PUTRAJAYA — Public transport modes throughout the country will only be allowed to operate from 6am to 10am and 5pm to 10pm daily, effective tomorrow (March 25) during the movement control order (MCO) period.
Transport Minister Dr Wee Ka Siong in a statement today said this was in line with the announcement by Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob yesterday, on land public transport mode.
The transport modes include stage buses, free service buses such as GoKL and Smart Selangor, all feeder buses, rail services including light rail transit (LRT), monorail, mass rapid transit (MRT), express rail link (ERL) and Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB).
“However, taxi and e-hailing services may continue to operate as usual in accordance with the guidelines as set previously,“ he said.
According to Wee it was difficult to come to the decision as many, especially the B40 group depended on public transport as their mode of transportation.
“It is necessary to take this step to prevent too many people from gathering in one place as they commute on public transport,” he said adding that we need to be consistent in breaking the chain of COVID-19 infection.
He said it was reported that there was a drop in passengers using public transport since the MCO was enforced on March 18 up to March 22.
Stage buses, free buses and feeder buses, all have shown a total of 91.63 per cent decrease in passengers, he said.
He added that commuter services recorded a 89.25 per cent drop, rail services including LRT, MRT and monorail services saw a decline of 95.09 per cent while ERL passengers decreased by 87.08 per cent during the same period.
However he said for now, express bus services in Peninsular Malaysia will operate as usual as they were required to provide transportation for individuals involved in providing important or essential services.
“Once again I wish to advise the public not to leave their homes unless it is really urgent to ensure the MCO is effectively enforced, in efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 infection,” he said
— BERNAMA
