Selangor govt to develop its own public transport master plan

SHAH ALAM: The Selangor state government will be coming up with its own public transport master plan within six months as a basis for discussions concerning federal-funded transport related developments, Mentri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali said today.
Azmin said this is so that both the state and federal governments can work together and better pinpoint traffic issues in the state that needs addressing.
"I have informed the minister about our intention to formulate a public transport master plan; the report will be completed in six months and it will be presented to the Works Ministry," he told reporters after a meeting with the Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof at the state secretariat.
"When there are federal-funded transport-related developments that will be implemented in Selangor, we will use the master plan and discuss with the Federal Government," he added.
Azmin, who is also Gombak MP and Bukit Antarabangsa assemblyman, said he suggested to the minister that the targeted public transport to private transport usage ratio by year 2020 be changed from 40:60 to 60:40 and focus more on public mobility.
He said this is because with 60% of the population in the state still using private transportation, the Malaysia Highway Authority (MHA) would still need to build more highways to move the vehicles around.
When asked if the controversial Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex) was brought up in the meeting, Azmin said the minister did not raise the issue and maintained that the state government will not allow the highway to be built.
Fadillah said their discussions focused on public expressways such as the Federal Highway and an overview of transportation in the state.
He said he and the state government have to conduct further discussions with the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) and Prasarana Berhad as public transport does not come under the purview of the Works Ministry.