Increasing Vehicle Ownership
The urban sprawl led to an increase in vehicle ownership , aided by higher affordability , resulting in a surge in vehicle ownership at an average rate of 6 % per year since 1985 . In 2021 , there were 33.6 million registered vehicles , almost equal to the overall population ( see Figure 5 ).
Traffic Congestion
Increased urban sprawl , reduced PT usage , and increased private vehicle ownership led to massive traffic jams in Kuala Lumpur , and had it been left unchecked , the average travel time to the CBD in 2010 would have increased from 75 minutes to 150 minutes by the year 2020 ( see Figure 6 ). Traffic jams in 2010 alone led to economic activity inefficiencies , and the country suffered between 1.1 – 2.2 % loss in GDP due to this .
As a blessing in disguise , the traffic jams in Kuala Lumpur spurred an increase in PT mode ’ s share from 10 % in 2010 to 20 % in 2012 .
Figure 3 : Growth of Kuala Lumpur between 1989 and 2014
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
CARS
Figure 4 : Comparison of travel times by PT against the same distance by car
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