KUALA LUMPUR: More collaborations in the transport sector among private companies are encouraged to help transform the nation’s current transportation landscape.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook said he believed that private companies have the ability to improve the transportation landscape especially by taking advantage of the digital platforms.
Loke also said in the meantime, the government would continue to support the industry players and is open to suggestions from them in improving the current policies relating to transportation.
“Of course in order to push for better and more innovative transportation services, we need private sector to play the key role and drive this new initiatives using digital platforms,” he said during the launching of Express Rail Link Sdn Bhd (ERL) and GoCar Malaysia partnership under the theme A Glimpse Into The Future of Sustainable Urban Mobility here yesterday.
Under the partnership, starting yesterday, travelers to and from KLIA and KLIA2 can get down at selected ERL stations to rent cars using the GoCar application to get to their destination.
GoCar is an on-demand car-sharing application where one can reserve, unlock, and access a car, anytime using the smartphone.
Meanwhile, when asked to comment on Auditor-General’s Report 2018 Series 2 on Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad’s (KTMB) loss of RM2.829 billion, he said that public transportation is a tough business, thus it requires a lot of government subsidies.
“KTMB also needs to operate in low-return areas, so that also causes losses. It also has a social responsibility to provide services to less populated areas such as in the east coast,” he explained.
Yesterday, the Auditor-General’s Report 2018 Series 2 revealed that KTMB’s loss was due to, among others, KTMB not being given the freedom to make its own decision, particularly on the company’s operations and usage of assets.
Loke added that in the near future, his ministry would announce on the action plans to be taken pertaining to KTMB issue. — Bernama