2 December 2015
The Transport Ministry has agreed to the proposed 57% fare hike by Express Rail Link (ERL) Sdn Bhd for its KLIA Express rail service starting next year due to the increase in operating cost.
Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Ab Aziz Kaprawi said the hike was justified as the operating cost has escalated since the rail service started in 2002.
He said this is the first fare revision for the operator in 14 years.
“ERL has incurred losses following the government’s resistance to grant fare hikes. I was briefed by ERL that the hike this time has to be done,” he told reporters at the Parliament lobby yesterday.
Aziz said to mitigate the increase, ERL has introduced various packages, including giving discounts to frequent travellers.
“Those who are using the ERL frequently would get up to 40% discount via the travel card. This should reduce the impact of the fare increase.” Aziz said the ERL maintenance and operation cost had doubled since 2002.
Asked whether the Transport Ministry would convene talks with the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) and ERL to relook at the fare hike, Aziz said: “Yes.”
On Tuesday, ERL in a statement said that KLIA Express, which runs from KL Sentral to KLIA and klia2, will see a fare hike from RM35 to RM55, effective Jan 1, 2016.
ERL said the revision was approved by the government through SPAD, in accordance with Section 120 of the Land Public Transport Act 2010.
The company said the new price of RM55 is still at a discounted rate as it was authorised for a 83% hike to RM64 as per the terms of its 30-year concession since 2002.
While stressing that KLIA Express still imposes the lowest airport rail transfer fare in the world, ERL said it is working with partners such as MasterCard to provide discounts to help customers cope with the hikes.
The discounts were not specified but was said to touch as low as RM40 per trip.
Original Source: www.themalaysianreserve.com
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