It’s always packed. Sometimes like a ‘sardine in a can’ when it’s right after office hours. This was what happened to me every time I take the MRT in Singapore. I think it is already a lifestyle in Singapore. In fact most Singaporeans I know are slimmer than Malaysians I know, especially those who drive to work. 🙂 Perhaps this may change? According to Rapid Rail Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Zohar Sulaiman, the daily ridership for the MRT Sungai Buloh-Kajang Line (MRT SBK) has surpassed the 140,000 mark on Saturday. He said, “The statistics are actually even more flattering as normally, daily ridership is highest on weekdays when people are working. In this case, we have 142,313 on a weekend, on Saturday and, looking at the report from my staff on ground, we should be having a very high ridership today as well.” Full article in NST here: New Sungai Buloh-Kajang MRT daily ridership hits 140,000 mark
The ridership has yet to include me but it has included many friends who continues to update their ride in their Facebook. Actually, MRT is not the first public transport that we have. LRT and Monorail has been around for a very long time. However, perhaps this time, it is accompanied by lots of media coverage and perhaps this time, the routes are covering a lot more neighbourhoods with more people. Perhaps this time, it is also helped by the fact that parking fee is increasing together with expressways with tolls which adds up to a lot every month. RM7 for parking per day x 22 working days = RM154 plus a usual RM5 to and fro times 22 days = RM110. This would be the minimum per month which is NOT avoidable. Taking the MRT would enable us to save RM264 per month or RM3,168 per year. Seriously, in my career lifetime of 30 years, this would be close to RM100,000. By the way, the toll and parking will only increase in price while the MRT fare, well, it’s far harder to increase because this is a public transportation. (Now you know why nearly all public transportation needs government subsidy, except for Hong Kong and it’s not even from the fare. It’s from the leasing of office buildings built on MRT land…)
I know, some would now say that the parking at the MRT stations itself is limited plus it’s also expensive. At the moment, I do not think there’s a perfect solution. Perhaps it’s best to walk a bit and take the bus perantara (MRT bus link) instead. From my observation thus far, it is pretty on time and as of now, all the buses are new too. My friend suggested that we take the bus to his home in Choa Chu Kang in Singapore when I reached the MRT station. He said the bus would stop about 100 metres away. If we walk, it would be around 800 metres. I told him, ‘Walk lah…’ We walked. I think this needs some getting used to. I promise I will try but as for getting used to, I am used to walking 800 metres every day to take the bus or to walk home from the bus stop. Okay, that’s when I was much younger but as I grow older, it may be wiser to walk more. The 3Hs are coming if I don’t do more physical activities. High cholesterol, High blood pressure and High Sugar (leading to diabetes) Happy taking the MRT. It should just be known as Malaysians Ride This (MRT)!
written on 23 July 2017
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