Pay less for parking with Touch 'n' Go card at LRT station

Rangkaian Pengangkutan Integrasi Deras Sdn Bhd (RapidKL) will be testing the Touch 'n' Go payment system at Taman Paramount LRT station, Petaling Jaya starting Monday.

Customers using the Touch 'n Go card to pay parking charges can then use the same card when boarding RapidKL's LRT or bus, it said in a statement today.

It said upon exiting the car park on their return, they have to use the same card again to entitle them to a maximum of RM3 a day parking charge.

If the customers use the Touch 'n Go card to pay parking charges but not the RapidKL's LRT or bus fares, they will be charged RM2 for the first one hour and subsequently RM1 per hour for parking.

The payment system is on trial run for three months. The system will be implemented at the other LRT stations if it is successful.

Sumatra quake: AirAsia helps out with charity flight

Anxious family members and rescue teams have snapped up all free air tickets on the Jakarta-Padang charity flight by AirAsia on Sunday.

The 260 tickets, to and from Padang, were booked up within 20 minutes of AirAsia putting them up on its website at 9am Friday, said AirAsia group regional head of commercial Kathleen Tan.

Jetstar to double S’pore-Penang flights

Jetstar Asia plans to double the frequency of its Singapore-Penang flights to twice a day tomorrow. The new route was launched on July 1.

The new route marked the 17th destination for the low-cost airline that now services four Malaysian cities — Kuala Lumpur, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu and Penang.

“Jetstar services on the Singapore-Penang route will expand to double daily or 14 times weekly from tomorrow,” said Jetstar Asia chief executive officer Chong Phit Lian in a media statement.

Should drivers renew licence once in 5 years?

The Transport Ministry will study the existing practice of allowing drivers to renew their licence once in every five years, said the minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat.

He said the drivers involved in accidents would not be easy to detect they went to renew their licence.

“This is the loophole in law enforcement we must study thoroughly. We want to know how many of them really pay their fines and what is the general attitude of the people when they are served with summonses,” he said after launching the International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP) Malaysia Report at Hilton Hotel here Tuesday.

Four roads to turn one way

FOUR roads in George Town, Penang, will be turned into one-way streets starting in mid-October, said Komtar assemblyman Ng Wei Aik.

He said the roads were Lorong Selamat, Jalan Zainal Abidin, Lorong Madras and Lebuh Ong Chong Keng, adding that a trial run would be conducted sometime in mid-October.

“We sent out some 600 letters to the residents and traders involved and received mostly positive feedbacks on the proposal.

“They were given a month to decide on the matter and out of the 600, only two were against the decision,” he told a press conference on Friday.

Integrate services at Weld Quay

The Weld Quay terminal, a notable landmark and gateway to Penang Island, should be redeveloped into a public transportation hub with the ferry, port and other transportation services integrated into one.

Local Government, Traffic Management and Environment Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow said the terminal had the potential of being transformed into the island’s main transportation hub with the future LRT or inter-city bus services integrated into it as well.

Three new routes for AirAsia in India

AIRASIA, Asia's leading low cost airline, will fly to Kochi, Trivandrum and Kolkata come December, in a move to expand its network in India.

AsiaAsia Group's Regional Head of Commercial Kathleen Tan said AirAsia was flying now to Tiruchirappalli and would spread its wings to other destinations in India this year.

Toll operators urged to give discount during festivals

Toll operators should give discounts to highway users during all festivals in the future, said Works Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor.

He said while he lauded the efforts by certain concessionaires to provide discounts or toll-free passage to users during the Hari Raya holidays, he hoped this would continue.

“We encourage concessionaires to give discounts as it indirectly shows their support to highway users.

“We urge them to consider giving discounts in the future, not just on Hari Raya but on all festivals, such as Chinese New Year, Deepavali, Christmas and Merdeka Day,” he said at the Seri Perdana Hari Raya open house hosted by the Prime Minister and Cabinet on Sunday.