BUTTERWORTH: Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB) recorded five million passengers using the new ferry service since its launch on Aug 7, 2023.
Its chief executive officer, Datuk V. Sasedharan said this figure is a proud achievement, proving the public’s acceptance, especially the people of Penang and tourists, of the ferry as the preferred mode of transportation for commuting between the island and mainland and vice versa.
“Out of these five million passengers, 74 per cent or 3.7 million were pedestrians, while the remaining 24 per cent (1.3 million) were two-wheeled vehicles (motorcycles and bicycles).
In terms of demographics, nearly 95 per cent of the passengers were daily commuters who enter Penang for work, and five per cent were tourists,“ he said to reporters at the Five Million Passengers Milestone Ceremony at the Pangkalan Sultan Abdul Halim here today.
Also present at the event was PPSB chairman Datuk Seri Syed Mohamad Syed Murtaza.
Sasedharan said the total number of passengers also increased by six per cent in the first three months of this year, reaching 740,705 compared to 700,353 passengers in the same period last year.
He said although the number of passengers increased, the ferry service has not yet recorded a profit due to high operating costs.
However, he is optimistic that the increase in the number of passengers will gradually help reduce the losses.
In this regard, as part of future planning, he said PPSB plans to intensify promotions, especially to users of the Electric Train Service (ETS), who are now showing interest in using the ferry as a more economical option.
“Among the plans are to make some changes to the ferry schedule to align with the ETS travel schedule, in addition to collaborating with Tourism Malaysia to highlight the presence of ferries in Penang to tourists coming to the state,“ he also said.
On Aug 7, 2023, four new ferries were launched, namely Teluk Bahang, Teluk Kampi, Teluk Duyung and Teluk Kumbar, which operate 68 round trips daily with a frequency of every 20 minutes during peak hours and 30 minutes during off-peak hours.
