GEORGE TOWN: The Federal and Penang governments have been told not to gamble on the state's first light rail transit (LRT) speculative business venture, which is expected to begin works at the end of this year.

State Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) vice-chairman Ravinder Singh said, instead, both governments should seriously look at other modern means of mass transportation that were more versatile and cost very much less.

He said Kuching, Johor and Cyberjaya were already running the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT).

"Why did they not opt for the outdated LRT?

"What does an LRT system depend on for its viability? Ridership as the fuel.

"Does the Penang LRT have enough riders to keep it afloat? Ridership is determined by the numbers of riders, of the convenience and cost of riding it over other modes of transport. Can Penang provide all this?" he asked.

It was reported yesterday that work on phase one of Penang's LRT project is expected to begin at the end of this year.

This followed several matters agreed upon between the federal government, represented by Transport Minister Anthony Loke and the state government, represented by Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, during a meeting here yesterday.

Among them was to expand the alignment from the Penang International Airport (PIA) to Tanjung Bungah instead of the previous alignment that stopped in Komtar.

Another important matter was the location of the LRT depot at an existing site on Penang island as opposed to earlier proposed site on the Silicon Island, to be reclaimed under the Penang South Island (PSI) project.

Explaining, Ravinder said the LRT line did not pass through densely populated areas like Relau, and neither through high-worker density areas like the big industries along the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway, from Queensbay Mall to Batu Maung.

"So who will 'fuel' the LRT?"

"A very good insight was given by the consultant who prepared the Penang Local Plan 2030 at a briefing I attended in Balik Pulau last December.

"He said the LRT was a 'park and ride' system. Asked if there was land near all the stations to build multi-storey parks, he did not answer.

"The alignment of the line from Komtar to the PIA then showed 18 stations and only four with car parks.

"It is therefore misleading to call it a 'park and ride' system," he added.

Secondly, Ravinder said, the consultant revealed something more critical - high-density apartments would be built near the stations to provide ridership for the LRT.

"Isn't this a big gamble? Penang already has a property overhang of about 5,500 units worth RM3.56 billion and this is not counting those sold but not occupied.

"How many housing units will there be in the 'high-density' apartments near the stations? Who will occupy them, as Penang's population is not growing (according to the statistics dept)?

"So the LRT developers are counting on attracting hundreds of thousands of people from outside the state to occupy the high-density apartments and hoping they will ride the LRT daily.

"If this fantasy does not turn into reality, what happens to the LRT that does not have enough ridership? Who will subsidise to make up for the missing ridership?" he questioned.

As such, Ravinder said this made the LRT a purely speculative business venture by some vested interests to make money and not a solution to Penang's traffic jams.

Up until now, he noted, the public have not been told how much it will cost to ride the LRT.

"Will it be cost effective to ride the LRT compared to using their conventional modes of transport?

"If for the first and last mile (for to-and-fro journeys) people have to use Grab or other transport, that can cost about RM40.00.

"Add the LRT ticket, the total for one LRT journey can very well reach RM50.00.

"Does this make it attractive to use the LRT?" he said.

During a visit to the state recently, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had said that the federal government had agreed to provide additional funds to the Penang government to expedite the development of the LRT project in the state.

He had acknowledged that traffic congestion had been a longstanding issue in Penang and that the state was in need of a LRT system as a solution.

Anwar had said that he would hold a discussion with the Penang government soon to find a solution and formulate how to fund the project.

Penang had proposed a LRT as part of its multi-billion ringgit Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) project which will comprise an LRT, three paired roads and an undersea tunnel to solve traffic problems.

https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2023/05/915240/penang-lrt-project-not-viable-dream-prm