ISKANDAR PUTERI: The Iskandar Malaysia Rapid Bus Transit (IMBRT) pilot testing which began in April this year has received positive feedback with 97.9 per cent of respondents expressing support for the service, the Johor state legislative assembly was told today.
State Public Works, Transport and Infrastructure Committee chairman Mohd Solihan Badri said the pilot testing which ended late last month was to demonstrate the use of the existing green bus technology, get feedback from the Road Transport Department Vehicle Type Approval (VTA) Committee (VTA) on the vehicle road worthiness and to gain buy-ins from the public and relevant agencies.
“The IMBRT pilot testing programme was attended by 443 people and based on the survey conducted, 97.9 per cent of the respondents expressed support for the IMBRT service that will be operating,“ he said in respond to a question from Cheo Yee How (PH-Perling) on the development of the IMBRT project during the assembly sitting at Bangunan Sultan Ismail, Kota Iskandar, here today.
Mohd Solihan (Bersatu-Tenang) said the IMBRT was the first comprehensive BRT system in Malaysia worth RM2.56 billion, which would be the backbone of public transport in Iskandar Malaysia, with the service to be connected to the Rapid Transit System (RTS) project, Senai International Airport, Larkin Sentral, Gemas-Johor Bahru Electrified Double Tracking Project as well as the ferry services at Stulang Laut and Iskandar Puteri.
“As of June, the IMBRT project implementation status was at 21.57 per cent with its services expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2023,“ he added.
Until last April, the Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) had spent a total of RM151 million on finalising the infrastructure engineering design, assessing the operational design and financial requirements, investigation work and land acquisition.-Bernama
