KUALA LUMPUR, March 24 — Transport Minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong today reiterated that the daily operational hours for public transport are from 6am to 10am and 5pm to 10pm nationwide, effective from March 25 and for the entire duration of the movement control order (MCO).

Wee said that the affected land public transport modes are stage buses, free buses like GoKL and Smart Selangor, all feeder buses as well as rail services such as LRT, MRT, Monorail, ERL and KTMB.

"The ministry recognises that public transport is a mode of transportation that is of public interest, especially for the B40 group.

"This decision is difficult to make. However, it has been done in order to ensure the MCO can be implemented more effectively and in line with its goal of breaking the Covid-19 pandemic chain by preventing people from assembling including public transport, stops or stations and terminals,” he wrote in a Facebook post today.

Yesterday, Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that the government has restricted the daily operational hours for public transport to 6am to 10am and 5pm to 10pm due to the drop in passenger numbers following the enforcement of the MCO.

However, Wee stressed that taxi and e-hailing services may continue to operate as usual, in accordance with the predefined guidelines.

Wee explained the new operational hours were enforced as reports show a decrease in the percentage of passengers using public transport since the MCO came into effect on March 18.

"For stage buses, free buses and feeder buses, all have shown a total of 91.63 per cent decrease in passengers.

"On March 16, all modes of transportation recorded a total of 233,500 passengers, while on March 22, this dropped drastically to only 19,540 passengers due to the MCO,” he said.

He also said KTM Komuter also recorded an average decrease of 89.25 per cent from March 18 to March 22.

"From 6am to 10am, the number of passengers has gone down from 35,050 to 3,768 and from 10am to 5pm it has declined from 11,683 to 1,256 passengers, while from 5pm to 10pm, it has dropped from 31,156 to 3,350 passengers,” he said.

He also said that Rapid Rail which includes LRT, MRT and Monorail services had recorded a decrease of 95.09 per cent with 578,716 passengers on March 16 to only 28,409 passengers on March 20.

Meanwhile, ERL recorded a drop of 87.08 per cent with passengers decreasing from 14,642 to 1,892 for the same period stated above.

However, Wee said bus services in peninsula Malaysia are still in operation, with the aim of providing limited access for individuals involved in providing important or essential services.

"The ministry has not directed any express bus operators to stop their service. 

"However, the ministry also has no obstruction in the event of express bus operators being forced to reduce trips or plan to temporarily suspend their services during the MCO period, as demand has dropped sharply on express bus services,” he said.

Wee also said that the ministry is working with all state governments to monitor the latest developments at terminals and on roads so that further action can be taken from time to time.

"I would like to advise people not to leave the house unless it is absolutely necessary.

"This is to ensure the effectiveness of the MCO, which aims to break the Covid-19 infection chain,” he added.

Wee also said any complaints or inquiries can be sent to complaint@mot.gov.my, or WhatsApp-ed to 019-2907723, or by calling the Transport Ministry Hotline: 1800-88-7723 (8am-8pm), or the National Operations Management Centre, National Security Council, at 03-88882010.