The Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) has announced that Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) fares for the Klang Valley have been approved by the Cabinet. The new fare structure begins with a basic cost of 90 sen, to which a fare based on travel-per-kilometre is added, Bernama reports.
The fare structure begins at 90 sen for the basic cost, and adds 81.5 sen for the first six kilometres of travel. From six to 12 km, another 51.3 sen is added, and another 42.1 sen covers travel between the 12 km to 18 km distance.
From 18 km to 24 km, an additional 28.2 sen is added to the total, and a final 21.2 sen covers any distance more than 24 km. This means that the maximum BRT fare for travel beyond 24 km will cost RM3.15 per ticket.
The commission said through a statement that the fare structure sets the maximum allowable fares for BRT services and as such, individual operators are not allowed to impose fares exceeding the fare structure.
Currently, only the BRT Sunway Line is operational, and at 5.4 km-long for the entire route, the fare for the all-electric bus service works out to RM1.70 (rounded up). The line - operated by Prasarana - covers seven station, two of which will integrate with the Setia Jaya KTM and upcoming USJ 7 Kelana Jaya LRT stations.
It was also stated that at the current rate of utilisation (around 2,400 riders per hour this year), the fare structure would not be able cover BRT Sunway Line's running costs. To ensure that consumers would benefit from paying low fares, the government has approved an annual operational subsidy not exceeding RM14 million for the first three years to Prasarana.