What a waste of money

by **Cals** Mon 14 Apr 2014, 00:28

Published: Saturday April 12, 2014 MYT 12:00:00 AM
Updated: Saturday April 12, 2014 MYT 7:45:02 AM
[size=32]What a waste of money[/size]

MAKING A POINT BY JAGDEV SINGH
IT’S understandable why people have responded with aghast to news that Kuala Lumpur City Hall has basically written off its Integrated Transport Information System (ITIS) project after less than 10 years in operation.
After the Government spent RM365mil on a system that is meant to help traffic management, City Hall is spending an additional RM200mil to revive and improve the traffic management system. The new project was originally awarded to GTC Global Sdn Bhd, which has since been bought by Telekom Malaysia Bhd.
With the award to GTC, that means about RM565mil will have been spent on a traffic management system that while the one for Kuala Lumpur claims is broken, similar systems seem to work perfectly well elsewhere in the world even after years in operation.

That brings into question why a project that costs so much to begin with is deemed redundant after such a short time? How could the system be allowed to fail? Surely spending that much on a system will mean that it will be scalable and upgradable.
Singapore too has a traffic management system and while it is different in terms of technology, in essence does the same job ITIS was meant to do. Those who have driven in the republic know that electronic signboards are a commonplace and is used to display information to warn drivers.
It will appear that the ITIS system that used to work in KL and what is done down south is similar when it comes to the end result. Unfortunately, the end product did not work as well in our capital.
There surely will be a difference in the technology employed and it does appear at first glance that the system in Singapore is more comprehensive.
How it collates and analyses data will be different but both are designed to flash simple messages so drivers can read while navigating through the roads. There is value in that as PLUS also employs a similar system to warn highway uses of congestion and public safety information. No driver can read feeds on twitter or look up traffic apps while driving.
First and foremost, one has to wonder if the entire award mechanism of the original ITIS project was done with the view of extracting the best bang for the buck.
It was reported that Hong Kong spent HK$423mil (RM210mil) on its Intelligent Transport System (ITS) to improve the traffic management and control systems for its road network nationwide. ITIS costs more.
Whichever way you cut it, the ITIS project has been a monumental waste of money. Revelations of just how RM365mil has gone down the drain will not sit well with taxpayers as it was a government funded project.
While city dwellers and taxpayers understand that money needs to be collected and spent to maintain and improve Kuala Lumpur, this incident surely will see the need for more accountability when spending people’s money especially with a new contract being awarded.
The issue now is what will motorists get with the new RM200mil system?
At the heart of it all, ITIS was suppose to be a simple system. Using close circuit cameras, it will monitor traffic and the later display information through electronic boards for drivers to read. It was meant to reduce congestion and help the flow of traffic. But there are also more suites of software and systems out there that offer a comprehensive traffic monitoring system, and if used properly can help.
The reason why such an efficient system is needed is that such a traffic management system will translate to drivers spending less time caught in a jam. Traffic is a function of flow of vehicles on the road, just how good the road network is and the number of cars on the road. Cutting down idle time means costs savings and productivity increases.
The number of cars on the roads in Kuala Lumpur has swelled over the years and is now clogging much of the road infrastructure. The construction of the MRT will help reduce the need to commute using a car but at the same time, drivers who choose to drive will need a system that can effectively help traffic flow better.
The new ITIS needs to be more than just a bunch of CCTVs. It has to be integrated with existing traffic management programmes. Only a comprehensive system can deliver what city folk deserve to ensure that the money being spent delivers true value for forad users.