KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 18 – Not all toll highway concessionaires can afford to give discounts or waive toll as some are new and yet to make profits.
Works Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor said the concessionaires were however encouraged to find ways to help motorists as what was done by Plus Expressways Berhad (Plus) and MTD Group.
“I am sure that these local companies have a big heart. They will give discounts during this economic slowdown if they can afford it,” he told reporters after making an aerial survey of the traffic situation along the North-South Expressway here today.
He was commenting a proposal by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin that concessionaires waive toll on motorists during Aidilfitri.
MTD Group had announced that motorists using the East Coast Expressway (LPT) and Kuala Lumpur-Karak Highway would enjoy toll- free passage between midnight to 5am on Sept 18 and 24.
Shaziman was observing the effectiveness of improvements to the highway including the Plus control centre costing RM54 million to see the traffic flow.
“I could see that vehicles heading for the north had increased but traffic flow was smooth,” he said.
Tomorrow he would be observing traffic at Bentong, Pahang, the main route for motorists heading for the east coast states. – Bernama
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Concessionaires do not all have to give the same discount; it can be pro-rated to their respective profits. After all none of them claim to be losing money, so desperate are they to cling on to their contracts!