I am still in Sandakan, Sabah for my Chinese New Year holidays. Thus, I am unable to enjoy the 18% discount on PLUS expressways until coming Monday (3rd February 2020). I hope everyone enjoys this 18% discount which will be in place until 2058. To be objective, it’s true that with the inclusion of yearly inflation, if the toll rate remains the same, we are actually paying a lower amount with each passing year. This is of course not something new.
It’s called the Time Value of Money. Briefly, definition can be found here. Explained very briefly, money today is MORE than the money many years later. The reason is because the money we have today has potential earning capacity; we could use it to earn more money. Imagine a mortgage of RM2,500 per month today. We may be struggling to pay for it but if the mortgage amount remains exactly the same for the next 30 years, we will soon feel that the amount is small because every year, our salary continues to grow.
Whether or not our purchasing power increases is another matter. As long as the monthly mortgage remains the same, our burden will become lighter with each passing year. Note though that that PLUS expressways toll rate is stretched over a much longer period, so we may not actually be paying lesser yeah, even if it’s fixed. Depending on many circumstances, the actual amount we pay may still be more but anyway, you understand my point too.
Article in carsifu.com Toll rates will be down by 18% beginning 1st February 2020. This is for all highways operated by PLUS expressway. This reduction is applicable for passenger vehicles, buses and taxis except for commercial vehicles. The toll rates for private cars on Penang’s Second Bridge will also be equated with toll rates new First Bridge of Penang after 18% discount starting Feb 1 2020.
These are the PLUS expressways. North-South Expressway, New Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE), Seremban – Port Dickson Highway (SPDH), North-South Expressway Central Circle (ELITE), Malaysia–Singapore Second Link (LINKEDUA), East Coast Highway Phase 2 (LPT 2), Butterworth – Kulim Expressway (BKE), Penang Bridge and Penang Second Bridge. Do refer to the full Article in carsifu.com
I think this has been finalised. It has also been announced by all major medias. Earlier article here: EPF members continue to own PLUS together As long as the number of cars continue to rise by 600,000 every year, I think PLUS will continue to enjoy higher profits even with a lower toll rate. Happy enjoying both the potential dividends for our EPF savings and the toll rate discount yeah.
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