(Nov 2): Prasarana Malaysia Bhd (Prasarana) has announced the rationalisation of its LRT and Monorail fares, which will see fares calculated according to distance from December 2.

Prasarana group chief executive officer Datuk Azmi Abdul Aziz said that the new fares will be calculated using a flag fee + (distance x rate) formula.

The base for the LRT will start with a flag fee of 70sen and a rate of 30sen for the first 4km. This rate drops every 5km to 24km, from which the rate becomes 10sen.

For the Monorail, the fare will start with a flag fall rate of RM 0.70 and will be charged between RM 0.58 for the first 4km and RM 0.37 for the next 5 km.

Rates will also differ depending on the mode of payment. Fares will be lower for cashless transactions – such as Touch ‘n’ Go cards, MyRapid Smart 7 weekly passes and MyRapid Smart 30 monthly passes – than they will for people wanting to use cash.

The MyRapid passes will be available from November 15 at RM2.50 and RM10 respectively.

The fare rationalisation means some passengers, depending on their route and method of payment, will experience a fare reduction, no change or an increase.

As an example a passenger taking the LRT from Ampang to Bangsar currently pays RM 4.40 but will pay RM 4.30 using cash and RM 3.50 with a Smart 30 card.

An example of an unchanged fare would be taking the Monorail from Imbi and ending at the Taman LRT station which still costs RM 4.70 for cash payment, but only RM 3.70 for Smart 30 card users.

In the case of a journey from Medan Tuanku to Sri Petaling, the fare has spiked from RM 2.80 to RM 5.80 for cash payment but those using the Smart 30 will only pay RM 4.60.

The new fares, which can be found at www.myrapid.com.my and Customer Service Offices at LRT and Monoraoil ststions will also include a Transit Acquirer System (TAS) levy imposed by the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD).

Azmi said the rationalisation was necessary because the current system was inconsistent.

“This is a more robust way for passengers to calculate fares,” he said.

The restructuring of fares will see the calculations of all fares standardised according to distance.

Azmi said the rationalisation was also aimed at encouraging more people to use cashless payment.

“At the moment, 62% of passengers use a cashless mode of payment,” said Azmi.

He said according to estimates, for those using the Smart 30 card, 13% of fares will drop, 8% will not change and 79% will increase.

Azmi explained that the shift to distance-based fare calculations and encouraging more cashless payment for fares were in line with global standards.

Currently, only Monorail fares are calculated according to distance travelled in kilometres.

The LRT fares for the Ampang Line are calculated depending on the number of stations travelled, while for the Kelana Jaya line, the fares are lower for stops outside the Central Business District.

On October 8, an English-language daily reported that a review of the LRT and Monorail fares was expected to be announced before October 31.

The Land Public Transport Commission said the Cabinet and had approved the new fares.

Yesterday, Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB) told commuters to expect an announcement on KTM Komuter fare increases, which, in light of similar highway toll hikes, has not proven popular with the public. – The Malaysian Insider