About 8,500 handicapped people will be given PLUSMiles loyalty cards with a pre-paid value of RM100 each by PLUS Expressways Bhd as part of the concessionaire?s corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme.

Each card is equipped with a Touch ?N Go feature to pay for tolls, selected parking bays and purchases at participating food outlets.

Eighty PLUSMiles cards were presented to the handicapped from the Bangi Industrial Training and Rehabilitation Centre and various associations based in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur during the launch of the upgraded Dengkil R&R area in Sepang recently.

PLUS chairman Tan Sri Mohd Sheriff Mohd Kassim said the loyalty cards were part of the company?s RM10mil allocation to hold various CSR programmes this year.

Our CSR programmes are streamed towards education, road safety, development of motorsports and culture,? he said.

Assistant corporate communications manager Iskandar Dzulkifli said the company would be selecting the eligible associations which would then choose the individuals to receive them.

Works Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Zin Mohamed Sheriff, in his speech, said the Dengkil R&R was designed to be more disabled-friendly as could be seen by the presence of more wheelchair-accessible facilities such as ramps and wheelchair-friendly washrooms.

These R&R areas and lay-bys were upgraded to attract more drivers to stop and rest before they continue their journey.

This can increase safety on our highways as the drivers will feel fresher and more alert behind the wheel,? he said.

He said more than RM100mil was spent by PLUS to upgrade 11 rest areas and 17 lay-bys since 2002.