In recent years[which?], however, traffic congestion has become increasingly frequent around the capital city, George Town, leading to current efforts to improve and introduce newer forms of public transport in the state.[1][2][3]
History
Roads
The first roads in the capital city of Penang, George Town, were created in 1786, soon after its founding by Captain Francis Light. Light Street, named after Light himself, was the first street to be laid out. By the end of the 18th century, the original settlement of George Town was bounded by four streets – Light Street, Beach Street, Chulia Street and Pitt Street.[4]
One of the earliest modes of transport in Penang was the horse hackney carriage, which was widely used between the late 18th century until 1935. By then, the rickshaw (jinriksha) and later the trishaw, also known locally as beca in Malay, became popular. To this day, the trishaw, an icon synonymous with colonial Penang, is still in use in George Town, albeit mostly for sightseeing rides by tourists.[5][6]
Other famous modes of urban public transport in colonial Penang were trams and trolleybuses. The first steam tramway commenced operations in the 1880s, making George Town the first city in Malaya to be equipped with trams. Electrical trams were also introduced in 1905. Meanwhile, Penang's first trolleybus was launched in 1925.[7] Trolleybuses soon supplanted the trams and remained popular until the post-war years.
In 1961, George Town's trolleybus system was discontinued.[7] Henceforth, Penang's urban public transport system came to be dominated by regular public buses.[8][9]
However, the public bus services, which were operated by a number of competing private companies, were deemed unsatisfactory.[10][11][12] Following the collapse of Penang's public bus services in 2004, the Malaysian federal government intervened by tasking Prasarana, a government-linked firm, to take over the state's ailing public transport system.[13][14][15] As a result, Rapid Penang was launched in 2007.[16]
Seaport
George Town was intended by the British as an entrepôt, and for much of its history, its harbour facilities along the Penang Strait had contributed to the growth of the Port of Penang as one of the main harbours in British Malaya, aside from the Port of Singapore. By the early 20th century, the Port of Penang had become a major transshipment hub in Malaya, funneling exports which had bypassed other regional ports and channelling for export some of the major Malayan commodities, including spices, rubber and tin.[17][18][19][20]
However, the role of the Port of Penang has greatly diminished since the revocation of Penang Island's free port status in 1969; the concurrent development of Port Klang near Kuala Lumpur further reduced the Port of Penang's trade volume.[21][22] In 1974, much of the Port of Penang was relocated to Butterworth on mainland Seberang Perai.[23]
Penang is also home to the oldest ferry service in Malaysia. Launched in 1894, it became the first cross-strait transport link between Penang Island and mainland Seberang Perai; for many decades, it was also the only form of cross-strait transport until the opening of the Penang Bridge in 1985.[24] This shuttle ferry service was rebranded as Rapid Ferry in 2017.[25]
Trains are not a popular mode of transport due to their low speed and the availability of express interstate buses which are more convenient, as well as the high rates of car ownership amongst Penangites.
Penang Island is connected to the mainland via two cross-strait bridges - the Penang Bridge and the Second Penang Bridge. The older Penang Bridge, opened in 1985, is 13.5 km (8.4 mi) long, linking Gelugor on Penang Island with Perai on mainland Seberang Perai. Further south is the 24 km (15 mi) long Second Penang Bridge, which runs between Batu Maung on the island and Batu Kawan on the mainland. Completed in 2014, it supersedes the older first bridge as the longest bridge in Southeast Asia.
Roads and expressways
The North–South Expressway, a 966 km-long (600 mi) expressway through western Peninsular Malaysia, runs through Seberang Perai. After exiting either one of both bridges, commuters can directly use the expressway to get to the other major cities and towns along western Peninsular Malaysia.
The Butterworth Outer Ring Road (BORR) is a 14 km (8.7 mi) tolled expressway that primarily serves Butterworth, Perai and Seberang Jaya to ameliorate the upsurge in vehicular traffic due to the intense urban and industrial development.
The Penang Middle Ring Road, which is composed of Scotland Road, Green Lane and Jalan Tengku Kudin, is an important ring road within George Town, allowing vehicular traffic to bypass the busier roads within the city centre.
