Johor – People-friendly Transport System
Under Iskandar Malaysia, one of the areas earmarked for improvement is transportation. Whether you’re a commuter of public transport or a person who treasures your own individual vehicle, there’s plenty to look forward to in terms of swift, smooth travel for all, throughout the state.
Rapid growth can often bring major challenges to a city’s or community’s quality of life, which often take the form of traffic congestion, deteriorating environment (botih natural and man-made) and marginalisation of vulnerable groups such as the poor, the elderly and the disabled. It is here that city leaders and planners can make a difference in spearheading strategic growth that puts people first. This can lead to significant improvements in quality of life.
In this respect, the Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) has asserted and proven that the benefits of Iskandar Malaysia are meant to be enjoyed by the people. Already a key industrial and commercial centre, the economic zone is gearing up for further rapid physical, economic and demographic growth. Its urban planning is now focused on building Iskandar Malaysia’s various components, decentralizing it, and finding ways to integrate existing and new metropolitan hubs, in a sustainable manner.
The efforts seem to be paying off – the economic zone has already been undergoing extensive redevelopment in the past three to four years with improved roads, highways and interchanges, cleaner rivers, treated sewerage and flood mitigation projects, better connectivity and public transport facilities. These improvements are expected to contribute towards smoother traffic flow, reduced travelling time, minimum flash floods in the city centre and improved bus service.
Public Transport to Fulfill Societal Needs
Public transport, in particular, is an area highly prioritised by IRDA, which even established two important transport-related committees – the Iskandar Malaysia Transport Steering Committee to provide governance and the Iskandar Malaysia Public Transport Team as the implementation vehicle for its planned public transport improvements, with the Johor Economic Planning Unit as the lead agency.
One key initiative is the Bus Iskandar Malaysia service, a joint effort by the State Government, IRDA, Pasukan Pengangkutan Awam Iskandar Malaysia (PAIM) and various bus operators in Iskandar Malaysia. The project sees public buses servicing previously unserved routes, termed social routes, to close the service gap for some residential areas and emerging areas in Iskandar Malaysia. Under the initiative, 34 buses have been introduced to ply 16 new social routes since 19 December 2009. Bus Iskandar Malaysia buses are equipped with GPS and CCTV, and operated by trained and courteous drivers. The initiative is expected to deliver a more reliable, efficient, comfortable and safer bus services on the social routes.
Swifter Travel with New Highways
Iskandar Malaysia is also seeing the development of a host of new highways and expressways, leading to smoother and swifter travel. The Eastern Dispersal Link (EDL) highway, for one, is expected to reduce traffic congestion on most major roads within Johor Baru and shorten travelling time by almost half, when it is completed and open for public use by February 2012. The state capital and its namesake district currently bear witness to some major congestion on roads such as Jalan Tun Razak (along which some 150,000 vehicles travel daily), Jalan Tebrau/Pandan (111,000 vehicles daily), Jalan Skudai/Jalan Abu Bakar and Jalan Stulang (each with 30,000 vehicles daily).
Another highway, the Senai-Desaru Expressway (SDE), will see its second phase, a 27km stretch, turning fully operational by early 2011. Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman announced in early April that the remaining stretch of the highway, including the 1.7km-long bridge spanning Sungai Johor, would be accessible to the public by February or March next year. The RM1.3 billion roadworks involve construction of the highway proper, the bridge and toll plazas. The project is almost 90% complete and works such as toll system installation, traffic control and other fittings are scheduled to commence this month.
Ireka awarded contract to build interchange
Meanwhile, IRDA has also awarded a RM36.24 million contract to Ireka Engineering & Construction Sdn Bhd (a wholly-owned unit of Iretka Corp Bhd), to build an interchange for the proposed Bandar Indahpura, Kulai-Second Link Expressway. The contract period runs for 18 months from the date of handover of site and completion is expected to be in October 2011.
Clearly, the efforts on the part of IRDA and other relevant authorities are aimed at increasing efficiency and productivity of transportation, and integrating them with other components such as -use planning and housing development, so they support one another to improve the quality of life in Iskandar Malaysia. Hopefully, this people-first strategy will be rewarded with an increase in investment, sustainable growth and desirable demographics.
