Weekend Travel Now A New Normal Since Endemic - PLUS

Weekend travel has become the new normal with 1.8 million vehicles on the road on average everyday this year, up from approximately 1.6 million in 2019.

With the start of the school holidays, PLUS Malaysia Bhd Chief Operating Officer Datuk Zakaria Ahmad Zabidi stated that an average daily number of more than 1.8 million cars was also recorded for the entire week.

Weekend travel has become the new standard since we reached the endemic phase for Covid-19, as we saw a higher average daily traffic volume of roughly 1.8 million vehicles in comparison to about 1.6 million vehicles in 2019.

In an interview, he stated that "this week, the average daily number of vehicles grew slightly to more than 1.8 million."

From December 9 to December 12, December 23 to December 26, and December 30 to December 31, 2023, PLUS had issued stop-work and no lane closure orders in an effort to reduce unnecessary traffic, notably around Christmas and New Year's celebrations.

He suggested that drivers use the PLUS app to find places with congestion or monitor PLUS's Twitter account for updates.

For up-to-the-minute information on the state of ground traffic, check out PLUS' Twitter.



Additionally, we provide access to closed-circuit cameras along significant parts of the roadway through our PLUS app.

He added that other apps like Waze and Google Maps were also useful guides and that road users could also engage with Putri (PLUS Unique Texting Realtime Interface), the first highway Artificial Intelligence Chatbot, to assist them plan their travel appropriately.

Road users should make sure they are prepared for travel both physically and mentally, according to Zakaria.

"Check that your vehicles are in good shape, that everyone is well-rested, and that there are extra supplies of essentials like water, infant formula, elderly medication, and food.

"It is strongly advised to stop frequently at one of our rest places or lay-bys to stretch, take a break, and eat".

To avoid any difficulty, road users are also urged to make sure their Touch n' Go card or e-wallet has enough money on it.

Remember to use the same payment method to enter and exit the highway, he advised, noting that drivers might call the PLUSline at 1800-88-0000 in case of an emergency.

Source: TheStar