Penang's iconic car ferry service to cease on Dec 31

 

Penang's iconic car-carrying ferries will cease operations after a century on Dec 31 when the service is finally halted.

The service is set to be replaced by smaller ferries, meant only for foot passengers and motorcycles, which are expected to arrive in about 18 months.

Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB), which will take over the ferry services from Prasarana Malaysia Bhd on Jan 1, said it will use catamarans for foot passengers and ply the route between the Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal on the island and the Pengkalan Sultan Abdul Hamid ferry terminal in Butterworth.

PPSB CEO Sasedharan Vasudevan told The Star that all systems were in place for the takeover and three passenger-only waterbuses would ply the waters.

Sasedharan said most of the existing ferries were more than 40 years old and were costly to maintain.

“The present fleet of ferries is ageing and it’s difficult to find replacement spare parts. That is why we will be using waterbus.

“It’s not only the question of bringing in the waterbus but the entire facet of the terminal will have a new look.

“We also plan to utilise the land bank on both sides by creating more parking space for locals and tourists, ” he said.

Work is already underway to refurbish the current terminal and bring in the waterbus to replace the present Rapid Ferry service within 10 to 12 months.

Sasedharan said that the waterbus will not ferry vehicles but there would eventually be vehicular ferries for two-wheel vehicles only.

From next year, commuters in cars would have to use the two Penang bridges to cross the channel as the ferry services would cease to operate then.

“As we are not allowed to carry four-wheelers, our priority is pedestrians.

“Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong recently said in Parliament that only 200,000 vehicles used the ferry services, while 1.2 million were pedestrians.

“Our top priority is commuters who use the ferries to get to work daily,” he said.

Sasedharan said the move ties in with the Penang Transport Master Plan, which includes water taxis and exploring waterways as a viable mode of transport to complement roads and highways. - Mkini