CURRENTLY, the number of bus users in Kuching is negligible.
This is not altogether unexpected since a comprehensive public transport infrastructure for the city is a low priority item. In fact, right now, it’s virtually non-existent.
An International Public Transport Conference in Kuching last year heard that very few people in Kuching used buses – only a puny two per cent which hardly befits the profile of a growing city with a population of over half a million.
The implementation of a public transport master plan is, thus, timely in the city to enhance accessibility (adding more buses) and mobility (increasing frequency). It is projected that with such a facility, at least 20 per cent of the population will opt for public transport.
Another thing is that fares can be structured to suit commuters’ pockets via affordable charges for, say, an unlimited day-pass and a one-way travel as suggested by a local bus company. This is a long-term cost-effective solution to circumvent the problem of buses running empty along a route – which is presently quite common.
While there are, as yet, no tangible integrated facilities to address existing inadequacies and boost efficiency in public transport, it is heartening to note the problem is being recognised.
On Friday, Housing and Urban Development Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari announced a public transport laboratory, under the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu), will be set up by end of March to look into ways of improving public transport in the state. He has also requested for RM200 million in federal funding to meet overall costs.
In conjunction with the lab project, a statewide study will be carried out to determine the number of passengers, buses and other vehicles operating within peak and non-peak hours, and their frequencies. The main purpose is to ascertain and strengthen the density of urban mobility.
The result may only be known in April or May as the study involves a lot of data collection, collation and scrutiny, necessitating a long-term approach.
The lab project will also make a study on special bus lanes and the bus models needed and an expert may be called in to assist – understandably so since a project of such a nature involves an overhaul of the road system which, as the minister has noted, will not be cheap.
At the moment, Kuching city’s traffic woes appear wedged between two extremes — an acute lack of public transport at one end of the spectrum and a tremendous explosion of private vehicle ownerships at the other. The latter brings into focus the question of parking in the city, which, even at the best of times, can be a nightmare despite the levy of parking fees.
Given the overwhelming number of vehicles and the resultant fierce competition for parking spaces nowadays, the quip that motorists will even park inside coffeeshops if allowed to, no longer sounds much like a wisecrack! Nobody really bothers about indiscriminate or illegal parking. And regrettably, most do it with seeming impunity.
While parking fees are not the motorist’s cup of tea, with a bit of imagination and pragmatism, they can be used as both a preventive measure and a marketing opportunity.
As one town-planning expert observed: “The conventional thinking of urban planners is to only allot more space for parking, and make people pay a minimal parking fee. The new thinking today is to use the facility as a marketing opportunity whereby the city’s public transport can directly benefit from higher parking fees.”
So going by that premise, when it comes to planning parking space for commercial venues, reducing parking space and increasing parking fees will benefit Kuching’s public transport in the long run but only if public transport is accessible, efficient and convenient.
Just what is the quantum of parking fees to be charged? Some argue it should reflect the market value. This, at best, is an unfamiliar measure to the people in Kuching, considering in heavy traffic areas like grocery stores or shopping malls, motorists are used to paying peanuts for taking up a parking space for hours on end.
Today, gridlocks are a common sight in and around the city. Is Kuching a liveable city or one fast becoming a home for cars?
Whatever the development plans that are in store for the city, foresightedness, vision and quality of life should be the guiding light for the urban planners. This is the way to go and it’s never too late to start.