Kicking the car habit

TRX//MyCity
KL Stories
Kicking the car habit
August 26, 2016

The number of vehicles registered Kuala Lumpur has surpassed 5 million, with another 2 over million in Selangor -- a staggering figure considering Klang Valley has a population of 7 million.


 

The Ministry of Transport announced new prefixes of vehicle registration number — "F" and "V" — to be assigned for the Federal Territory of Putrajaya and Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur respectively, from June and July onwards.

The current sequence for KL -- with prefix, algorithm and alphabet -- was rolled out with "W 1 A" in September 2013 after the previous generation of prefix ended.

This has not been popular. Apparently, there has been a massive decline in bidding for the current KL number plate sequence ever since it was introduced.

The number of vehicles registered Kuala Lumpur has surpassed 5 million, with another 2 over million in Selangor -- a staggering figure considering Klang Valley has a population of 7 million.

With the daily roads condition, it is obvious that KL needs to get ahead of its car dependency.

DBKL introduced the now hugely popular bi-monthly KL Car Free Morning (KLCFM) to create greater awareness on reducing carbon emissions. It was met with positive responses from city folks, offering a great respite and much needed break from the usual chock-a-block, spinning off other activities such as the Kuala Lumpur Food Truck Feast.

Lasting shift in transportation habits though will only come about when residents of the Klang Valley have a strong, convenient alternative to cars, which the MRT system is expected to bring beginning 2017.