"It's going to be really bad unless they (the government) can fix the present mess."Although admitting that some congestion was inevitable, Zulkarnain said that most Malaysians had no choice but to resort to cars. "Congestion is normal, even in Hong Kong and Singapore. We won't expect traffic to be clear all the way, though we should expect certain adjustments in vehicle speed," he said."But in city-states like Singapore, people can choose whether to use cars or public transport and still arrive at where they want to go."
Many parts of the Klang Valley, much less the rest of the country, did not have proper access to public transport."People who use the LRT (Light Rail Transit) are satisfied, but what about people who can't use the LRT?" Zulkarnain asked.
No land left
Zulkarnain also said that the urban sprawl has also worsened the Klang Valley's traffic situation."When Greater Kuala Lumpur can't increase its population, new residential areas and suburbs have to be created further away from the city," he said.Elevated highways were also a point of ire in Zulkarnain's eye.More highways, he argued, did not actually help to ease congestion in the Klang Valley. "All it does is that it gets people to bottlenecks faster," he said.
"There is also no land left to widen the highways."A 2007 report – “The Rise of the private cars in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – by the International Association of Traffic and Safety Science (IATSS) panned the construction of highways, especially through densely-populated areas."Highway construction in KL has not only proved to be too costly but also environmentally and socially inimical," it said.Efforts to curb traffic congestion including park-and-ride facilities have failed, the report added."Kuala Lunmpur City Hall (DBKL) had not provided adequate park-and-ride facilities for private car commuters wishing to transfer to public transport use."
Not rail corridor material
Zulkarnain told FMT that Singapore was a rail corridor city, with stations built around high-density urban areas."In our country, it seems to be the reverse, with rail stations built near low-density areas," he said, referring to areas such as the Abdullah Hukum RapidKL station.Part of the Kelana Jaya line, Abdullah Hukum has never seen more than a scant few passengers on its platforms at any one time."The Abdullah Hukum station has been a waste of 15 years," he said.Zulkarnain also cited stations with little or no ridership, despite being centred in KL's business districts, such as the Dang Wangi RapidKL and Bank Negara KTM Komuter station.
Why not buses?
The transit expert also found it strange that the government was more keen on building new railways, when it could have invested in existing bus infrastructure.Zulkarnain said that single-occupant cars resulted in a potential of 2,000 passengers per hour per direction (PPHPD) for most highways.Dedicated bus lanes, he said, would significantly increase a road's PPHPD. "If you have one lane for buses, rather than cars, you can have up to 30,000 PPHPD," Zulkarnain said.
However, the government's criticism of bus lanes and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) services irked the transit expert. Zulkarnain said that the government claimed that BRT would only be effective on 10-lane highways.
Accusing the government of "lying through its teeth", he said that BRT had performed well on three-lane roads."In certain parts of France, you can see BRT with only three lanes (available)," Zulkarnain said.
Effects of congestion
Zulkarnain said that traffic jams not only affected the economy, but also the environment and society as well.
"Congestion is a deadweight loss. A lot of money is unnecessarily spent on fuel. You also have an increase of stress when you get stuck in traffic jams," Zulkarnain said, adding that the number of accidents also went up.
It also said that average traffic flow in KL was 28kph.The report added that there were almost three million KL-registered vehicles in 2004; 3.5 times as many as that of 1994 (848,750).With over a million motor vehicles registered in Malaysia every year, it is expected that the total number has risen significantly.Up to the end of last year, the country, with a population of 28 million, had a whopping 20 million registered vehicles.
Transport Minister Kong Cho Ha in December, while opening the Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show, said that vehicle registration in 2009 stood at 19 million registered vehicles."Malaysia can be considered as one of the high motor vehicle usage nations. In 2009 alone, more than a million vehicles (1,017,361) were registered.”
Source : http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2011/03/02/no-end-to-kls-traffic-jams/
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