KUALA LUMPUR: PLUS Malaysia Bhd (Plus) has made additional preparations for a smoother journey along its highways during the Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday period.
Managing director Datuk Azman Ismail said traffic on highways operated by Plus is expected to increase from 1.7 million vehicles to over two million vehicles daily throughout the festive season.
Therefore, he said a travel time advisory (TTA) is made available to assist travellers in planning their journeys accordingly.
“At Plus, our mission is to take good care of our customers, and their safety and comfort are our top priorities," he said in a statement.
The Plus 2020 CNY TTA recommends its customers from the Klang Valley heading to Perlis, Kedah, Penang, North Perak and Johor to enter the highway before 9am, while customers heading to other destinations such as Ipoh, Negri Sembilan and Melaka are advised to enter the highway after 12pm.
On the return journey back to Kuala Lumpur, he said road users are advised to enter the highway before 9am to ensure a phased traffic flow from all locations towards the Klang Valley.
Azman also said previous trend and analysis by Plus indicated that road users who complied with the travel advisory enjoyed a smooth driving experience.
“However, the analysis also shows that travel time will likely increase by 30 per cent to 80 per cent if customers delay their journey start time. This means customers will take a longer travel time to complete their journey if they choose to further delay their journey starting time from the advised TTA.
“The TTA is a guide to distribute traffic and minimise the possibility of traffic converging at critical stretches on the highway which often leads to congestion.
“Therefore, for a smooth driving experience for all, Plus encourages customers to travel during the times as recommended in the TTA,” he explained.
He also said all non-critical maintenance and repair works on the highway will be halted from Jan 22 to Feb 2, 2020, adding that cranes and tow-trucks will be placed on stand-by at strategic locations along the highway.
Azman informed that Plus will intensify its collaboration with the authorities namely the police, Fire Department, ambulance, the Civil Defence Force and the People’s Volunteer Corps (Rela) to ensure safety and security.
The number of Plus volunteers on standby will also be increased to provide emergency support throught the festive period.
“70 additional Touch ‘n Go Self-Service top-up kiosks will also be deployed to cater to the increasing number of travellers on the highway,” he said.
Latest traffic updates on the highways can be obtained via the Plus mobile application (available both on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store), @PLUSTrafik Twitter account, highway electronic message boards and the toll-free PLUSLine at 1800 88 0000.