The Star

Sunday November 16, 2008

PLUS rewards for regular highway users

KUALA LUMPUR: A PLUS Expressways loyalty programme benefiting regular users is to be introduced.

However, there will be no reduction in toll rates, according to sources.

It is learnt that the reward programme would, among others, be tied to motorists using the Touch ’n Go card.

The sources told The Star that regular toll highway users would be rewarded.

“The more toll a motorist pays, the bigger the reward will be,’’ said an informed source.

Works Minister Datuk Mohd Zin Mohamed is expected to disclose details of the programme on Tuesday.

Fomca secretary-general Muhammad Sha’ani Abdullah said PLUS should also look at ways to reduce congestion at its highways, reports NURBAITI HAMDAN.

“Touch ’n Go and SmartTag lanes are often jammed during peak hours,’’ he said.

He said the loyalty programme should not have any “marketing gimmicks”.

University student S. Vishul, 23, who spends about RM100 a month topping up his Touch ’n Go card, felt that reducing toll rates would have been a better option.

Student Amira Suraya Azaharin, 21, who travels from Shah Alam to Kuala Lumpur regularly, welcomed the loyalty programme, saying it would be a good way to compensate highway users.

“The toll rates used to bother me when I started driving but eventually I got used to it, just like paying for petrol. There is nothing you can do about it,” she said.