Have car, still stuck: Why Klang Valley’s traffic woes keep getting worse

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s roads and highways are more clogged than ever during festive seasons. This year is no different, but traffic in the Klang Valley feels punishing, even by local standards.

Dozens of commuters took to social media to complain about worsening traffic in the Klang Valley – a region comprising capital Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and parts of Selangor – in the weeks leading up to the Chinese New Year holidays on Feb 17 and 18.

“Why is KL suddenly jammed like this? Chinese New Year? Work from home revoked? The traffic is so crazy that even on a motorcycle, I can feel how bad it is,” wrote Ridhuanashri on Threads on Feb 11. The post garnered 1,100 likes and 72 comments, and was shared 506 times.

Traffic conditions

tend to build up especially around major festive periods.

This time, the frenetic Chinese New Year preparations coincided with the start of the Ramadan fasting month on Feb 19, occasions that require multiple shopping trips.

Congestion is no longer just seasonal. Data and experts point to a system stretched to its limits.

According to digital mapping specialist TomTom’s traffic index, the average congestion level in KL was at 43.4 per cent in 2025, a significant increase from pre-pandemic levels of 37 per cent in 2019. The data also points to a shift in traffic patterns, with congestion spreading outside of the traditional rush hour.

Snarly traffic across parts of the Klang Valley prompted commuters and social media users to question whether the perennial congestion is linked to the Chinese New Year and Hari Raya shopping rush, people returning to office-based work or recent cuts in Rapid KL bus routes – or a combination of all three.

Transportation experts say the worsening congestion is a symptom of deep dependence on private vehicles in one of South-east Asia’s fastest-growing urban regions.

“It’s almost out of control – the use of cars,” a transport expert and vice-chancellor of Universiti Putra Malaysia, Professor Ahmad Farhan Mohd Sadullah, told The Straits Times.

“When we see two or three days of unusually bad traffic, it shows our roads are already at overcapacity.”

Car-dependent nation

Malaysia has the second-highest car ownership rate in South-east Asia, with about 490 passenger cars per 1,000 people – after Brunei, at roughly 805 cars.

A record 820,752 new vehicle units were sold in Malaysia in 2025, up 0.5 per cent from the previous year. There are around 38.7 million registered vehicles in the country – outnumbering the population of 34.3 million.

The country’s high rate of vehicle ownership is driven by the robust domestic auto industry, relatively affordable vehicle financing and fuel subsidies, observers say. Concurrently, public transport usage is low.

Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi pointed out in a Facebook post in May 2025 that public transport usage is around 25 per cent in Malaysia. This is far lower than cities like Tokyo (73 per cent), Seoul (63 per cent) and Singapore (67 per cent).

“There is no real deterrence for using private vehicles... and no policy to discourage private vehicle ownership,” said Prof Farhan.

The rapid rise in private vehicle numbers comes even as the Klang Valley’s rail network has expanded significantly by 139km over the past decade, with new MRT and LRT lines, said Mr M. Zulkarnain Hamzah, chair and co-founder of watchdog group Transit Malaysia (the Association for the Improvement of Mass Transit Malaysia).

But at the same time, more than 600km of new lanes has been added to tolled highways in the Klang Valley, reinforcing car-centric commuting patterns, he said.

“Malaysian cities are built around cars, thus people are dependent on cars to run even the shortest and nearest errands. And the urban rail network expansion in the Klang Valley is not supported by similar improvement in pedestrian and bus networks,” he added.

Patchy public transport

Public transport remains an uneven alternative for many Klang Valley commuters.

Recent disruptions on the Kelana Jaya LRT line, one of the region’s busiest, led Transport Minister Anthony Loke on Feb 24 to order a probe into recurring technical issues.

Peak-hour breakdowns have caused overcrowding and delays, reinforcing perceptions of unreliable service.

Public transport coverage remains patchy beyond core corridors, making car ownership a practical necessity for many households. It is commonplace for working adults in urban families to each have their own cars and motorcycles.

Yet, efforts to rationalise bus services have drawn criticism. Rapid Bus recently restructured 29 routes – about 7 per cent of its network – citing low demand.

“The restructuring was primarily driven by consistently low ridership on the affected routes (which) in some cases recorded an average of approximately seven passengers per hour,” the bus operator said in response to queries from ST.

Meanwhile, some RM1.9 billion (S$618 million) will be spent to purchase more than 1,500 buses to replace the existing ageing fleet operated by urban public transport operator Prasarana Malaysia in Klang Valley and Penang. Prasarana operates both major urban rail and bus services in the country, including much of the public transport in the Klang Valley. 

Prasarana’s president and group chief executive officer Amir Hamdan told ST in September that a fourfold increase in the maintenance budget and a 47 per cent rise in Prasarana Rail team manpower in 2025 compared with 2023 were crucial for improving rail service reliability.

‘Push and pull’ factors needed

Experts say festive gridlock merely exposes deeper structural flaws.

“Congestion that worsens during festive periods is already a year-round concern,” said Transit Malaysia’s Mr Zulkarnain, pointing to gaps in first- and last-mile connectivity plus an incomplete and unreliable bus network.

He also highlighted fragmented governance: Highways and main roads fall under the Works Ministry, public transport regulation and licensing under the Transport Ministry, and operators like Rapid KL under the Finance Ministry, while local councils control development approvals – resulting in weak planning and coordination. Chronic underfunding compounds the problem.

“The push to increase public transport use is not followed up by any sustainable road public transport funding strategy that can realistically make the shift happen,” he said, noting that only a fraction of the budget and subsidies goes towards public transport.

Experts say easing congestion will require incentives to shift ongoing behaviour as well as measures to discourage driving.

“We need both push and pull factors,” said Prof Farhan. He suggested tax incentives or subsidies for public transport users, alongside more reliable and frequent services.

He added that congestion pricing in the busiest corridors should also be considered. “If public transport is more reliable and cheaper than driving, people will (make the) shift,” he said.

Mr Zulkarnain argued for a reconfiguration of roads to prioritise buses, cyclists and pedestrians; better coordination across agencies; and a shift in subsidies away from fuel and towards public transport. Flexible work arrangements, including working from home, could also help reduce peak-hour pressure.

Festive surges may fade and traffic conditions may ease for a time. But each holiday season serves as a reminder that the gridlock is real and the Klang Valley’s transport system is running at its limits.