Hail a van? Malaysia boosts first- and last-mile connectivity for commuters through apps

PETALING JAYA, Selangor – Instead of driving 32km from her home in Malaysia’s administrative capital Putrajaya to her work in Petaling Jaya, an engineer who wants to be known only as Ms Izzah has found a cheaper and faster way for her daily commute, bypassing the notorious peak-hour jams in the area.

Since discovering Rapid On-Demand (ROD) Van in April, the 32-year-old has been relying on the passenger van service to complete her last-mile commute between the Light Rail Transit (LRT) station and her office in Selangor state.

“I’ve been using ROD vans – introduced to me by a friend – for the past two months. If I were to drive during rush hour, it could take up to two hours just getting through the Damansara-Puchong Expressway, notorious for traffic jams,” she told The Straits Times on a rainy morning on June 20, while riding in an ROD van on the way to work.

The ROD van helps bridge the 2.4km distance between the Taman Bahagia LRT station and her workplace, without which she would have to make the journey on foot, with no shelter from the sun or rain. The entire journey from home via public transport now takes her less than an hour.

The van service is one of the innovative solutions launched by the Malaysian government to bridge gaps in the public transit network. First- and last-mile connectivity issues, combined with a low public transport usage rate of just 25 per cent as at May 2025, compared with Singapore’s 67 per cent, have led many Malaysians to opt for private cars instead, contributing to increased road congestion.

According to global real-time traffic data provider TomTom, Penang’s capital George Town is currently the most congested city in Malaysia, with peak-hour travel times averaging 26 minutes and 36 seconds per 10 km. In comparison, capital city Kuala Lumpur records an average of 17 minutes and 26 seconds per 10 km during peak hours.

To ensure that passengers like Ms Izzah are boarding the correct van, drivers will check riders’ booking numbers against the app details before departure.

The 12-seater vans are part of a 300-vehicle fleet deployed across 101 zones in the Klang Valley area and Penang by the government-linked urban public transport operator Prasarana Malaysia Berhad. The service is designed to provide first- and last-mile connectivity for multiple drop-off points within the 5km vicinity of the major urban rail network.

The fleet was beefed up with the delivery in June of another 320 vans costing RM55 million (S$16.5 million). This is in addition to RM1.9 billion set aside for the purchase of 310 diesel-powered buses and 1,350 electric buses through 2028 to strengthen the existing Rapid bus fleet.

Since the launch of the service in May 2024, daily ridership has grown from just 354 passengers to nearly 10,000 as at June 2025.

Commuters can book the ROD van service through four different mobile apps such as Rapid On-Demand and three private technology service providers – Kummute, Trek, and Mobi, with waiting times ranging from three to 20 minutes, depending on passenger demand and van supply.

Each trip is priced at a promotional RM1, or free for holders of Prasarana’s My50 monthly pass, which costs RM50 for Malaysian citizens.

Prasarana Group president and CEO Mohd Azharuddin Mat Sah said the on-demand van fleet operates in areas that the existing 1,000-public bus fleet does not serve in Klang Valley and Penang. In comparison, Singapore had a fleet of

5,800 buses

in 2024.

“Some neighbourhoods have narrow roads unsuitable for large buses. The ROD vans – with comfortable seating, good air-conditioning and shorter waiting time – complement our current bus services,” he told ST.

With Prasarana buses operating at a load factor of around 30 per cent, Mr Azharuddin noted that ROD vans offer a more cost-effective and flexible alternative with a load factor ranging from 30 to 50 per cent, depending on the area.

“A 9m long bus costs around RM600,000, plus around RM1,000 daily for fuel and driver allowances, while an ROD van costs around RM180,000, with significantly lower fuel consumption – helping to optimise government spending,” he added.

But not all users of the ROD van service have had positive experiences. Some, like Ms Gan Hui Fang, 36, initially faced difficulties navigating the booking platform on the Trek app.

“I noticed the ROD van launch in April, but gave up (trying to make a booking) at first, because it was hard to identify the correct pick-up area on the screen,” said Ms Gan, a staff member at a private higher education institution. She added that she started using the service when one of the van drivers took the time to explain the booking process to her.

While Ms Gan enjoys the convenience and comfort the service provides, she also has questions about how the vans are assigned. On occasion, she is unable to board the van waiting at her chosen pick-up zone and is instead directed by the app to wait five minutes for another van.

Asia Mobiliti co-founder and CEO Ramachandran Muniandy, the developer of Trek app, said that the algorithm assigns rides based on van availability, passenger demand, and real-time traffic conditions.

“It’s not just about whether a vehicle is nearby – it’s whether there are available seats,” he said. “For example, some users complained that they couldn’t book a ride at 6am, but that’s simply because all vans were already fully booked,” he told ST.

Currently, the Trek app serves 15 zones under Prasarana ROD vans in the Klang Valley. It also operates independently in two zones: Universiti Putra Malaysia-Serdang, where rides are priced at RM4 per trip, and the KL Metropolis route, including Solaris Mont Kiara – a hub for expatriates – where a promotional fare of RM2 per trip is offered.

Prasarana’s Mr Azharuddin said an integrated app will be launched by the second quarter of 2026 to address the fragmentation caused by the current four separate apps, while “existing technology service providers can continue to offer ROD services on the platform”.

While Ms Izzah may miss the flexibility of driving, she is glad to have found the cheaper and less time-consuming option of public transport in tandem with the ROD van service.

She has paid RM350 for a KLIA Express monthly pass to cover her train journey between Putrajaya and KL Sentral, and RM50 for the My50 monthly pass that covers her remaining rides on LRT and ROD Van rides from the LRT station. The total cost is far less than the more than RM600 she would usually spend driving to work, which includes fuel, toll and parking fees.

“It’s just too tiring to drive. Even on a rainy day, I can still rely on the ROD van,” she said.