Does having a "second driver" really make your long-distance bus ride safer?

Come on, how many times do you see a tired driver wake up his driver-mate from slumber to replace him at the wheel? In my case, never. And, I travel a lot by express buses commuting between Johor Bharu and Kuala Lumpur.

I personally think that a second driver, though may help to ease driver's fatigue, it is not an answer to reducing accidents. There must be another way.

I think the answer may be in better rostering method that guarantee adequate rest prior to driving. Rest should not happen en-route. You cannot get quality rest anyway while on duty. As most destination in West Malaysia is within 8-hour drive, this is not impossible indeed. Look and learn from the airline on how do the airlines manage and roster their flight crew.


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In dire need of a "National Transportation Policy"

Policy sets direction. Hence, a National Transportation Policy, if exist, will spell how we should plan our transportation system in the country. The absence of such a national policy for a rapidly growing country as ours will create chaos, transportation-wise. Many transportation issues that plague our country like low adoption of public transportation, intermingled roles among government agencies, etc. are the result of lack of direction.

Moving without direction is what transportation should not be!


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RM40 billion MRT project in Greater Kuala Lumpur

On October 15, 2010, Prime Minister Dato'Seri Najib announced the 2011 budget proposal. Of the many good news, one strikes me off my chair. The government had approved the allocation of RM40 billion (approx. USD13 billion) MRT (mass rapid transit) project in Greater Kuala Lumpur.

As professional transport planner, this is indeed great news which I accept with high hope that it will finally improve Kuala Lumpur traffic woes. However, I must say that, at the same time, I am also sceptical of the success as MRT alone is not enough to encourage people to use public transport and leave their cars at home.

Having the pull factor, i.e offering MRT, without some tough push factors will almost put the project's success in jeopardy. In some near future, I expect the government to spell out measures that will discourage commuters to drive their private vehicles. If the government failed to implement/introduce these push factors like limiting parking spaces in the city or having congestion pricing, the proposed MRT will receive the same fate as our existing LRT systems which failed to attract drivers.

As a final note, I also hope that the government will try harder to improve our existing public transport systems especially public buses and KTM Komuter which together will form an important feeder link to the proposed MRT.

Why I hate myself for using KTM Komuter and do not feel guilty about it.

Today, I waited for almost half an hour for a train to arrive at Setia Jaya. For a busy person like me this is unbearable, not to mention a sheer waste of my precious time. No wonder business people shun away from using public transport.

Good transport network is essential for vibrant economy

Cities that have good transport network are better positioned to achieve higher economic success. The good news is that the size of the cities does not matter. An article on Smartplanet describes a study of a small town called Bentonville in the state of Arkansas, USA which has successfully developed it's economy with improved transport network. So, if small cities in Malaysia dream of achieving better economic growth, city planners must start rethinking their transport strategy to ensure communities and industries are well connected.

US Launch Smart Highway

US today launch a smart highway, Highway I-5, in Seattle, Washington which has high-tech traffic management systems to help drivers drive faster and safer to their destination (Read More ...). Will Malaysia one day have similar highways? How will that affect our mobility? Will citizens now prefer driving than using public transport?

Smart Highway (source: Traffic Technology Today)

Workshop on Urban Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), August 2010

Bus Rapit Transit (BRT) has been successfully implemented in many cities like Curitiba, Brazil; Bogota, Colombia; Guangzhou, China; Seoul, South Korea; and many others. A cheaper alternative than Light Rail Transit (LRT), but can be as effective as Mass Rapit Transit (MRT) to move large volume of passengers if planned properly. I attended the workshop which was conducted by GTZ (Technical Cooperation Agency, Republic of Germany) and led by Senior Transport Advisor, Mr. Manfred.

A BRT in Seoul, South Korea