JOHOR BAHRU (April 3): Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook said the government is considering subsidising season passes for Malaysians using the Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link, but stressed that these passes would be limited to Malaysians.

“From our experience, for a season pass to be worthwhile, there must be support or a government subsidy. On our side, we want to see how we can provide assistance to Malaysian citizens. So, when we talk about a season pass, we are only referring to Malaysians; we will not subsidise foreigners," Loke told reporters during a site visit to the Bukit Chagar RTS station on Friday.

RTS Operations Pte Ltd (RTSO), a joint venture between Malaysia’s Prasarana Malaysia Bhd and Singapore’s SMRT Corp Ltd, will submit the proposed RTS Link fare to Malaysia’s Land Public Transport Agency (Apad) and Singapore’s Land Transport Authority for review and approval in the third quarter of the year.

“Regarding the season pass, of course, we need to discuss it with RTSO, the operator. Any party that wants to introduce a season pass, if commercially feasible, will be welcomed by RTSO. However, it must go through RTSO board approval,” he said.

The 4km RTS Link connects Bukit Chagar in Johor Bahru to Woodlands North in Singapore, using four-car train sets to complete the journey between stations in about six minutes. The system can reach a maximum operating speed of 80km/h and is designed to carry up to 10,000 passengers per hour in each direction.

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