The Federal Territories (FT) Ministry has proposed to the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) to consider allowing motorists to use any lane regardless of their payment method at toll plazas in the Klang Valley.
The proposal is part of the ministry’s bid to help ease the congestion around the capital city, especially during peak hours.
FT Minister Datuk Seri Jalaluddin Alias explained to The Star that currently, road users will have to change course towards the designated lane for their preferred method of payment when approaching a toll plaza.
“For example, an RFID user must pivot to the designated lane, and most times only one lane is provided.”
Jalaluddin believes that having to jostle for space to pay for the toll is one of the causes of congestion.
Other than that, the ministry also proposed for toll gates to be disabled temporarily during peak hours to allow for faster traffic dispersal.
Jalaluddin told reporters that the ministry has already directed the relevant authorities to identify alternative methods that will allow vehicles to pass through plazas faster during peak commute times.
Asked whether the FT Ministry has discussed the matter with the Transport Ministry, Jalaluddin points out that further planning needs to be made after getting feedback from LLM.
Meanwhile, the FT Ministry has already put several plans into action to help ease the traffic in the city like deploying a traffic task force comprising Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) personnel and the police.
Members of the task force will be deployed to 85 traffic hotspots to regulate traffic on major roads during peak hours. The police will monitor 72 locations while the remaining 13 will be handled by DBKL officers.
The ministry has already declared a ban of heavy vehicles weighing more than 7.5 tonnes from entering the city during peak hours of 6.30 am to 9.30 am and 4.30 pm to 7.30 pm. As a further reminder to road users, DBKL will be setting up signboards at strategic locations.
Other than that, DBKL officers will remove all roadside parking and traders in stages.
Calls for the government to review the traffic condition in Kuala Lumpur intensified in recent weeks, especially on social media, as frustration amongst road users grew over the constant congestion in the city.
In response, Jalaluddin said the ask force was studying several measures to tackle the problem in the long term.
Keyword: FT: Separate lanes for Smart Tag/RFID contributing to congestion, proposes to open all lanes for all payment methods