Rapid Penang | the beginning of a new chapter for Penang's public transportation
Rapid Penang | the beginning of a new chapter for Penang's public transportation | ||||
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Penangites and tourists can now breathe a sigh of relief with Rapid Penang taking over the island's public transport system. With rickety buses on the verge of disrepair, erratic timetables and less-than-cordial drivers plying the island's routes, a complete overhaul was long overdue. With one failed revamp still fresh in the memories of all Penangites, it was natural that they viewed another attempt at revamping the public transport system with some skepticism. Not one to give up too easily, the Penang chief minister Dr Koh Tsu Koon announced that the Federal government would take over and manage a more efficient and roadworthy bus service in the state. Launched on 31 July 2007 by the Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Rapid Penang was a definite improvement. Easy-to-read signboards were put in place. A manned helpdesk distributing maps and schedule booklets was set-up. RapidPenang reps were seen answering queries. Buses came on time! Better yet, the 'soft-opening' provided free rides to all commuters. What better way than to endear yourself to the locals? RapidPenang's fleet of comfortable and clean buses will definitely help bring back the shine to the Pearl of the Orient. It will also play a major role in the logistics and transportation hub of the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER) initiative and complement the several mega projects such as the RM2.7 billion second Penang Bridge, the estimated RM1.6 billion monorail and RM1.2 billion Penang Outer Ring Road (PORR). It is also linked to the upcoming major infrastructure projects here such as the RM2 billion integrated terminal for rail, road and sea known as "Penang Sentral" in Butterworth. RapidKL chief operating officer Mohd Ali Mohd Nor said Rapid Penang's operating fleet of 135 buses would start plying all its 33 routes on the island and mainland immediately after the launching. "We have 150 buses but only 135 will be on the roads at any given time," he said yesterday. He also added that the company was expected to break even by January after investing RM30 million as its start-up capital. A subsidiary of RapidKL under the Ministry of Finance Incorporated, RapidPenang is expected to serve 60,000 commuters daily. Before Rapid Penang Much has been said about Penang's ailing bus services. What was once a workable and rather efficient system became dysfunctional when mini-buses made an appearance. To make the situation worse, the mini buses which were supposed to ease the burden of the larger coaches turned into traffic nightmares and started competing with the established bus operators. Things came to a grinding halt when one of Penang's largest and best known bus companies, the Yellow Bus Company Berhad, which had been operating for 58 years, suddenly stopped running on 1 January 2004, leaving thousands of southbound commuters stranded. An attempt by the local government at revamping the bus system, on 1 April 2006, sounded promising-bigger buses serviced "trunk" routes while minibuses ran "feeder" routes, but the reality proved otherwise. Chaos reigned from day 1. There were no legible schedules and no helpdesks at the main bus interchange. Most bus companies adopted a laissez faire system, raising the rates, doing away with the ticketing system and not following timetables and planned routes. And these problems were just the tip of the iceberg! About RapidPenang RapidPenang, an abbreviation for Rapid Penang Sendirian Berhad, is a government-owned company set up to operate bus services in Penang state in Malaysia. This is the second public transport operating company set up by the Malaysian government. The first was RapidKL which was set up in 2004 to take over light rail transit operations and a large portion of the bus network in Kuala Lumpur. RapidPenang is a subsidiary of RapidKL. Like RapidKL, the assets to be operated by RapidPenang belong to Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad (National Infrastructure Company Limited). The Penang office is located at Lorong Kulit, next to the famous flea market.
Rapid Penang Sdn Bhd: Lorong Kulit, 10460 Penang. | ||||
