It was way back in 18 March 1997 that the first Touch ‘n Go service was installed and it was used at the Jalan Pahang Toll Plaza. Other toll plazas were soon installed with the Touch ‘n Go service such as the toll plaza in Jalan Cheras as well as the East-West Link Expressway. Towards the end of the year, the system was brought to the 848 km North-South Expressway; this was made possible when the northern sections of the expressway were fitted with the technology.
Touch ‘n Go makes the electronic toll payment one of the longest in the world as travelers will be able to use the smart card and travel from Jitra in Kedah to Kempas in Johor or all from the north to the south without using cash. The launch of the services was held as the Sungai Dua toll plaza where Datuk Dr Ramli Mohamad the then chairman of Rangkaian Segar Sdn Bhd officiated the event.
Today, Touch ‘n Go is not just for payments at toll plazas and public transport. A number of popular malls such as Sunway Pyramid, Subang Parade, Bangsar Shopping Centre, Sungei Wang Plaza, Tropicana City Mall and Mid Valley Megamall have started accepting payments by Touch ‘n Go for parking. Simply touch your card at the entrance point and your time of arrival will be captured. At the end of your visit, the time spent and subsequently the parking charges will be tabulated and deducted from your card.
Your Touch ‘n Go is good for dining too. Have some fast food at AW, Japanese fare at Sakae Sushi, dessert at Baskin Robbins or a cuppa at Starbucks and pay with your Touch ‘n Go card. Your card is as good as a debit card now. You can also grab some munchies at 7-Eleven before catching a movie at Cathay Cineplexes, both retailers accept payment by Touch ‘n Go.
All in all, Touch ‘n Go still provides a convenient cashless system especially to those who travel daily on the highways as well as those who commute by KTM, LRT, Monorail and Rapid KL buses. Drivers and commuters need not carry around or store loose change and they also save time from not having to queue at the cash lanes. Touch ‘n Go is indeed convenient to use, on top of having numerous value top-up centers and banks that can perform the reload transactions.
Travelers love using Touch ‘n Go because of its convenience. You don’t have to get in line for LRT or monorail tickets every single time. Just buy the card and use it throughout your stay in Malaysia. A new card without balance costs RM10. You can immediately add balance to the card, with RM10 as minimum charge. The card will never expire. After your holiday in Malaysia you can always make someone else happy with your card, or you just take it home as a souvenir.
Read more at the official Touch ‘n Go website.
