The ultimate in traffic congestion ridiculousness can be found in China where there is such a thing as a 9-day jam. According to an AFP report, thousands of vehicles were bogged down yesterday in a more than 100-kilometre (62-mile) traffic jam leading to Beijing. But the jam began 9 days ealier, resulting in many being stuck in the crawl, presumably, for days.
I can't imagine this happening in Malaysia, but the reality is that it could. So many roads have been built to connect KL to the suburbs and beyond. Yet very little attention is paid to improving public transport run by different private operators using different ticketing systems.
Already the Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel (SMART) is turning out to be not so smart because of the terrible congestion inside it during rush hour.
The same goes for the not-so-smart-for- someone-to-use-during-rush-hour MEX linking Kesas highway to KLCC.
If something doesn't happen to discourage people from driving to and from work, no matter how good the tunnels or highways are, they're going to be congested to the brim. And one day, people would get stuck for more than several hours.
The solution lies in removing fuel subsidies for private transport. When people feel the fuel pinch, they'll turn to public transport. When public transport companies make good money, they'll improve their service, provided there is a unified body that looks into the matter - not different government agencies for different aspects of public transport.
Ultimately, the idea is so that we can all increase national productivity - when you spend less time on the road, your employer stands to make more money with you being in the office and in a good state of mind. And you, as a person, would have better life-work balance.
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