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Not a very good note to start this thread with but hope KL Monorail and ERL would come into an agreement with TnG 
One-card system for public transport stalled
BY LEONG SHEN-LI
PETALING JAYA: The Government spent RM10mil to set up electronic fare-card readers at KTM Komuter, monorail and Express Rail Link stations to allow commuters to use Touch 'n Go fare-cards on all systems. This was to make public transport in the Klang Valley more efficient.
But one-and-a-half years later, the fare-card readers remain idle because the rail operators and Rangkaian Segar Sdn Bhd, which runs the Touch 'n Go system, are still wrangling over the commission rate.
Sources said Rangkaian Segar wants 2.5%, while the rail operators were prepared to pay less than 2%.
This disagreement, they added, had resulted in the operators holding back implementation of the system.
“The system is ready. All that is needed is for the operators to agree and the cards can be accepted immediately,” the sources said.
However, there are indications that KTM Komuter is likely to adopt the system in July although KTM Bhd is still unhappy with the commission issue and will continue to push for a lower rate.
Under the common ticketing system, all public transport systems in the Klang Valley are to accept Touch 'n Go cards, allowing commuters to hop from one system to another without needing to buy new tickets.
Currently, KTM Komuter, KL Monorail, KLIA Ekspres and KLIA Transit, which carry a total of about 150,000 passengers a day, do not accept the cards, but the two light rail transit systems – Putraline and Starline – do.
Public transport operators have been reluctant to accept Rangkaian Segar's rate, saying the high commission will eat into their already narrow profit margins.
Rangkaian Segar, they argue, should recognise that public transport operators are not profit-oriented, unlike operators of privatised expressways, and should adjust the commission rate accordingly.
“However, Rangkaian Segar looks unlikely to budge on this matter,” a source said.
According to the sources, the operators have also appealed to the Government to step in but it has been reluctant to intervene directly because commissions are deemed “a commercial matter”.
Nevertheless, the Transport Ministry has organised several meetings between the different parties since the issue surfaced.
The sources said a breakthrough with KTM was finally reached last week.
But KTM was still unhappy with the commission issue and would continue to push for it to be reduced, they said.
Similar breakthroughs were not expected in negotiations with KL Infrastructure Group Bhd, the monorail's operator, and Express Rail Link, which operates the KLIA Ekspres and KLIA Transit.
“The two seem adamant about standing firm,” said a source.
When contacted, KTM Bhd managing director Datuk Mohd Salleh Abdullah declined to comment on the commission issue, but confirmed that KTM was looking at implementing the Touch 'n Go system in July.
One-card system for public transport stalled
BY LEONG SHEN-LI
PETALING JAYA: The Government spent RM10mil to set up electronic fare-card readers at KTM Komuter, monorail and Express Rail Link stations to allow commuters to use Touch 'n Go fare-cards on all systems. This was to make public transport in the Klang Valley more efficient.
But one-and-a-half years later, the fare-card readers remain idle because the rail operators and Rangkaian Segar Sdn Bhd, which runs the Touch 'n Go system, are still wrangling over the commission rate.
Sources said Rangkaian Segar wants 2.5%, while the rail operators were prepared to pay less than 2%.
This disagreement, they added, had resulted in the operators holding back implementation of the system.
“The system is ready. All that is needed is for the operators to agree and the cards can be accepted immediately,” the sources said.
However, there are indications that KTM Komuter is likely to adopt the system in July although KTM Bhd is still unhappy with the commission issue and will continue to push for a lower rate.
Under the common ticketing system, all public transport systems in the Klang Valley are to accept Touch 'n Go cards, allowing commuters to hop from one system to another without needing to buy new tickets.
Currently, KTM Komuter, KL Monorail, KLIA Ekspres and KLIA Transit, which carry a total of about 150,000 passengers a day, do not accept the cards, but the two light rail transit systems – Putraline and Starline – do.
Public transport operators have been reluctant to accept Rangkaian Segar's rate, saying the high commission will eat into their already narrow profit margins.
Rangkaian Segar, they argue, should recognise that public transport operators are not profit-oriented, unlike operators of privatised expressways, and should adjust the commission rate accordingly.
“However, Rangkaian Segar looks unlikely to budge on this matter,” a source said.
According to the sources, the operators have also appealed to the Government to step in but it has been reluctant to intervene directly because commissions are deemed “a commercial matter”.
Nevertheless, the Transport Ministry has organised several meetings between the different parties since the issue surfaced.
The sources said a breakthrough with KTM was finally reached last week.
But KTM was still unhappy with the commission issue and would continue to push for it to be reduced, they said.
Similar breakthroughs were not expected in negotiations with KL Infrastructure Group Bhd, the monorail's operator, and Express Rail Link, which operates the KLIA Ekspres and KLIA Transit.
“The two seem adamant about standing firm,” said a source.
When contacted, KTM Bhd managing director Datuk Mohd Salleh Abdullah declined to comment on the commission issue, but confirmed that KTM was looking at implementing the Touch 'n Go system in July.
