Ridza Abdoh Salleh said subsidies would “kill” the company’s motivation and innovation.
“Once you kill the motivation and innovation, you kill the organisation,” he said in an interview with BFM on the evolution of Kuala Lumpur’s public transport system.
Ridza, who served as Prasarana’s CEO from 2003 to 2005, said based on statements he read, he had the impression that the company was being subsidised.
Last year, Prasarana said it would spend RM2.8 billion to improve train and bus services, including replacing equipment and increasing the number of trains and buses.
Group president and CEO Azharuddin Mat Sah said the provision given by the finance and transport ministries involves the entire public transport service under the management of Prasarana following high demand for its services, especially among Klang Valley residents.
When tabling Budget 2024 last October, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said subsidies for public transport such as buses, trains and air services will continue to be provided to guarantee the continuity of best services for the people.
Anwar said the 180,000 Klang Valley residents who use Prasarana’s bus and rail services for their daily commutes will continue to enjoy the My50 monthly pass, which offers unlimited travel on all Rapid KL rail and bus services for RM50 a month.
Separately, Ridza felt that Prasarana was not taking advantage of technology to reach out to commuters.
Currently, commuters would not know when their bus would arrive at a bus stop, he said.
“But if one knows when a bus is arriving, even if it’s a 20-minute interval, it is still okay and they won’t need to waste their time wondering when the bus will be coming.”
Meanwhile, public transport activist Afiq Daniel said the frequency of buses had decreased over time mainly because the existing fleet of buses was now covering a larger area.
“We still have the same number of buses — about 1,400 — in Kuala Lumpur as we did back in 1997 although the Klang Valley has expanded and its population has increased since then.
“So buses that used to cover the Petaling district, Kuala Lumpur, Gombak and maybe Ampang now also have to cover places like Kuala Selangor, Klang, Kajang and Semenyih.”