KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 18 — Selangor needs to prioritise five strategies, including better integration of its public transport infrastructure and services, to encourage more people to switch from private vehicles, which still account for about 83 per cent of trips in the Greater Klang Valley (GKV), said an expert.
Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) Southeast Asia director Gonggomtua Eskanto Sitanggang said Selangor already has a multimodal transport network but gaps in first- and last-mile connectivity, transfers between transport modes and long waiting times continue to limit its effectiveness.
He said the other priorities are managing transport demand, improving first- and last-mile connectivity, strengthening transit-oriented development (TOD), and improving transport governance.
“It’s not just about adding more vehicles or more services, but they also should be integrated with the backbone (public transport network), through physical integrations and information systems.
“We should also think about scheduling, so, for example, whenever you take a minibus to a station, you can catch the MRT within five minutes.
“Most important is institutional integration, because transport doesn’t recognise administrative boundaries. People should be able to move across these boundaries,” he said in his presentation at the Selangor Mobility Symposium, held in conjunction with the Selangor International Business Summit (SIBS), at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre on Thursday.
Gonggomtua said housing or commercial projects near train stations do not necessarily qualify as TODs if they lack safe pedestrian access and feeder services.
“TOD is not the same as transit-adjacent development, because what we often see in Indonesia, developers just build apartment or housing complexes but always forget about first-mile, last-mile connectivity.
“They only build roads, streets, but not pedestrian sidewalks. An ideal TOD consists of good access, good connectivity and good integration with the surrounding network.”
Gonggomtua also called for more accessible at-grade pedestrian crossings instead of overpasses with stairs, which could lengthen journeys and make station access more difficult, especially for people with mobility issues.
To address transport limitations in the state, he suggested Selangor consider measures such as parking management and reallocating street space to encourage public transport use, adding that transport policies need to be reviewed regularly to determine if they remain effective in changing travel behaviour.
He said Selangor’s urban and lower-density areas need different facilities, with urban centres prioritising walking and cycling access, mixed-use development and parking management, while lower-density areas require better feeder services, demand-responsive transit and safe pedestrian access to local transport hubs.
Gonggomtua added that stronger coordination among transport authorities is necessary as commuters often cross administrative boundaries and are more concerned about reaching their destinations than about which agency operates a certain service.
