Commuters May See A Fare Hike For LRT And Monorail

Commuters may see a fare hike for LRT and Monorail from October 31, when the first leg of the Ampang Line’s extension is opened.

Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar, chairman of the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) said the new fares would be applicable to Prasarana’s railways and implied that these might be higher.

“The public is interested to get the best service. (But) there is always the cost element.

“But at the same time, we want to make sure it is not a burden to the rakyat,” he told The Star.

Prasana, the company that runs the LRT and Monorail lines, had requested, in July, for SPAD to increase the fares, as the prices had remained the same since 2002.

Syed Hamid implied that the new fares would likely not affect other lines, such as the ERL and the KTM Komuter.

“This is (for) the LRT and Monorail, those that are operated by Prasarana,” he said.

He did not elaborate when asked how much of a price hike it might be, adding that this would be “pre-empting” the gazetting of the new fares.

Datuk Azmi Abdul Aziz, the managing director of the Prasarana group, said the first phase of the Ampang Line extension was 99.4% complete, with tests being carried out now.

The first phase of the extension is expected to serve another 40,000 riders using the Ampang Line every day.

Currently, the Ampang trains see some 195,000 commuters daily, while about 275,000 people take the Kelana Jaya Line every day.

There will also be brand new six-car train sets running on the Ampang Line. The new train sets are capable of carrying up to 1,200 people at one time, Syed Hamid added.

Seven more stations will be opened by March 31 on the full Ampang Line extension.

Ending at Putra Heights, the line will link with the Kelana Jaya extension project, which is on track for a June 30 completion.

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