KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 17): Prasarana Malaysia Bhd will continue to prioritise the maintenance of its transportation network despite the “limited revenue” and unchanged fares, said Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook.
Loke said the state-owned public transportation operator’s revenue, however, has increased 5% in 2024 as compared to 2023, thanks to higher average daily number of passengers of 1.18 million versus 954,648 last year. The minister did not disclose the revenue figure, but he noted that the figure has been sustaining its growth over the past two years.
“The revenue has not improved significantly, because we did not increase the fares [for the train and buses]. So, the fares and the revenue are actually quite stacking,” Loke said during Prasarana's 2024 report presentation to the media on Friday.
“But even though the revenue is limited, that has not stopped us in terms of spending more on the maintenance,” he explained.
He said the government had spent RM177 million on public transport maintenance in 2024, higher than RM89 million in 2023.
“We are looking at more revenue streams besides the fares collection. We have to utilise some of the lands under Prasarana for transit-oriented development (TOD) to recoup some of the revenue,” he said.
Prasarana also plans to increase its revenue from advertising including corporate sponsorship, said Loke.
Nonetheless, the minister said the primary focus now is to ensure the reliability and affordability of trains and bus services for the public.
“For public transport, the first priority is not about revenue. (Instead), we must ensure its good services at very affordable fares,” he added.
Prasarana last adjusted its train and bus fares in 2015, implementing a distance-based fare structure.