Kuala lumpur: The government has been urged to review its public transport policy, including expanding dedicated bus lanes and improving service efficiency, to encourage more people to switch to public transportation. Mara Liner Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Wan Md Hazlin Agyl emphasized the importance of this move to reduce traffic congestion and help the public save on daily expenses such as parking and fuel costs.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, although the government provides fuel subsidies to public bus operators and offers free bus services like Smart Selangor Bus and GoKL Bus, public transport use has yet to be fully optimized. This is due to issues involving service availability and long travel times caused by traffic congestion.

Wan Md Hazlin pointed out that despite initiatives like fuel subsidies and free bus services, people remain reluctant to use buses due to inadequate service availability. He noted that a journey that should take 20 minutes can extend to one and a half hours because of traffic congestion and multiple bus stops.

Speaking at the National Roundtable Discussion Programme (Rimbun 2.0) at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur, he proposed the introduction of dedicated bus lanes to facilitate smoother public transport movement, shorten travel time, and reduce the number of private vehicles on the road, especially in major cities.

Additionally, Wan Md Hazlin suggested strengthening the work-from-home (WFH) approach as a supporting measure to decrease the country's fuel consumption.