Thursday, April 27, 2017

Malaysia PLUS highway tolls go cashless

Malaysia PLUS highway tolls go cashless



Traffic snarl: Motorists stuck in traffic jam on the first day of toll plazas going cashless.

KUALA LUMPUR: All tolls on PLUS highways are now fully electronic and no cash payments will be accepted.

PLUS Malaysia Berhad managing director Datuk Azman Ismail said as of yesterday, PLUS highway users were required to pay toll with PlusMiles card, Touch ‘n Go (TnG) Card, SmartTag, or MyKad equipped with TnG chips.

“The objective of a fully electronic system is to ensure a smoother and faster toll transaction and a more comfortable journey for road users,” said Azman.

“The electronic toll collection system is 300% faster than the manual cash system.”

A SmartTag lane can cater up to 1,000 vehicles per hour and a TnG lane, 600 vehicles per hour, compared with only 180 vehicles per hour at a manual cash lane, he added.

Azman said the migration to full electronic toll collection system was implemented by PLUS in stages since 2008.

The affected highways, which have a total of 94 toll plazas, are the North-South Expressway (NSE), North-South Expressway Central Link, New Klang Valley Expressway, Federal Highway Route 2, Seremban-Port Dickson Highway, Butterworth-Kulim Expressway, Malaysia–Singapore Second Crossing and Penang Bridge.

Speaking at a press conference at the Sungai Besi Toll Plaza, Azman said that feedback and the level of awareness from highway users on the cashless system have been positive, with a 92% penetration nationwide.

He added that PLUS has been running campaigns and advertisements to create awareness on the migration to the new system.

Lanes to top up and purchase TnG cards will be opened for 24 hours at all toll plazas.

PlusMiles cards are also available at all PLUS Customer Service Centres operating at selected toll plaza offices.

Meanwhile, Azman gave an assurance that all existing PLUS toll booth attendants numbering more than 2,000 would not be affected and that some would be redeployed to nearby toll plazas to assist with the new system.

Touch ‘n Go Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Syahrunizam Samsudin said there were no plans to reduce the price of the SmartTag (RM127.20) or TnG card (RM10.60, without pre-loaded value).

He also clarified that the service charge to top up a TnG card and the cap on the reload amount were business models of respective retailers, and customers always have the options to reload their cards elsewhere.

~News courtesy of The Star~

Friday, April 21, 2017

Norwegian announces plans for Singapore-London flights

Budget airline Norwegian announces plans for Singapore-London flights

Low-cost airline Norwegian will be launching its non-stop service between Singapore and London's Gatwick Airport this September, the Changi Airport Group (CAG) announced on Thursday (Apr 20).

Norwegian will launch a four times weekly service from Sep 28 this year, which will increase to five times weekly for the Northern winter season from Oct 29 to Mar 24, 2018, subject to regulatory approval, CAG added in its press release.

It will use a 344-seat Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft in a two-class configuration offering economy and premium cabins, the airport operator said.

To mark the start of operations, Norwegian intends to offer one-way Singapore-to-London fares starting from S$199 for economy class, and premium-class tickets from S$839, inclusive of all fees and taxes, according to the press release.

~News courtesy of Channel News Asia~

长途廉航挪威航空9月起 提供新加坡伦敦直飞航班

长途廉航挪威航空9月起 提供新加坡伦敦直飞航班

长途廉价航空公司挪威航空将从今年9月28日起,提供每周四趟往返新加坡与伦敦盖特威特机场的直飞航班,首趟从本地飞往伦敦的航班将于9月29日起航。

樟宜机场集团昨午发布文告,欢迎挪威航空(Norwegian)提供这项直飞服务。

这是首次有廉价航空公司提供从本地直飞伦敦的航班,使得每周从本地飞往伦敦的航班增至50趟,相等于每周的单程座位增加11%,达1720个。

~联合早报~

Friday, April 14, 2017

长周末导致兀兰中心路塞车

长周末导致兀兰中心路塞车 大批公众步行到兀兰关卡

兀兰中心路及海军路从清晨便出现长长车龙。许多巴士和汽车形成长长车龙,大批公众为了避免受困车龙,选择步行到兀兰关卡。

兀兰中心路及海军路一带严重塞车,多辆SMRT巴士绕道行驶,导致许多公众必须步行到兀兰关卡。

今天是耶稣受难日,碰上长周末,不少国人选在这一天前往马来西亚。

兀兰中心路及海军路从清晨便出现长长车龙。许多巴士和汽车形成长长车龙,大批公众为了避免受困车龙,选择步行到兀兰关卡。

~以上新闻转自早报网~