PETALING JAYA: Former Transport minister Anthony Loke has called on the ministry to be more aggressive in resolving traffic congestion in the Klang Valley.
In response to a recent debate between Transport Minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong and Johor Democratic Action Party chief Liew Chin Tong on traffic congestion, he agreed that the issue should be resolved as a joint effort.
He also said any claims that the ministry has nothing to do with traffic jams are “irresponsible”.
“Of course, roads and highways are under the supervision of the Works Ministry, but to say that traffic congestion has nothing to do with the Transport Ministry is outright irresponsible.
“Public transport is under the Transport Ministry and traffic congestion is partly due to our poor public transport system. This means the people have no choice but to drive their cars. So definitely, the Transport Ministry has a responsibility in terms of traffic congestion,” he said.
Loke also urged the authorities to come up with short-term and long-term solutions involving relevant ministries to overcome traffic congestion, that has gone beyond control amid the rise in the number of vehicles on the roads.
“We need coordinated efforts from all. We need a task force of ministries to handle short-term and long-term solutions. In the longer term, we hope public transport can be enhanced and a proper policy instituted to encourage people to use public transport. But I know it cannot be achieved overnight.
“The short term move calls for a multi-ministry task force that must be set up to look into traffic congestion, including (monitoring) construction sites and mobilising traffic police and City Council traffic wardens to be stationed at major junctions throughout the city to ensure smooth traffic flow,” he said.
“We must look into the reliability of public transport. Lately, because of breakdowns in the MRT and LRT lines, many commuters had to use private means of transport.”
Universiti Putra Malaysia Road Safety Research Centre head Assoc Prof Dr Law Teik Hua said the government should consider improving public transport services and utilising intelligent traffic control systems for smoother traffic flow.
He also urged public transport operators to keep their vehicles clean so that people would use their services.
“There are several suggestions for policymakers to deal with traffic jams.
“For instance, dynamic traffic light control systems adjust their timing based on current traffic conditions and employ a detector that can interact with the traffic light control system on current traffic conditions. When an intersection is congested, it would modify timing to improve traffic flow.”
Law also suggested enhancing the usability of bus lanes in Kuala Lumpur and improving the public transport shuttle service, while urging the public to cooperate by planning their travel, especially during peak hours using Waze or Google maps.
