COMMENT | Vehicles dominate cities worldwide, and Malaysia is no different in this respect. Across the country, the number of registered vehicles has hit an all-time high of nearly 33 million, though some reports suggest the number is closer to 21 million; that’s still almost one vehicle for every person.

Traffic congestion has been steadily growing, even outside traditional rush hour periods. This is likely no surprise to those who spend time on the road, especially in larger cities. In the Klang Valley, traffic congestion occurs throughout the day and is worse than before the Covid-19 pandemic.

There is a significant cost associated with congestion. All the extra minutes of delay per vehicle add up to hours of delay per person each year. Malaysians spend one million hours stuck in traffic, which translates to upwards of RM 20 billion every year.

Aside from the cost of time delays, there are significant environmental and health impacts associated with driving, especially when that driving is done in heavy traffic congestion. Nearly 25 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in Malaysia come from the transport sector, with 90 percent of energy consumption for transport derived from fossil fuels. When vehicles move slowly, as they do on traffic-filled roads, their engines work less efficiently and produce even more emissions.

The local impact of fossil-fuelled car driving...