No plans to impose KL congestion charge yet – Loke

The Malaysian government does not plan to impose a congestion charge on private vehicles in Kuala Lumpur for the time being, reported Bernama.

The cabinet committee on road safety and congestion had previously discussed the matter in depth, and had noted the transport ministry’s views to first focus upon improving the quality of public transport, said transport minister Anthony Loke.

“The ministry of transport (MoT) does not and has not yet planned to implement a congestion charge on private vehicles at this time,” Loke said during a question and answer session in Dewan Negara today.

A study covering the implementation mechanism, projected reduction in traffic volume and increased use of public transport was currently being conducted by the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) and the Malaysian Green Technology And Climate Change Corporation (MGTC), Loke said.

Currently, the transport ministry is also implementing the Klang Valley Public Transport Strategic Plan Study which also includes an origin-destination study, and the study is hoped to be used as a benchmark to improve the quality of public transport in the capital, as well as in other states, the transport minister added.

“This is because developed countries only implement congestion charges after having a good and efficient public transport system,” he said.

Last month, the transport minister said that it is not feasible to implement congestion charges in Kuala Lumpur as public transport needs to be improved first.

Minister in the prime minister’s department (Federal Territories) Dr Zaliha Mustafa said that in addition to Kuala Lumpur, George Town in Penang and Johor Bahru are being considered for the rollout of congestion charges, and said that it could reduce congestion in Kuala Lumpur by 20%.

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