A road is an identifiable route, way or path between places. Roads are typically smoothed, paved, or otherwise prepared to allow easy travel, though they need not be, and historically many roads were simply recognizable routes without any formal construction or maintenance.
Malaysia has 98, 721 km of roadway, of which more than 80,000 km is paved. The country has an extensive road system. Excellent local and long distance bus, cabs, and tourist coach services function throughout the Malaysia. The interurban North-South Expressway, New Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE) and the Federal Highway Route 2 (FHR2) are the biggest road transportation infrastructure in Peninsula Malaysia. Expressways, which span more than 1,000 km, connect major industrial hubs and urban centres starting from Bukit Kayu Hitam in the northern Kedah State to Johor Bahru in the state of Johor.
The East-West Highway acts as a part of the Asian Highway System linking Thailand with Malaysia. Development of road infrastructure and wide road network along with growth in population and income levels have increased the number of vehicle owners. Fears over number of road accidents and traffic congestions have given rise to measures to generate an efficient urban transport system.
The Government is concentrating on developing integrated public transport system further. Buses, cabs, trains, and airplanes form the major transportation modes. To enhance the quality, reliability, and efficiency of the bus and cab services, many measures have been taken, like merging of transport companies, and proviso of supporting amenities like terminals, signage, depots, and route information system.
The construction, usage, and maintenance of expressways are subject to Federal Roads Act, 1984. The expressways are known as high-speed routes with at least two lanes in each direction. Majority of expressways are limited-access expressways.
The electronic toll collection systems, Smart TAG and Touch ‘n Go, have been made mandatory on all expressways since 2004. Other electronic payment systems that were used earlier by other highway operators were stopped to standardise the electronic payment method.
Last Updated on: 20-11-2009
