KUALA LUMPUR – Prasarana Malaysia Bhd foresees an uptrend in ridership for both urban rail and bus services of up to 80% in 2022, better than since the beginning of the pandemic last year.
President and group chief executive officer Mohd Azharuddin Mat Sah said the forecast is expected to reach towards pre-pandemic levels in 2019 in line with the reopening of the economy.
“In terms of preparedness in entering the endemic stage, we will always ensure that our services are safe by implementing strict standard operating procedures as advised by the National Security Council,” he said.
On the impact of Covid-19, he said Prasarana’s daily average ridership currently stands at 380,000 as at October 13, a decline of about 40% from last year and about 70% from the pre-pandemic level in 2019.
“As such, we hope for continuous government support to encourage the rakyat to use our services,” he said.
Azharuddin said he expects the government to include the extension of the My30 unlimited travel pass, in support of a more sustainable future for the public transportation system in the upcoming Budget 2022.
“We are looking forward to replacing our ageing buses with electric vehicles and aim for all of them to be fully replaced with EVs by 2030,” he said.
He said Prasarana also plans to upgrade bus stops and pedestrian walkways in the Klang Valley as a part of its initiative to improve first-mile-last-mile connectivity and the customer experience.
Prasarana recently implemented five short-term measures from the 23 proposals aimed at improving the operations of the Light Rail Transit Kelana Jaya line following the collision of two trains in May. – Bernama, October 20, 2021
