The success of Dego is establishing itself in Kuala Lumpur is evidence that the Federal Government has failed to roll out sufficient public transport to cater to the needs of Malaysians stuck in traffic. Deputy Minister Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi, in answering a question today in Parliament is right that first world countries do not have motorbike taxis, and that is because first world countries have good public transport systems.
Until we put in place a proper public transport network, we should not add to the consumer’s burden by removing Dego, a well-functioning choice for commuters stuck in heavy traffic.
The desire to emulate Singapore, Tokyo, London and New York, as highlighted by the deputy minister starts with rolling out a complete public transport network. While we have announced a few rail projects, that is not enough, as all the MRT projects will not even cover a fraction of the Klang Valley population.
The first step that Putrajaya must take, via its agency SPAD is to complete the first mile and last mile in the Klang Valley. Everyone should be able to walk not more than 400m to a train station or bus stop, a situation that we do not have today.
Buses must be more frequent, as no one wants to wait more than 15 minutes for a bus, let alone 30-60minutes as is the case today. SPAD needs to triple the number of buses on the road in the Klang Valley, to bring us close to the number of buses per capita as the 4 cities quoted by the Deputy Minister.
Deputy Minster of Transport, if you fail to put in place proper and functioning public transport, please do not penalize Dego, something that works and serves many well in Kuala Lumpur.