MAY 25 — I was recently watching an episode of Bill Maher where they were discussing “green jobs”. Basically put, “green jobs” is the term used to describe environmentally-friendly industries. In this particular episode, Bill O’Reilly mentioned that high-speed light rail transport is considered a green job. This is because it takes cars off the road, which then lowers national dependency on cars and, subsequently, the oil industry.

I was definitely intrigued by this, because in Malaysia, traffic is definitely too heavy in the mornings not only on the multiple highways and suggested detours, but also on the rails as well, particularly the KTM Komuter.

When a train suddenly disappear due to technical difficulties right before it’s due to arrive, twice in a row, and then further delayed because another train is in front of it, it not only puts pressure on the passengers, but also on the staff who have to deal with the complaints. Having had to manage a corporation’s complaint e-mail account, I can empathise with the pain.

Let’s talk facts. Public transportation is not a profit-based industry. It’s a service-based industry. And honestly, in our nation, public transportation is horrendous. People depend too much on private transportation, due to how horrendous the service of public transport is, due to how badly congested it is, due to how badly roads are, due to how unreliable public transport is, due to...

It’s an infinite loop, people, but here’s how we can stop it: law enforcement.

Now, imagine if for every single traffic crime, you get automatically summoned. Car drivers that use the emergency lane, do not obey the maximum and minimum speed limits, and even those who overtake illegally using the wrong lane. Even motorcyclists who go on overpasses, which is illegal, and those who go about using the emergency lane will also be summoned.

Now imagine that once the summonses are not paid by a certain period, orders to appear either at court or a nearby police station are sent out. Then imagine if such an order is not obeyed, offenders will have the police appear at their door and take them to court immediately for a hearing.

In all senses, we need to have efficiency in law enforcement. We need enough police to carry out law enforcement, to make public transport more efficient, and honestly, we also need to do something about parking as well.

While the Putra LRT has introduced its Park and Ride system under the sponsorship of Touch ‘n’ Go, it has a flaw of not having enough parking. And, of course, this just leads people to ask, “why not take the bus?” With traffic in the condition it is right now due to congestion, it’s again unfeasible, unless we can get the public more reliant on public transport.

Do we really need to go into that infinite loop again?

I will acknowledge that we are not Singapore in many terms and neither is the entirety of the Klang Valley. We’re too dependent on cars, our public transport sucks and, of course, teens driving cars without licences could end up shot to death if the cops can’t tell that you’re a panicked teenager behind the wheel.

If there is one thing we could emulate from the Singaporeans, it is time efficiency within their public transport system, particularly for the KTM Komuter. Unfortunately, the odds of hell freezing over are better.

Lose the ladies coach. It does not help, especially when you have one train every hour instead of every 15 minutes.

Have the Bar Council teach the ladies about harassment and place an individual officer in each carriage to ensure complaints can be made on location. Though, honestly, I would rather have the family minister instruct the local police force in each district to hold self-defence classes for their community, encouraging women to look after themselves, as well as train them on the steps necessary to deal with the trauma of having dealt with a snatch thief or any violence whatsoever.

The public pays taxes and expect a lot in return. While most may not have paid their dues through their income taxes, they do contribute to the government’s coffers by simply spending their cash on sales and service taxes which are readily applicable.

Now that the government is insisting on the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST), the public must make it clear as to what they expect from such a contribution to the government.

However, I consider this a whole “chicken or egg” argument. Should we expect the government to better public transport first, or do they require our contributions via the GST before we can actually have a usable and reliable public transport system?

* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.