Is this acceptable!!

When I was reading Malaysiakini, I found this piece of article under the opinion section. Maybe you all might want to have a look at it. You all need an account to access Malaysiakini, so i copy and pasted here so that more of us will be able to get the information. So happy reading!

PUBLIC TRANSPORT THE ONLY WAY TO TRAVEL

While the public should be heartened to note that Deputy Federal Territories Minister M Saravanan has submitted recommendations on how to improve the state of public transportation to the cabinet, they are equally cynical on whether these recommendations would actually work.

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Saravanan said road expansions and additional flyovers would be built in ‘hot-spots’ to ease traffic congestion and improvements to bus, taxi and light rail transit (LRT) services would be carried out.

These seem to be pertinent areas that need urgent attention. However, a more holistic and integrated approach is overdue to rethink the state of our public transportation.

Last week, oil price hit the US$150 mark and there is fear that it will touch US$200 per barrel before the year is out. Perhaps in rethinking public transportation, we should work from the doom scenario of RM5 per litre of oil, and what public transportation can do to reduce the overall demand of fuel.

While saving fuel, the system yet assures efficiency and service to the population. In the longer term, with fossil fuels running out, it is only a matter of time before we face the inevitable adjustment. So, the earlier we start, the less painful it will be.

The bottom line is, how can we adjust our infrastructure in such a way that more people can be transported using less fuel, in less time taken by private vehicles. Two benchmarks can be set by the planners: how many people can be transported per litre of fuel and the average commuting time.

The transportation system needs to be examined closely from a fuel efficiency point of view. Single user cars must be discouraged at peak hours at ‘hot-spots’. Road and traffic management systems are non-existent in our cities, in part due to the fact that the government wants to stay populist and in part due to a lack of discipline and political will to make a new system work.

The nation’s infrastructure in tolled highways and new roads have been expanded without careful consideration of traffic flow, density of human activity and how this can be managed to assure efficiency. In my view, improvements should be made not only to "hardware" like roads or vehicles. A better management of traffic flow will help to ease congestion.

Before a traffic management system can be implemented, improvement to the public transportation system must be made. We have heard that plans favouring public transportation were shelved because of the conflicts of interest among the stakeholders in the transportation sector, for example highway concessionaires and car companies.

The authorities ought to recognise that crunch time is fast approaching and that they must face the hard choice of whose priorities should come first. Structural shakeout is inevitable in these changing times.

However, there could be win-win solutions, for example a connecting bus servicing the tolled highway between a high density residential area and the nearest bus or LRT link would reduce costs for the consumer, yet create revenue for the highway operator. In difficult times, infrastructure companies must be creative to stay relevant.

As a community, we must work to build an attractive public transportation where we promote a new lifestyle of fuel efficiency. How much time would it take for us to go from 18 percent of the population using public transport to as much as 50-70 percent of the population using the mass rapid transit system?

Time for lifestyle change

How do we make public transport attractive to commuters? How do we promote a transformation towards a new lifestyle where the citizens’ habits are adjusted according to the new modes of transport? The change will come, but the earlier we start, with better promotion and education, the easier it will be for the people to adjust.

Establish key arteries of linkages and decide what mode of public transportation would serve them best. For example in the Klang Valley, if the Federal highway is the key artery linking Klang to Kuala Lumpur, and buses and LRT are the key modes of transport, set a dateline to improve on these services.

Once traffic builds up, switch to trains. If there is already a train service in place, make it the best in the world.

In terms of costs and efficiency, experts have recommended that Malaysian cities work on rapid buses, not monorails. If this is the case, work out a master plan for rapid bus transport.

Also build a web of feeder service to these arteries. For private cars, make available to them safe public car parks at low cost or better still, no cost, so that they can get from their homes to the main transport links.

Build spacious and interesting waiting stations. In many western cities, the underground transportation spaces are filled with art and interesting cultural activities. We should redesign main bus stations to make them attractive to users.

Housing developers and communities are also encouraged to start their own mini feeder buses to help residents get to the main transportation links.

Delegate the authority to manage and control the feeder bus routes to the local municipal or state authorities for quick action and better management. The federal transportation authority must work closely with the state to ensure planning is done properly and that mechanisms for implementation are worked out with proper time schedules.

In this regard, the federal government must have the political will to streamline its own functions at the various ministry levels to bring public transportation under one single authority.

For shorter routes and in between hubs of activity, have the local municipals build and manage attractive bicycle paths. Plant trees and build lightning-proof shelters along the path so that cyclists can rest or take shelter when it rains.

A good public transportation system is not meant only for the poor. It is for all levels of society. We should improve service to serve a large majority of the population. The quality and reliability of the services should be the main attraction, not the fare. To help those in the lower income group like students and senior citizens, special fares and coupons can be issued.

Public transportation should be managed as a market model as far as possible. The advertising revenue from the stations and along the routes should be an important source of revenue to support operations.

Now that Malaysia has two heritage towns in Georgetown in Penang and Melaka, we must make these towns attractive to both residents and visitors. In the city centres, a time zone for private cars commercial vehicles can be worked out. Well-serviced tram-lines should be built to enable visitors to enjoy the sights.

It is important to keep in mind two key reforms if the Malaysian public transportation system is to move forward.

First, the authorities must recognise the urgency and priority of fuel efficiency. From the sporadic reactions and types of measures spoken of by government officers, one does not get the idea that our planners have recognised the crisis triggered by the ending of the era of cheap oil. The debate on public transportation must swing to its central cause that Malaysians can no longer afford the private car as their dominant mode of transport.

Secondly, we have to accept the fact that our cities, towns and residential areas are designed for humans, not cars. Spaces are taken up for roads and parking bays, leaving very little walking or activity space for humans. We should be thinking about a new lifestyle, one where humans return to the centre and fuel efficient modes of transport provide the links.