data story

How do Malaysians get around?

1.4 million rides a day on public transport. The MRT and LRT do the heavy lifting.

On a typical weekday, Malaysians take about 1.4 million rides on rail and bus public transport, dropping to around 930,000 on weekends. The Klang Valley carries most of it: the MRT Kajang line alone averages about 287,000 rides a day, with the LRT lines and Rapid buses close behind.

Source · Prasarana, KTMB & operators, via data.gov.my Daily public transport ridership Updated 2026-07-06
1.4m
Rides on a weekday
public transport, average weekday
Prasarana/KTMB
287k
Busiest line
MRT Kajang, per day
avg weekday
934k
On weekends
about a third fewer rides
avg weekend

Busiest services, average weekday

Boardings per weekday. The three Klang Valley rail workhorses (MRT Kajang, LRT Kelana Jaya, LRT Ampang) and Rapid Bus KL each move over 200,000 people a day.

MRT Kajang
287,011
LRT Kelana Jaya
276,621
Rapid Bus KL
235,003
LRT Ampang / Sri Petaling
221,290
MRT Putrajaya
183,861
KL Monorail
59,452
Rapid Bus Penang
48,066
KTM Komuter
25,405
KTM ETS
17,292
KTM Komuter Utara
17,012
JB–Singapore Shuttle
8,798
KTM Intercity
2,841
Source: Prasarana, KTMB & operators, via data.gov.my, Daily public transport ridership · Average weekday ridership by service, ~30 days to end May 2026 · rides per weekday

What it means

  • Malaysians take about 1.4 million public transport rides on an average weekday, falling to roughly 934,000 on weekends as the commute disappears.
  • The Klang Valley rail network does the heavy lifting: MRT Kajang (~287k/day), LRT Kelana Jaya (~277k) and LRT Ampang (~221k) are the busiest services.
  • Buses still matter: Rapid Bus KL alone carries about 235,000 people a day, more than most rail lines.
  • Penang runs on buses: Rapid Bus Penang moves ~48,000 a day, with no urban rail line yet.
  • The KTM Komuter and ETS trains carry far fewer, a reminder that Malaysia's mass transit is still overwhelmingly a Klang Valley story.
Publisher
Prasarana, KTMB & operators, via data.gov.my · Government, public transport operators, open data
Document
Daily public transport ridership
Published
2026
Source link
https://data.gov.my/data-catalogue/ridership_headline
Retrieved
2026-07-06
Coverage
Daily boardings by service. Figures here are average weekday ridership over the most recent ~30 days (to end May 2026). 'Rapid' services are Prasarana (Rapid Rail and Rapid Bus, KL and Penang); ETS, Komuter and Intercity are KTMB; the JB-Singapore Shuttle is the Tebrau line.
View official source ↗

Frequently asked

How many people use public transport in Malaysia each day?

About 1.4 million rides on an average weekday across rail and bus, dropping to around 934,000 on weekends, based on operator data on data.gov.my (to end May 2026).

What is the busiest train line in Malaysia?

The MRT Kajang line, averaging about 287,000 rides a weekday, followed by the LRT Kelana Jaya line (~277,000) and LRT Ampang/Sri Petaling (~221,000).

Do more Malaysians take the train or the bus?

Rail carries more in total, but buses are significant: Rapid Bus KL alone averages about 235,000 rides a weekday, more than any single rail line except the busiest MRT and LRT services.

Where does this ridership data come from?

From Malaysia's public transport operators (Prasarana's Rapid Rail and Rapid Bus, and KTMB), published as official open data on data.gov.my.

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