KUALA LUMPUR: Only half of the motorists or sometimes fewer adhere to the Travel Time Advisory issued by PLUS Malaysia Bhd which says following it will save two hours in travelling time.
PLUS chief operating officer Mohammad Fuad Khusairi said the compliance rate for those travelling from Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur to their hometowns in the North or South was only 36% last year.
“Those who followed our advised times, however, found it a breeze to drive back home,” he said.
He said the travel advisory and details on the rebates were available on their website and urged motorists to follow them.
“The advisory is something that we have implemented since the Merdeka weekend of 2007 and it has since been extended to all major holidays due to its success.
“The schedule is drawn up based on statistics of vehicle movements which we track based on their entry and exit points during peak and off-peak periods on the highway,” he said.
Mohammad Fuad said Malaysia was quite unique because all the public holidays and the motorists’ travelling patterns were different from neighbouring countries.
“Following the advisory is the only way around the matter but of course, other factors such as accidents could cause unexpected build ups as well,” he said, adding that bumper-to-bumper accidents, breakdowns and motorists driving on the emergency lane were the main causes of traffic congestion.
He said more benefits were in store for travellers as PLUS was offering discounts amounting to RM6mil to those opting for cashless transactions when paying their toll.
He said that to facilitate traffic management for the coming Chinese New Year holiday period, 1,500 officials including those from Rela and the police would be on standby along the North-South Expressway.
“We also have a team conducting surveillance via helicopter and they will provide up-to-date information on congestion, accidents and general monitoring of the traffic flow,” he said.
On suggestions that travelling via the trunk road or coastal road would help, he said the roads were often as congested as the highway during peak hours.
“We do not have figures to support this but our officials on helicopters are able to see it when doing their rounds,” he said.
Generally, the traffic along the highway increased by 40% during holiday periods which translates to about 1.5 million vehicles.
“You have to expect some kind of delay if you choose to travel during peak periods, so be prepared,” he said.
