Long-term toll-free solution needed for Puchong

By Gobind Singh Deo - Free Malaysia Today

COMMENT I refer to the announcement by the Works Minister that Aug 31 will see a toll-free day for motorists using the LDP expressway between Puchong and Damansara.

This is a reflection that the authorities recognise that the people need to be “liberated” from the burden of having to pay toll, especially in Puchong where motorists pay RM1.60 per entry into and exit out of Puchong.

For a family with two cars which need to travel at least twice into and out of Puchong, one needs to fork out RM12.80 per day just on toll. This averages out to RM384 per month. Many make an average of 10 trips into and out of Puchong daily.

The report today also said that an average of 450,000 vehicles travel the route daily. That makes the daily collection some RM720,000 per day. This brings the collection to about RM22.32 million per month and about RM267.84 million a year.

These figures are merely a rough estimate of what is being made a year. The figure will increase dramatically over the months and years to come because Puchong is developing fast and naturally the flow of traffic into Puchong will likewise increase.

This doesn’t yet include the fact that the toll rate is set to increase over the years. The agreement has it increasing to RM2.10 and RM3.20 in the years to come.

The federal government is not doing enough to solve the problem.

The agreements which cover these routes were drafted many years ago. One may ask if these agreements projected the increased volumes in traffic and toll rates accurately. Is there not a cut-off point for profit margins after which the concessions would be returned to the government and the people?

Are the people completely helpless and without recourse because “agreements have been signed and are binding” as is always said in Parliament by the powers that be?

But we, the rakyat, did not sign these agreements. Why must we now be made to suffer these consequences?

And the fact of the matter is that the traffic problem in Puchong, especially on the LDP during peak hours, is simply terrible. What are motorists actually paying for when travel time is severely delayed because of the jam?

Ask anyone in Puchong and the toll and traffic issue finds itself at the top of the list of complaints. So why do we have to wait for years and suffer in silence when huge amounts of money pass collected from the people of Puchong?

The buying option

As MP for Puchong, I would like to ask the federal government whether it is true that profits on this route are expected to fall in the range of some RM13.8 billion between 2016 and 2029.

And what are the profits already made to date and which will be made from now to 2016 based on increased traffic volumes and toll prices?

Given these facts and figures, the Works Minister should state whether the option of buying the concession back would be better in terms of savings for the rakyat?

Does the agreement not provide for this and does it not also state the pricing mechanism for such an option?

It is my view that any agreement which can be shown to be unfair over a period of time, and one which is found to be oppressive to the rakyat, must surely be subject to review, especially in cases where the financial targets sought to be achieved have been achieved.

We cannot and must not just sit back and allow for the extras to be reaped in at the expense of the rakyat.

I think the federal government, under whose guidance the agreements were drafted and signed, must now take full responsibility. It should re-evaluate these contracts and act urgently.

Something is just not right here. The increase in traffic volume should work out to reduce toll rates and relieve the rakyat of the burden, not the other way around.

With the greatest of respect to the minister, a one-day discount or amnesty may be nice but it is certainly not enough to solve the problem.

What we need is a long-term solution for the people of Puchong. The federal government must act and act fast if it is truly committed to its “people first, performance now” slogan.