He said daily operations on all routes remain operational as usual and Rapid Penang has sufficient number of buses to support this initiative.
GEORGE TOWN: The free charter bus service to Bukit Bendera, funded by the Penang Bukit Bendera Corporation (PBBPP), using Rapid Penang buses, will not affect the daily operations of existing Rapid Penang bus routes.
Rapid Bus Sdn Bhd (Rapid Bus) acting chief executive officer Ku Jamil Zakaria said Rapid Bus, as the operator of the Rapid Penang bus service, would like to clarify that the service has been comprehensively planned taking into account the company’s operational capabilities.
“In relation to the information received from the Penang Public Transport Users Association (PeTUA) claiming that Rapid Penang bus operations are insufficient following the implementation of the free charter bus initiative, Rapid Bus would like to emphasise that the service has been comprehensively planned taking into account the company’s operational capabilities.
“The implementation of the free charter bus service to Bukit Bendera funded by PBBPP does not affect the number of buses for Rapid Penang’s existing route services,” he said in a statement to Bernama today.
He said daily operations on all routes remain operational as usual and Rapid Penang has sufficient number of buses to support this initiative without affecting services on other routes.
Ku Jamil said that apart from the free bus service provided by PBBPP which operates with a frequency of every 90 minutes during the promotion period, passengers can also still use the existing Rapid Penang bus service for route 204 (Terminal Weld Quay – Bukit Bendera) with a frequency of 35 to 45 minutes during peak hours
According to him, Rapid Bus remains committed to ensuring that Rapid Penang bus service operates optimally for the comfort of passengers, while supporting strategic collaboration with related agencies in efforts to increase the use of public transport in Penang.
Meanwhile, PeTUA secretary Zulfikar Ali Abdul Aziz said his party has informed the state government and also the PBBPP management since 2023 that Rapid Penang does not have a sufficient number of buses and vans to provide adequate services for Rapid Penang service users.
He said PBBPP should have been able to use charter buses, employee buses or school buses through a special permit for the purpose of their programme and each Rapid Penang bus that is allocated for charter services will certainly affect the quality of service because in reality it operates with a very reduced number of buses and vans.
“The reason that the programme is for only a few days does not arise and is not a reasonable argument, at this time the state government is providing charter bus services for state government staff to encourage the use of public bus transport,” he said.
