Prasarana Malaysia Bhd might extend its 50 percent early bird discount to other time slots in the future if the scheme is successful.

This comes a week after Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak announced a special 50 percent discount for commuters travelling on the Rapid KL LRT and monorail networks between 6am and 7am on weekdays from Sept 16 onwards.

“The 50 percent discount is between 6am and 7am and it could be applied in off-peak hours, if the current discount is working for commuters,” said Prasarana president and CEO Azmi Abdul Aziz at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today.

“Additional train is going to be provided starting November this year; each month there will be new train added until the end of this year,” Azmi added.

The 50 percent discount will also be extended to commuters of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Sunway Line who travel before the morning peak period of 7am to 9am.

He said the discount applies to commuters who use cashless payment modes, noting that 66 percent of LRT and monorail commuters have already opted for it.

“We have sufficient system capacity overall but there is an imbalance passenger load factor during the morning peak period,” he said.

“It is crucial for us to address this challenge to ensure our commuters can reach their workplace on time.”

He expected 10,000 commuters would change their travel patterns and this could help to ease congestion at selected stations during the morning peak period.

Azmi explained the discount would take effect upon the commuter “tapping-in” their Touch 'n Go, MyRapid Card, MyRapid Smart 7, MyRapid Smart 30 and MyRapid concession card at the station entry gate by 7am on weekdays.