KUALA LUMPUR – The Land Public Transport Agency (Apad) approved the appointment of Asia Mobiliti as one of the operators for Selangor Mobility’s Demand Responsive Transit (DRT) pilot project on December 20, 2022, the state’s Investment, Trade, and Mobility exco Ng Sze Han said.
It has been reported that Asia Mobiliti was appointed by the Selangor government to provide DRT services in four localities in the state under the Selangor Mobility programme.
Ng immediately came to the defence of the Selangor government and his colleagues in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition after issues of conflict of interest were raised by netizens.
It is learned that Ramachandran Muniandy, the chief executive officer and co-founder of Asia Mobiliti, is the husband of Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh.
Ng said the state government’s public transport committee approved the DRT pilot project in March last year to identify the effectiveness of DRT services in Selangor, a project under Menteri Besar Selangor Incorporated (MBI).
It is also supervised by the Selangor Information Technology and Digital Economy Corporation (Sidec).
Yesterday, X user @RakyatAduan tagged Hannah in a post seeking clarification on the appointment of Asia Mobiliti for the state government’s DRT project.
The user also asked, “Was there an open tender? On what merit was the company selected?”
Ng was also urged to address the matter, stating that the launch of the Selangor Mobility programme occurred in his state assembly constituency of Kinrara.
He said that the company had been approved for the proof of concept (PoC) of the Bus On Demand service in December 2022, and the project’s committee also endorsed it after a presentation.
“Regarding the designation of Asia Mobiliti as one of the service providers for the DRT project, the Apad sanctioned its involvement in the PoC of the Bus On Demand service for Asia Mobiliti (TrekRides) on December 22, 2022, and for Badan Bas Coach Sdn Bhd (Mobi) (Badan Bas) on February 24, 2023.
“Both Asia Mobiliti and Badan Bus were invited to present to the DRT pilot project implementation committee for potential selection as service providers, based on Apad’s approval and their respective companies’ PoC experience.
“The committee decided to appoint these two companies based on the approval given by Apad at that time, in line with the administration’s commitment to meet the standards set by the authorities and ensure the safety of DRT service users.
“Following this decision, the letter of intent was submitted to the service operator company on June 15, 2023, with the appointment letter issued on September 20, 2023,” he said.
Ng also added the Selangor government’s intention to expand DRT services throughout the state, in accordance with the commitment of the 5-Year Resolution launched in July 2023, provided it can optimise existing annual expenditure costs.
The first phase of the service began in the Puchong and Ampang areas from November last year, followed by Phase Two last January for Hulu Klang and Serdang.
DRT is the first of its kind of public transportation service, driven by software solutions, offering a seamless digital interface for both passengers and drivers.
Operating within predefined zones or routes, the system is said to efficiently handle multiple bookings and optimise vehicle dispatching through intelligent algorithms that consider factors like waiting time, travel duration, and traffic conditions.
During the presentation of the Selangor budget in November 2023, the state government earmarked US$5.22 million (RM25 million) to enhance public transportation infrastructure. – May 24, 2024
