2411) NEW STRAITS TIMES – 2/12/15 – NEW ERL RATES WILL BE ‘HIGHEST IN THE REGION’
05 Dec 2015
KUALA LUMPUR: From Jan 1 next year, it will be more
expensive to travel from the city centre to the Kuala Lumpur International
Airport (KLIA), than from the Bangkok city centre to Suvarnabhumi Airport, or
even the Singapore city centre to Changi Airport by rail.
The RM55 travelers will have to fork out for a trip from the city to its
international airport will be an astounding 10 times more compared to
Thailand’s 45 Baht (RM5.30) fare and Singapore’s SGD 1.77 (RM5.32).
“Yes, our ERL rates will be the highest in the region,” said
Muslim Consumer Association’s (PPIM) chief activist Datuk Nadzim Johan, in
response to the rate hike announced by Express Rail Link Sdn Bhd (ERL), which
will take place on Jan 1.
“It is an outrageous, unethical hike. ERL must justify the
reason. Based on the figures, it is among the most expensive in the region. It
will burden the consumers,” he said.
Labeling the decision as “madness” and without
justification, Nadzim said there were no reasonable grounds for the hike,
adding that the timing was wrong given the current economic situation.
Nadzim also called on the government to look into this
matter and not bow down to the requests of public transport concessionaires.
“We want the government to look into this as the government
has the power to not oblige by their request,” said Nadzim, adding that the
Land Public Transport Commission (Spad) or Transport Ministry should control
any price hike.
Meanwhile, Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association CEO
Datuk Paul Selvaraj said the hike was exorbitant, making it unaffordable for
commuters.
Paul said while the idea was to encourage people to use
public transportation, the steep hike discouraged commuters from using the
services. “Public transport should be made accessible and affordable.
Price is a factor in encouraging commuters to use a service
but the hike now will certainly impact badly on the company,” said Paul.
Paul said price hikes were expected occurrences, but they
should be done gradually. He said the public transport concessionaire should
not have delayed their price hike for a number of years, then ‘jolt’ the public
with a sudden hike.
Yesterday, ERL announced that a one-way trip between KL
Sentral and KLIA/KLIA2 will cost RM55 starting next month.
Its chief executive officer Noormah Mohd Noor said this was
the first revision made since the service commenced operations almost 14 years
ago, which would see the fare increase from RM35 to RM55.
*Fares
calculated were based on daily foreign exchange and on prices provided by
foreign train service providers on their website. For Singapore the rate is
based from Raffles Place to Changi Airport. **The rail length from KL Sentral
to KLIA is 57km and from Bangkok city to Suvarnabhumi Airport, 28.6km. The
distance from Raffles Place to Changi is estimated to be approximately 20kms.
Sumber : http://www.nst.com.my/news/2015/12/115143/new-erl-rates-will-be-highest-region
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