Penang Forum said the state government should do away with its “grandiose” RM46 billion Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) and to go ahead with a pure public transport-only master plan.

It wanted the state government to build tram and bus rapid transit lines. It said this was cheaper, easier to maintain and would ensure ridership in the long run.

At a press conference here, the coalition of NGOs launched its own 50-page transport master plan, dubbed “Better, Cheaper, Faster” (BCF), which is mostly gleaned from the earlier commissioned Halcrow Transport Master Plan.

Its plan can be viewed at www.bettercheaperfaster.my

The forum also initiated a signature campaign to reject the Penang Transport Master Plan. The signatures would later be sent to Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

In a nutshell, the forum proposed trams as opposed to Light Rail Transit (LRT) because:
trams make public transport more accessible at the road level;

• a tram line is easily integrated and visually pleasing without pillars;
• trams are quieter and produce less noise pollution;
• trams are environmentally friendly, as 3,000 trees will be spared the axe; and,
• trams are also flexible and easier to expand.

The Halcrow plan received the blessings of NGOs in 2011 and was later adopted by the state government in 2013 as the official transportation blueprint.

However, the plan was superseded by a new plan in 2015 when SRS Consortium won the right to reclaim three islands south of Penang to fund two LRTs, two monorails, a tramline and three highways.

The forum claims that the flawed plan was “fast tracked” and “approved” without consultation of NGOs.

Commenting on the plan, forum steering member Dr Shahrom Ahmat said it only served to move cars — not people.

“Currently, it appears that the basic principle of moving people, rather than cars, has been overtaken by other considerations.

“Hence, you have this ‘Big Bang’ approach. The Halcrow approach will cost RM27 billion. The ‘Big Bang’ project costs RM46 billion, without taking into account increases due to inflation.

“Because of this, we have reservations, questions and concerns. Not only for the future generation, but also for the current generation, too.”

Shahrom stressed that the “troublemaker” label put on the forum by certain quarters was uncalled for as the group was only articulating concerns based on facts, which it intends to do in a series of press meetings in the future.

Forum member Dr Lim Mah Hui said LRT lines proposed in the PTMP could bankrupt the state government, judging from the losses made by the LRT and monorail companies in Kuala Lumpur.

He said trams were more feasible, cheaper and would ensure ridership.

“KL’s LRTs only reached their target ridership 15 years after they were built. The KL experience should keep us awake to the fact that it is not easy to get ridership.

“LRT, in the long run, will cause more losses. We have to ask the state government why it selected LRT. It may say LRT can carry more people, but we say trams can also carry more people,” Lim said.

Explaining his point, Lim said LRT would cost RM250 million per km to construct, compared with trams which would cost only RM80 million per km.

He said according to Alstom, one of the world’s biggest tram manufacturing companies, the tram from George Town to the airport would only cost between 17 million euros and 25 million euros per kilometre.

Lim said the proposed LRT from George Town to the airport would cost RM4.4 billion, which was much more.

“Trams have a better carrying capacity, too. At any one time, LRTs can ferry only 18,500 people, compared with over 20,000 on trams.

“The operating and maintenance costs for trams are cheaper, at RM67 million per year compared with RM170 million for LRT.”

Another forum member, Khoo Salma, lamented the lack of “visualisation” in the PTMP’s public transport component.

She said the plan should include end-to-end visualisation, with public transport accessible as a person leaves home to reach his or her destination.

“The current proposal is very car-centric. It does not talk about carbon emissions and there is no public transport focus.

“The vision and facts presented are wrong. Ridership projection is pure fiction as it does not depend on numbers from the Department of Statistics.

“It has too many modes of transport and is poorly integrated.”

Khoo also criticised the state government for not making the documents related to the plan available for public scrutiny.

“There are not enough public consultations and it appears as if the plan is being rushed through,” she said.

Link to BCF website: www.bettercheaperfaster.my
Signature campaign: Petitioning Penang state government Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng