Penang should be among the successful cities in the world with regards to the implementation of urban transportation system. Street-level trams as opposed to elevated Light Rail Transit (LRT) trains is the choice of Penangites as it is less costly, environmentally friendly and has been proven in other cities such as Melbourne, Moscow and St Petersburg.

The worrisome cost, tagged at RM27 billion, will be an unfair burden to our future generations - a debt that we definitely cannot afford.

As cities start to expand, and population increases, we also see an escalation of problems such as traffic congestion, air and noise pollution as the working class flock to the city to work. The complication starts when the infrastructure is no longer able to cope with such a huge volume of people and traffic.

In the case of Istanbul, the most populous city in Turkey, trams were reinstated in 1992 after the last electric trams ceased operations in 1966. These modern trams have expanded and is currently 33.8km in length with a daily ridership of 415,000.

Elevated LRTs, on the over hand, is at least twice the cost of trams, with stations and terminals that also consume space, and impractical in this island-state.

I strongly urge the Penang state government to review the sustainability of the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) to prevent it from turning into the biggest white elephant in Malaysian history. Take a cue from our federal government projects - most, if not all of our projects are subsidised by the government. Can we afford to do the same and subsidise the running, maintenance and management of these companies after it is built?

What if this project fails to meet expectations due to its high risk in costs and low ridership? Even our ferry service under the Penang Port Authorities face losses year after year. During these tough economic times, MAS and AirAsia are also facing financial difficulties.

Let’s say we target half of our island’s population to take the LRT, which is only 375,000, will we then be able to cover the expenses and running costs? What about sustainability?

I am of the opinion that public transportation needs to be upgraded, but let us start off less ambitiously to allow for a transition period where Penangites get used to taking the public transport instead of private vehicles.

NG CHEK SIANG is Tanjong division PKR chief.