways, improving security and ensuring CCTVs installed at all stations.
"We understand there are always budget constraints, but this can be solved by having a systematic approach and working with the private sectors," he said.
4PAM suggested the Transport minister to discuss with stakeholders on the roll out measures, as public spending needs to be transparent, fair and just.
Previously NST reported experts laud initiatives but call for more long term measures to address the last-mile connectivity issues.
The government's initiative to introduce an on-demand van service to resolve first- and last-mile connectivity is commendable, but there is a need for more strategies to increase public transport use in the long term, experts say.
Universiti Malaya urban and regional planning expert Dr Noor Hashimah Hashim Lim said in the long run, the government would need to look into increasing walkability, cyclability and overall active transport.
She said the on-demand van service was a short- to medium-term solution to ease the public into using public transport to achieve a modal split of 50:50 (public versus private vehicle usage) by 2030.