Rapid Penang has 261 buses plying 46 routes on the island and mainland on a daily basis but Penangites complain over the frequency of service and inefficiency. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Hasnoor Hussain, December 24, 2014.
Cars outnumber people in Penang and though traffic congestion is a nightmare, Penangites are not about to leave their vehicles at home in favour of public transport.
“It is not that public buses are not good. They are good but they are just slow. It is faster to go around on my bike," said Amir Mustaffa, a clothing shop owner in Komtar.
The businessman in his 60s, who lives in Sungai Pinang in town, said he preferred to ride and zip around town to run errands.
"You take the bus, you need to leave home early. You take your car, you get stuck in a jam.
"This is just a small city. Getting to places on a motorcycle is easy," he said.
There are more than two million registered vehicles in the state but the population is only more than 1.6 million, according to Chow Kon Yeow, the state executive councillor in charge of traffic management.
Only 6% of Penang's population uses public buses – a figure that was still low although ridership had been increasing yearly.
"It is a challenge when people are used to the ease of having cars at their disposal. The lack of an efficient system has been a push factor, too," he told The Malaysian Insider recently.
What locals like Amir want is an urban rail system, in addition to improving bus frequencies and for all routes to be covered efficiently.
"Some places are better covered than others. It is easy getting to take the bus if you are going to places like Air Itam," he said.
Student Aqra Hanis Ab Gani, 16, takes the bus from her home in Bukit Jambul to George Town when she goes shopping with her friends.
She has no choice because she and her friends are too young to drive. They also do not have motorcycle licences.
"I don't always take the bus. My parents send me to school and back. When we go out as a family, we use the car.
"It is only when I am going out with friends that I will take the bus. It is all right but I find it not so convenient because the bus stop is a distance from my house."
Asked if she would still take buses when she has a driving licence, Aqra said it would be unlikely.
Khoo, a 30-year-old who runs a mobile phone accessories kiosk in Komtar, said her husband drove her to work because taking the bus would mean having to wake up extra early.
"It is more convenient because if I am to take the bus, I have to leave my home at least an hour earlier.”
Public buses in Penang have been run by Rapid Penang since July 31, 2007. It is owned by Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad (Prasarana).
Rapid Penang has 261 buses plying 46 routes on the island and mainland on a daily basis. Collaborating with the state, the local authorities and the private sector, it also runs two free shuttle services on the island.
The MPPP (Penang Municipal Council) Rapid Penang CAT (central area transit) free shuttle bus service, launched in January 2009, covers the ferry terminal at Weld Quay to Jalan Penang. It also covers the George Town Unesco World Heritage City's core and buffer zones.
More recently, a similar free shuttle service was extended to Pulau Tikus. Fully sponsored by popular local malls Gurney Plaza and Gurney Paragon, the free Rapid Penang loop shuttle bus service offers transport between the two premier shopping outlets and around the Pulau Tikus area, with the aim to help reduce traffic congestion.
Rapid Penang also runs the Rapid BEST (Bridge Express Shuttle Transit), a free service that aims to reduce the volume of traffic travelling across the Penang Bridge to the Free Industrial Zone in Bayan Lepas on the island.
Rapid Penang group communications head Rafidah Abdul Karim said the average daily ridership statewide has gone up from 79,000 to 85,000 passengers since 2013, and the company was holding campaigns to promote the use of public transport, such as offering concession fares.
Although the numbers are up and the bus operation has been running successfully, Rafidah said Rapid Penang still faced challenges and issues.
"Penang is congested and there isn't a dedicated bus lane. Naturally, this makes it difficult to operate the buses, no matter how new the vehicles are," she said, adding that the designated bus lanes had been brought to the state authorities' attention.
Rafidah said it was important to have low-cost public transport in Penang, a state that thrived on industries like manufacturing and tourism.
"We have many international manufacturing firms and factories that employ foreign workers, who depend on affordable transport.
“For a state that also thrives on tourism, it is important that we make the experience of using public buses pleasant. Public buses provide tourists a good and cost-efficient way to explore Penang island."
Chow said the state was studying the possibility of introducing an urban rail transit system as part of Penang's transport master plan.
"It is, of course, subject to feasibility studies," he said.
In August, the state government called for an open tender for its RM27 billion transport master plan that would integrate both land and sea networks.
The plan includes a Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system linking the island and mainland.
It was reported that the state hoped work could start next year and finish in 2030.
For now, the state was leaving the bus system to Rapid Penang, which handled more than 80% of bus routes and ridership in Penang, Chow said.
"The company has the resources. So the approach we are going with is facilitating the company in order to promote the use of public transport.
“We will help and support Rapid Penang through measures like providing land for bus depots or terminals, as well as looking at ways that can help the bus company improve its service and ridership.
"For now, the dissatisfaction among the people is the frequency of the buses, which I think can be improved," he said.
The Penang government is paying Rapid Penang RM50,000 a month through MPPP to run the free CAT shuttle service in the heritage zone, and about RM1.5 million a year for the BEST service.
"We also have a free bus service from Kepala Batas and Sunway Carnival on the mainland to Komtar by another company, Plusliner. The service, which doesn't cost much, is mainly for the benefit of civil servants working in Komtar," he said.
On the designated bus lanes requested by Rapid Penang, Chow said the proposal had been discussed but there was no decision on it yet.
He said bus lanes were possible for a few roads like the main routes, although it would not be easy.
- TMI
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