PETALING JAYA: Experts have called for the 2021 Budget to be skewed towards boosting public transport with financial measures to help bus operators trying to stay afloat after a sharp drop in revenue caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ahmad Farhan Mohd Sadullah of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) said the budget should focus on moving people and saving the public transport sector which he said was on the verge of collapsing.
He said this was especially so among local, regional and intercity bus operators.
Farhan said pushing for private vehicle use was not sustainable or economical, for it would only worsen the finances of those affected by the pandemic.
He said investing more on public transport would balance the need for people to use private vehicles, especially motorcycles by the lower-income groups.
“Motorcycle accidents continue to make up the highest share of crashes, casualties and fatalities in the country. Boosting public transport use would reduce dependence on motorcycles,” he said.
Farhan said more funds should be given to road safety, and the presence of police and road transport enforcement must be felt on all roads. He said the long-awaited demerit system ought to be put in place.
He said deteriorating road conditions in the inner cities and rural areas must be fixed.
Changes to federal highway
Social activist and economist Lim Mah Hui said Putrajaya should adopt cheaper public transport modes for cities, such as the track-less autonomous rapid transit, which costs a fraction of a conventional light rail transit, besides being easier to build.
He said more incentives should be given for high occupancy vehicles and resources to create dedicated bus lanes with priority at traffic junctions.
“Imagine, if you converted one lane on the Federal Highway for such vehicles and buses, this would encourage people to carpool or take the bus,” he said.
Transport expert Roger Teoh said resources should be made to promote walking and cycling, as the pandemic had led to fewer vehicles on public roads.
He said London authorities had widened pavements for pedestrians and created new cycling lanes as the pandemic had discouraged commuters from taking public transport.
“If planned correctly, such programmes can permanently improve the liveability of a city.
“In addition, an increase in subsidies should also be considered to public transport operators in order to run close to normal levels of services, despite the reduced public transport demand, to facilitate social distancing and traffic congestion,” he said.
Airport expansion
Touching on the issue of airport expansion, Teoh said the pandemic was naturally a right time for expansion works, but given the country’s current financial situation it would not be ideal.
He said Singapore’s Changi airport had taken the opportunity of the aviation lull to close Terminal 2 for 18 months to carry out upgrading work.
Teoh said given the forecast that air traffic demand was expected to return to pre-pandemic levels by 2023, funding should be made available so that expansion work could start in two or three years’ time.
“Airport expansions are probably not politically and financially feasible for Malaysia at the moment, as there are other sectors of the economy that are struggling and in dire need of stimulus.
“Given that air traffic demand is only expected to return to pre-pandemic levels by 2023, it would not be too late to start expansion projects in one or two years’ time,” he said.
Sharifah Rohayah Sheikh Dawood, also of USM, said the government should reward a transition to the use of low-carbon fuels.
The development of alternative fuels for aviation and haulier trucks ought to be promoted by the government, she said.
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