UiTM senior lecturer, Dr. Ismaniza Ismail, explains why traffic is an issue
Do you ever wonder just how long you spend in traffic? Well, the tweet below claims that the average number of time the average Malaysian spends in traffic jams every month is about 44 hours, in the Klang Valley Area, at least. Essentially this means we spend almost two whole days in traffic every month.
The tweet, from Ekonomi Rakyat, roughly translated, reads “employees in the Klang Valley spend almost 44 hours a month on the highway due to traffic jams according to a study done by the Faculty of Applied Sciences of UiTM Shah Alam. Each employee is also estimated to experience a loss in productivity equivalent to RM308 every month as a result of being stuck on busy highways.”
On top of that, Dr. Ismaniza Ismail, senior lecturer at the School of Chemistry and Environment in the Faculty of Applied Sciences at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), stated that commuters spend approximately one to two hours on the road stuck in traffic each and every day.
Moreover, Dr. Ismaniza Ismail said, “Imagine how much time is wasted every day due to traffic jams. This also affects their productivity at work. If the average hourly wage is RM7, multiplied by two hours over 22 working days, the productivity loss is estimated at RM308 a month, which is lost on the road.”
Furthermore, Dr. Ismaniza Ismail also shared that being stuck in traffic for too long would lead to stress and this can disrupt emotions and productivity, thus affecting the work atmosphere. She also commented that sitting in the car for too long would cause back pain and offered a potential solution.
Dr. Ismaniza Ismail believes that more companies should allow more flexible working hours as this would reduce congestion on the roads and increase work productivity. While on the surface, this may seem like a solid plan to reduce traffic jams and traffic related issues, I don’t think it is enough.
Additionally, I think the real problem is our public transport system. Yes, I know, I have written about this a lot, but just look at countries like Japan. The public transport systems are so effective that most people opt to use that over driving themselves. Yes, I am aware cars are expensive in Japan but at least public transport works there.
Traffic and therefore traffic jams will always be an issue in Malaysia until and unless we figure out a way to improve our public transport systems to actually be on time for a change and to travel more routes and do so more frequently. As long as public transport in Malaysia is unreliable, people will always choose to drive but that is just my two cents, what do you guys think?
We got this from the New Straits Times and their full article is linked here. Thank you New Straits Times for the information.
