Mazli responding to a question during the forum.
KUCHING (June 12): Sarawak Metro is exploring partnerships with e-hailing operators to enhance first-and last-mile connectivity for commuters using the Autonomous Rapid Transit (ART) system.
Its chief executive officer Mazli Mustaffa emphasised the importance of feeder buses while also highlighting the potential of collaborating with e-hailing operators.
“Feeder buses play a critical role in ensuring smooth connectivity to the stations. However, we are also looking into collaboration with the e-hailing operators for this purpose.
“Some say and will comment that we are actually shooting at our own foot because we are working together with our competitor.
“E-hailing operators are definitely identified as competitors, but being competitors doesn’t mean we will always be competitors,” he said.
He illustrated this with the example of the Samarahan area, which suffers from severe traffic congestion, particularly during peak hours, making it comparable to the Klang Valley.
“This is where we collaborate. During peak hours, especially in the morning and evening, I believe no e-hailing operator will want to bring passengers to the city centre and vice versa.
“We can collaborate during peak hours and compete during non-peak hours, creating a win-win situation,” Mazli said.
He shared these insights during a forum titled ‘Forging Ahead: Keeping Up with Green Hydrogen Developments in Sarawak’ at the Asia Pacific Green Hydrogen (APGH) Conference and Exhibition at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching here yesterday.
He was responding to a question whether the feeder buses would be sufficient for the Greater Kuching population
“Based on our feasibility study, feeder buses will operate within a three-kilometre radius from the station and will help increase our ridership.
“However, there are many other ways to enhance first mile and last mile connectivity,” he said.
Sarawak Metro, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC), is responsible for implementing the Kuching Urban Transportation System (KUTS) project and ART, which form the backbone of the public transport system here.