INEFFICIENT urban planning, policies that encourage private vehicle ownership and the tendency for the agencies concerned to work in silos are among the reasons why it is difficult to resolve the nation’s traffic congestion woes, said experts.
They also predict that the situation will become worse in the coming years if the authorities continue to adopt a band-aid approach of merely treating the superficial “wounds” without addressing the real underlying causes, Bernama reported.
If the situation persists, there are also concerns that efforts to develop the country’s economy will not reach their full potential as traffic congestion is among the main factors inhibiting workforce productivity.
Pointing out that traffic congestion is caused by interconnected factors, public land transportation expert Wan Agyl Wan Hassan pointed out that what the authorities are currently doing is implementing steps to “treat” the problem of congestion on specific roads.
“When a road is congested, what is their solution? Build a new road (highway). This is what the authorities are doing,” he told the news agency.
“In my opinion, we already have too many roads (highways). We need to abandon this approach, which clearly does not solve the problem.”
Wan Agyl further noted that the primary cause of traffic congestion is inefficient urban planning or land use, adding that land use planning is done based mainly on economic growth, leading to the creation of high-density areas with no access to a proper public transportation system.
The former head of policy and planning (group operations) at the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) also suggested contradictory policies as another reason the government finds it difficult to resolve the issue.
“We have policies that encourage the use of public transportation but, at the same time, we have automotive policies that encourage people to own private vehicles,” he remarked.
“I say ‘encourage’ because it is very easy for the public to buy cars. Moreover, our country produces its own vehicles targeting the local market.”
It has been reported that the number of registered vehicles in Malaysia reached 36.3 million units as of October 2023, with nearly 24 million vehicles still in active use.
Wan Agyl added in the eagerness to approve new developments, local authorities have also failed to plan their public land transportation networks efficiently, especially in terms of user convenience.
For instance, the ‘first-and-last-mile’ aspect is neglected, which means no facilities are provided to make it easier for the public to use public transportation, he said, citing the lack of covered bus stops or parking areas near public transportation hubs as an example.
“Chaotic. That’s what I can say about our public transportation planning… there are all kinds of problems but we don’t know how to fix them,” he added.
Concurring, Universiti Malaya urban and regional planning expert Dr Noor Hashimah Hashim Lim reckoned that it is the failure of the authorities to provide comprehensive solutions that has prevented the public from fully benefitting from what she believes is already a good public transportation system.
“The first-and-last-mile connectivity greatly influences a person’s decision to use public transportation such as MRT and LRT. For instance, the map might show it takes only eight minutes to walk from the LRT station to our destination, but in reality, it is not that simple,” she told Bernama.
“So, in measuring the actual distance, we must consider several other factors such as comfort and safety.”
Noor Hashimah also pointed to the imbalance in urban and regional planning as one of the main contributors to traffic congestion issues.
The problem, she added, is exacerbated by the fact that each agency and ministry responsible for development “works in isolation”.
“Each of them works and produces development documents in silo. For instance, local authorities can only prepare development plans for areas under their respective administration and all local authorities come under the Housing and Local Government Ministry. Such a situation may cause imbalances in development among districts.
“The other thing is that imbalances in development may also occur between urban and rural areas since rural planning comes under a different agency, namely the Rural and Regional Development Ministry,” she said.
While traffic congestion is an inevitable part of the urbanisation process and in the Malaysian context, the issue is further compounded by the concentration of the majority of the population in urban areas, Noor Hashimah suggested.
Noor Hashimah said traffic congestion is an inevitable part of the urbanisation process and in the context of this country, the issue is compounded by the concentration of the majority of the population in urban areas.
Citing data from the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) she pointed out that according to DOSM, 95% of the land in this country comprises rural areas, meaning only 5% is considered urban land.
“Therefore, imagine 78% of (our nation’s) population is concentrated in this 5% urban land – of course its congested,” she added.
Meanwhile, Wan Agyl predicted that the traffic situation will worsen in the next five years if no serious measures are taken, adding that among the negative consequences could be losses in terms of productivity due to workers being lethargic or quitting their jobs, along with a hike in road accidents.
“Currently, there are no studies on productivity losses as a result of traffic congestion. However, can someone who endures hours of traffic congestion give their best when they arrive at work?” he asked.
He believed that if the time spent commuting to work is evaluated in monetary terms, the country could be losing billions of ringgit each year. – June 21, 2024
Main pic credit: 123RF
