TOD: the buzz term to watch out for in Kuala Lumpur’s property market
If you had ever taken public transport in Kuala Lumpur when it was first built, you would realise what an off-putting experience it was – from taking taxis to trains.
The year 2008 was indeed an eye-opening one for me as I began covering developments on the ground as a property journalist.
I had heard a lot about how Malaysians would gripe on the state of public transportation system and its unreliability that has led to this popular saying among KLites – “it is better to drive than to take public transport.”
It was only when I started to live briefly in Kuala Lumpur that I experienced first hand what my Malaysian friends had told me.
Let’s take a look at some of the problems and inadequacy of the Klang Valley Integrated Transit System.
Severe design problems, lack of infrastructure, reliability and bad taxi service
One of the glaring problem was how badly designed the entire train system was – from planning up to the lack of lifts and escalators as well as the lack of seamless connections between the different lines.
When it comes to planning, for example, some train stations are located in the middle of nowhere – far from commercial and residential buildings – Chan Sow Lin LRT station being one such example.
One has to walk quite a distance to get to the nearest residential or commercial buildings.
In addition, some stations lack escalators and lifts.
Bukit Bintang Monorail station, for example, still does not have escalators that takes you from the ticketing platform to the exit, meaning tourists have to carry their luggage from the staircase – this is despite the improvement works by Prasarana.
The station also suffers from severe design flaws requiring you to cross a bridge in order to exit towards the Lot 10 entrance.
Transit-oriented developments discussion at Property Report Congress Malaysia 2016
Another example is Hang Tuah Monorail station whose station is designed much longer than the train, resulting in wastage in construction cost.
Perhaps, the most severe flaw was the lack of connectivity previously by the different train operators such as the STAR, PUTRA, KTM and Monorail lines.
For example, in the past, you had to walk through Brickfields from KL Sentral in order to change to the KL Monorail at KL Sentral Monorail station.
Let’s not even speak about the taxi service in KL.
According to a survey by British taxi comparison site LondonCabs.co.uk in 2015, Kuala Lumpur taxi drivers were ranked as the worst taxi drivers in the world.
“Drivers from Kuala Lumpur are well known for overcharging clients and detouring,” said LondonCabs.”Even though they are supposed to charge by the meter, many drivers refuse from doing so.”
This, together with the unreliability of KTM trains to arrive on time, had explained why many Malaysians had turned their back on public transport.
As a result many Malaysians are opting to drive, leading to the massive traffic jams that you see everyday in the Klang Valley.
At a press conference that I had attended in 2009 organised by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), the government body revealed that almost one million cars would go in and out of Klang Valley.
Moving forward, much improvements had been made since 2008 with enhanced connectivity, Park ’n’ Ride schemes, MYR900 million allocated to reduce traffic congestions under Budget 2016 and Transit Oriented Developments (TODs) being the way forward in KL.
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Here’s a quick recap on what transpired during the panel discussion on “Transit-oriented development, transportation, connectivity and your property” at the first-ever Property Report Congress Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur on 11 August 2016.
1 – DBKL is spearheading TODs with a masterplan guideline and incentives
DBKL has just come up with a guideline on building TODs and is offering various incentives for developers in building high density developments. Incentives include a 30 per cent discount on development charges or with at least 30 per cent of the development to feature a Park ‘n’ Ride scheme.
This scheme involves building car parks next to train station to encourage Malaysians to park and ride the train to Klang Valley.
2 – TODs must fulfil distance requirements in order to qualify for incentives
According to DBKL, TODs must be between 200 and 400 metres from the MRT or LRT or other train stations. In addition, it must have seamless connection from the train station to the building similar to the Singapore model.
3 – Penetration rate has increased significantly but still falls short from DBKL’s target
DBKL has set the goal of 60:40 for public transport ratio versus cars. It currently stands at 30:70 for public transport ratio versus cars. Penetration rate has increased significantly from the approximately 20 per cent since 2008 due to improvements work made by Prasarana.
4 – A few key issues need to be addressed to increase penetration rate
They include the reliability of bus feeder services, punctuality of trains plus technology that will enable commuters to know when the bus will arrive similar to the Singapore model – either the private or government sector needs to drive this via applications. In addition, KTM needs to improve upon its service. It is by far the most unreliable train service in KL where train arrivals keep getting delayed.
5 – TODs will help to address housing affordability
Housing affordability is a serious issue among first time home owners in KL. DBKL has set a development guideline for developers to build homes at around 800 sqft but priced below MYR450,000 (USD112,600). Dr Daniele Gambero has suggested a public-private partnership for this to happen. PNBD says this model is possible through public-private partnership by building on government owned land to reduce land acquisition costs, leading to lower cost when building such homes.
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6 – Bandar Malaysia will be the next iconic TOD project
DBKL has cited KL Sentral as the first TOD in KL. However, it was not a perfect system as KL Monorail was previously not integrated with KL Sentral. Using this as a case study, Bandar Malaysia in Sungai Besi will be an important project to improve upon KL Sentral’s model. It will be the site for the High Speed Rail station linking Singapore to Kuala Lumpur with two MRT stations.
7 – Bandar Malaysia will be the case study for government and private developers in building TODs
According to DBKL, 30,000 units of homes will be delivered housing some 120,000 residents within Bandar Malaysia. This will be the case study for the government and private developers when building TODs as it involves various stakeholders – the Malaysian and Singapore government as well as private developers. Malaysia is taking a leaf from Singapore and Hong Kong when building TOD projects. Therefore, Bandar Malaysia will be an important iconic project that will hopefully set the benchmark for the industry.
8 – Infrastructure projects like MRT will boost property values
Follow where the government is building new infrastructure and you will never go wrong in your property investment – that is the key message from Dr Daniele Gambero. As such, Malaysians should look for homes that are within close proximity to train stations.
9 – There is still hope to find affordable homes within KL priced below RM500, 000
With more public-private partnerships to build affordable homes, this presents a good opportunity for Gen Ys to target the most affordable homes but with the greatest potential for capital appreciation.
10 – Greater political will needed to reduce traffic jams and make TODs a success
While the government has on paper set goals to spearhead traffic jams and affordable homes. Malaysia has a history of not delivering and following through on its promise. As a result, Malaysians tend to be sceptical whenever key announcements are made while foreigners tend to adopt a “wait-and-see” attitude until they see some results. In order for this to truly work, the government and private sector must put the rakyat (citizens) first and walk its talk.
Other challenges
The political economy in Malaysia presents a real challenge when delivering high impact projects as it very much depends on “who you know” rather than “what you know”.
This has resulted in projects being awarded to those who are politically connected.
As history has shown, this does not necessarily translate well for commuters and the public-at-large resulting in take over of the various train lines that had suffered from low ridership and connectivity issue.
In addition, land issue can be complicated as some lands are owned by key stakeholders who do not want their land to be taken away.
As such, some train stations are not strategically located, leading to deficiencies, connectivity and planning flaws that you see right now in Kuala Lumpur.
Only by putting the public first and a greater political will to make things work, can TODs work.
Enhancing commuters’ experience from start to finish is the way forward for ridership to increase, just like the Singapore model.
This article was first published on bestselling author and South East Asia Property Awards (Malaysia) judge Khalil Adis’ official website.
Panelists included: Dr Daniele Gambero, CEO at REI International Holding BHD; YBhg Datuk Hj Sahrom, director of Planning Deparment, Kuala Lumpur City Hall; and Encik Mohd. Salem Kailany, CEO at PNB Development Sdn Berhad (PNBD).
Read next: South East Asia Property Awards (Malaysia) 2016 names the year’s finest real estate
Source : property-report.com
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