KUALA LUMPUR: Prasarana Malaysia Bhd will spend RM2.8 billion to improve train and bus services which involves replacing train equipment and increasing the number of trains and buses.
Prasarana group president and chief executive officer Mohd Azharuddin Mat Sah said the provision given by the Finance Ministry and the Transport Ministry involved the entire public transport service under the management of Prasarana following high demand by city residents.
"We need to replace the train equipment as soon as possible and increase the number of trains," he said in the programme 'Jendela Fikir: Membina Pengangkutan Public Bersama' broadcast by Bernama Radio today.
Azharuddin said the Covid-19 pandemic had affected the global supply chain and Prasarana was not spared. In fact, he said the replacement equipment for trains on the Kelana Jaya LRT route, which often had service disruptions, was also affected due to the order being sent late to the operator.
"Currently, the issue we are facing is the service needs to be upgraded and the supply of spare parts. Our order for train replacements at the beginning of last year could not be delivered at the appointed time in August 2022 and will only be received in January and May this year," he said.
He said the nearly 25-year-old Kelana Jaya LRT route should have been fully maintained in the last three or four years, but only the Ampang LRT route was improved.
"The Kelana Jaya LRT route has not been fully upgraded and I admit that there are weaknesses from the maintenance aspect. I have obtained permission from the board of directors and the Finance Ministry to upgrade the route as soon as possible," he added.
He said Prasarana started improvement works since the pandemic started in 2020 to boost the number of commuters. Last year the daily average ridership number was 720,000 passengers with 520,000 rail commuters and 200,000 bus passengers.
"This is still low compared with the pre-pandemic era when the number of daily passengers was high with 1.2 million commuters. Therefore, with the improvements that are underway, whether for rail or bus service, we expect to boost the number of passengers to what it was before the pandemic," he added.– Bernama