A report in the Financial Times (FT) said while the older rail lines from the 1990s were operating close to capacity during rush hours, the MRT line, which opened in December 2016, was underused.
Costing RM23 billion to build, excluding land and consulting costs, the line has a maximum capacity of 400,000 to 500,000 people per day.
Prasarana Malaysia, which operates the line, had said it would carry 150,000 passengers daily by mid-2017, but the January 2018 numbers showed just 132,000 passengers a day, the report said.
“The slower-than-expected growth in passenger numbers means that the new line is currently no match for congestion,” it said, adding that half of the respondents to FT’s Kuala Lumpur fourth quarter 2017 survey said traffic would get worse this year despite better rail connections.
Only 16% said the situation would improve.
The survey had also shown a larger rise in public transport use in Kuala Lumpur than in the other Asean-5 capitals, except Jakarta, following an expansion in the rail network.
The Asean-5 comprises Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
The same survey also suggested that the number of people using public transport in Kuala Lumpur will grow strongly this year.
However, Kuala Lumpur has the lowest proportion of people using public transport despite having the most developed rail network, the FT report said.
Malaysia has the highest passenger car ownership rate in Southeast Asia. Based on official government data, the country had an estimated 415 passenger cars for every 1,000 people in 2017.
Thailand, Asean’s car manufacturing hub, was second with 166 passenger cars per 1,000 people. This dependence on private cars has led to Kuala Lumpur’s congestion problem.
The World Bank estimated that road congestion in and around Kuala Lumpur reduced Malaysia’s 2014 gross domestic product by between 1.1% and 2.2%.
Cost, inconvenience holding back MRT ridership, says think tank
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/leisure/2014/04/25/what-are-traffic-jams-costing-you/
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2011/03/02/no-end-to-kls-traffic-jams/
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2013/07/19/end-of-congestion/