PETALING JAYA: PLUS Malaysia Berhad (PLUS) said its daily traffic has increased up to 1.8 million vehicles as compared to 1.6 million per day in 2019.
For the upcoming year-end festive celebration of Christmas and New Year, the highway operator said the volume is expected to rise to two million per day, starting from Dec 23, 2022 until Jan 2, 2023.
PLUS chief operating officer Datuk Zakaria Ahmad Zabidi said more than 1.8 million vehicles per day were consistently recorded following the start of the school holidays.
"Ever since we entered into the endemic phase, we've recorded higher traffic volumes of about 1.8 million vehicles as compared to about 1.6 million vehicles in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic started," he said.
The upcoming year-end festive celebrations will contribute to extended travelling hours and this is where the Travel Time Advisory (TTA) schedule will help highway customers to plan their journey.
"Highway customers are strongly encouraged to follow the TTA schedule to plan their journey well and prepare for an extended travel time due to high traffic on the highway. The TTA can be obtained from the PLUS website at www.plus.com.my or any of our social media platforms," he advised.
Plan your journey
Journey from the Klang Valley (from Dec 23, 2022 to Jan 2, 2023)
Klang Valley highway customers heading towards further destinations such as Perlis, Kedah, Penang, Perak (North), and Johor are advised to enter the highway before 10:00 am. Meanwhile, those heading towards closer locations or to other states are advised to enter the highway between 12:00 pm until 4:00 pm.
Journey to the Klang Valley (Dec 23, 2022 to Jan 2, 2023)
Highway customers are advised to enter the highway before 10:00 am for their return journey to the Klang Valley from Perlis, Kedah, Penang, Perak (North), Johor and other states.
"The TTA focuses on traffic distribution and is aimed at reducing traffic congestion on the highway, most notably at major stretches, toll plazas and rest areas during this festive period. It is designed to prevent traffic heading towards further destinations from converging with that traffic heading towards nearer ones, where adhering may make a positive difference in one's journey experience," said Zakaria.
Apart from the TTA, PLUS said it is also taking various other measures to cope with the increase in traffic and at the same time, provide smoother and more comfortable journey during the festive season.
Zakaria said PLUS had issued Stop Work and No Lane Closure orders from Dec 23 to 26, and between Dec 30, 2022 until Jan 1, 2023 to avoid unnecessary congestion during the year-end festive celebrations.
"However, temporary lane closures need to be carried out to make way for immediate accident clearance and cleaning works as well as emergencies or critical maintenance for safety reasons," he added.