I REFER to the letter by Prasa-rana Malaysia Bhd (Prasarana) group communication and strategic marketing development head Lim Jin Aun (NST, July 7).
Prasarana is to be commended for the effective switchover of the in-house MyRapid concession card to the new concession card, which is a Touch ‘n Go card.
The new card can be topped up at Touch ‘n Go outlets, a feature similar to the still-in-use concession card (I’m a holder of one such card) introduced in 2011, which carries the Touch ‘n Go logo.
My wife had a pleasant experience when she went to the Subang Jaya light rail transit station on June 28 to exchange her My-Rapid concession card for the new one for senior citizens.
The entire process, including having her photograph taken and paying the difference in value, took just 15 minutes, .
This latest move by Prasarana is a reflection of the Land Public Transport Commission’s determination to have a single card commuters travelling on the Klang Valley Intergrated Transit network, be it by Rapid KL bus, KTM Commuter train, monorail, and LRT or MRT trains.
Such convenience is on par with other big cities with a similar transport network.
A mass transit system costs a lot of money to build. Therefore, only a high ridership can justify the large sums spent.
However, the ridership looks encouraging only during rush hours, 6am-8am and 5pm-8pm on weekdays.
Hopefully, Prasarana will consider introducing a “cheap day” fare for travel during off-peak hours. A weekend “cheap day” should also be considered.
Lower fares will encourage more people to leave their cars at home and use public transport, especially trains.
Train services in cities like Sydney and London offer lower fares for group travel during off-peak hours and weekends.
At a later stage, Prasarana should introduce express services between terminals on all lines with fewer stops to reduce travel time.
In my experience of using the LRT Kelana Jaya line, it takes at least 42 minutes to get from the SS18 station to KLCC station, a trip with 20 stops.
An express service offering a shorter transit time will definitely attract more people to take the train. Although this means buying more trains and coaches, the benefit of less congestion in arterial roads into Kuala Lumpur will justify the investment.
Andrew Kok, Subang Jaya, Selangor