Public transit buses, now solely run by Rapid Penang, remain the main mode of urban public transport system within Penang. As of 2016[update], Rapid Penang operates a fleet of 406 buses and 56 routes throughout the Greater Penang Conurbation, including routes into neighbouring Kedah and Perak.[28][29] 30 of the 56 routes are within Penang Island, with a handful of these pan-island routes equipped with double-decker buses as well. Also among the routes are free-of-charge services, such as the Central Area Transit, the Congestion Alleviation Transport and the Pulau Tikus Loop.[30]
In 2014, open-air double-decker buses, known as Hop-On Hop-Off buses, have been introduced for tourists in George Town.[31]
Rapid Penang usage has seen an increase from a lowly 30,000 commuters a day in 2007 to 96,000 commuters a day in 2017.[28][32] Annually, Rapid Penang ridership has fluctuated somewhat, reaching a peak of 31.1 million in 2011.[33]
The Penang Hill Railway, a funicular railway to the peak of Penang Hill, is the only such system still in operation in Malaysia. Completed in 1923, it was considered an engineering feat of sorts at the time. The railway underwent an extensive upgrading in 2010 and was reopened in early 2011.[34] It now serves visitors travelling up the Penang Hill, providing quick and direct access to the hill's peak.
As of 2014[update], the number of passengers of the funicular railway reached 1.365 million.[35]
In 2015, Uber launched services in Penang, one of the first metropolitan areas in Malaysia to allow such a service.[36][37] A similar service, Grab, followed suit in 2016.[38] These ride-hailing services have provided cheaper and safer alternatives for Penangites and tourists alike. In 2017, Uber revealed that Penang was its fastest growing market in Malaysia, with "thousands of drivers" and over 100,000 users within the state.[39][40] Of the local users, 28% commuted to work daily with Uber and 20 percent utilised the application for weekend trips within Penang.[citation needed]
In recent years, the Penang state government, in collaboration with the Penang Island City Council, has stepped up initiatives to make George Town a cyclist-friendly city.[41] These efforts, which are part of the wider efforts to reduce traffic congestion and elevate the city's liveability standards, include the creation of cycling paths and the implementation of bicycle rental services.[42][43]
As of 2016[update], a 12.5 km (7.8 mi) long cycling track between Komtar and Queensbay Mall has been completed as part of a planned 39.3 km (24.4 mi) long network of cycling paths throughout George Town.[44] The Penang Island City Council has also funded a bicycle-rental service, LinkBike, which was launched in 2016. This service requires the use of smartphones to rent a bicycle at any of the 25 electronically operated stations within George Town.
In addition to LinkBike, a number of private companies have also offered bicycle rental services for use within George Town's UNESCOWorld Heritage Site.[45]
The Port of Penang, operated by the Penang Port Commission, is the main harbour and transshipment hub in northern Malaysia. The Port comprises seven facilities, with six of them on mainland Seberang Perai, including the North Butterworth Container Terminal, Butterworth Deep Water Wharves and the Prai Bulk Cargo Terminal.[47]
Even though Penang's maritime trade volume has diminished over the recent decades due to the loss of George Town's free port status and the development of Port Klang, the Port still plays an important role for northern Malaysia, as it links Penang with more than 200 ports worldwide.[21][22][48] As of 2016[update], the Port of Penang handled over 1.44 million TEUs of cargo, making it the third busiest seaport in Malaysia by trade volume.[49] The Port's strategic location enabled it to service not just northern Peninsular Malaysia, but also southern Thailand.
Meanwhile, the only Port facility on Penang Island, Swettenham Pier in George Town, now accommodates cruise ships, making it one of the main entry points into the state.[51] This makes cruise tourism a major component of tourist arrivals into Penang, other than airport arrivals. As of 2017[update], Swettenham Pier recorded 1.35 million tourist arrivals, thereby surpassing Port Klang as the busiest port-of-call in Malaysia for cruise shipping.[50][52] The pier has also attracted some of the world's biggest cruise liners, such as the RMS Queen Mary 2.[53] A handful of cruise ships call Swettenham Pier as their homeport, bringing tourists into and out of George Town towards regional destinations like Phuket and Singapore.
The Penang state government has drawn up plans to bring in more rail-based transport systems throughout Penang. The Penang Transport Master Plan envisages the following long-term solutions to counter the state's worsening traffic congestion, which is compounded by Penang's abnormally high vehicle ownership rate and the state's limited space for urban development.[1][2]
Currently, the Light Rapid Transit line between George Town and the Penang International Airport, also known as the Bayan Lepas LRT line, is being allocated the top priority by the Penang state government.[64][65][66] In April 2019, the LRT project was received conditional approval from the federal government. Construction is expected to start in June 2020.[67]
On 1 July 2020, it was announced that Gamuda Bhd would be the project delivery partner (PDP) for the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP).[68]
^"ASEAN Conference on Environment-Behaviour Studies". Urban Landscape Factors That Influenced the Character of George Town, Penang Unesco World Heritage Site.
^Wong, Yee Tuan (2015). Penang Chinese Commerce in the 19th Century: The Rise and Fall of the Big Five. Singapore: ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute. ISBN978-981-4515-02-3.
^Langdon, Marcus (2014). George Town's Historic Commercial and Civic Precincts. Penang: George Town World Heritage Incorporated.
_Logo.png){kind=logo}
