Yesterday I passed through 18 toll booths. I had to pay tolls 18 times, in just one day. I’m not sure if it’s my personal best, but it definitely has a strong case to be, considering the high tally.
I drove from Shah Alam to KLCC (Federal-NPE-SMART) to Sunway (SMART-NPE) to Proton (LDP-KESAS) to Kelana Jaya (KESAS-LDP) to TTDI (LDP) to Gombak (Penchala Link-DUKE) to KLCC (MRR2-AKLEH) to Shah Alam (Federal) to Kelana Jaya (Federal) to Shah Alam (Federal).
Yes, perhaps there were 1 or 2 places where I could have avoided toll roads, but as usual, I was always chasing time.
Everyone keeps saying the traffic in Klang Valley is bad. But if you compare it to other cities, especially the cities in neighboring countries, its traffic is actually not that bad. It is much much better than Jakarta or Bangkok, in which you can often be stuck at the same place for 2-3 hours.
For me, our government is quite proactive in building new access roads, especially around Kuala Lumpur. The latest is DUKE, which strategically cuts thru the northern region of KL. We already have a network of highways connecting various places within Klang Valley. Plus, we now have the engineering marvels of underground and elevated highways such as SMART, AKLEH (Ampang Elevated Highway), Kerinchi Link and MEX (KL-Putrajaya) - shortuts which great for people who are always in a rush, like me.
What I am not happy about, though, are the ridiculous toll rates.
I found that On February 25, the DAP proposed for a toll-free North-South Expressway by 2016 that is claimed to be able to save taxpayers RM14 billion. I don’t know whether the proposed idea will work, but it sure is interesting. Btw, I’m not pro-DAP, I’m just pro-reasonable-living-cost.
I believe toll rates should be proportionate to traffic volume. It makes no sense to raise the toll rates to ‘cover costs’ when traffic volume increases exponentially each year. Logically, the toll rates should be reduced as more motorists are sharing the ‘costs’. Yes, with more traffic, the maintenance costs will be higher, but there’ll be more payers to cover them too.
Highways should not be continuous wealth machines, serving to fill the bulging pockets of wealthy concession holders and well-connected companies. Toll rates should correlate with traffic volume and not at the mercy of highway concession holders. That way, it makes more sense for every cent spent on toll rates.
naik la motor, tayah bayar tol, jimat masa boleh cilok-cilok
10 Jun 09 at 11:54 am #motor pon orait gak, tapi nak gendong laptop lagik, nak bawak co profile lagik, nak bawa proposal lagik dan berbagai jenis kertas….tentunya tidak sesuai menunggang motosikal….terutamanya di malaysia yang hujannya turun sepanjang tahun…
public transport kann man einfach vergessen….you can just forget it…..
kereta is the best option available….kerajaan perlu menimbangkan kadar tol di negara Malaysia…jangan terlalu tamak untuk mengaut keuntungan dengan kadar cepat….
10 Jun 09 at 12:55 pm #naik motor ok jugak. tapi kadang2, naik motor tak praktikal.
satu lagi, naik motor ni bahaya sket. kalau accident, teruk sebab takde protection.. salah kita sendiri pun kita sakit.. salah orang lain pun kita sakit gak..
26 Jun 09 at 3:09 pm #What bothers me is they keep revising the concession.
23 Nov 09 at 3:47 pm #