Today, several Penang-based bloggers and websites simultaneously launched a “Penangites for Trams” campaign.
We hope more and more bloggers and webmasters – especially all those who care for Penang – will join in the campaign by placing these graphics on their blogs or websites. You may link the graphic to the URL for this post or choose to link to any other article or post extolling the benefits of trams. Leave a comment here and you will then be added to the list below of blogs/websites supporting the campaign.
This will help to raise awareness of the viability and economic benefits of trams. Of course, trams work best as part of an integrated public transport system, complementing an efficient and extensive network of buses.
Fittingly, the latest issue of business weekly The Edge carries a full-page article in support of the re-introduction of trams in Penang.
Join in the campaign and pass the word around.
So far, these are the bloggers and websites that support the re-introduction of trams in Penang:
- Mustafa K Anuar
- Susan Loone
- Mucked in a Jam
- Penang Watch
- Kris Khaira
- Surind
- Anything Goes
- LAH-mour
- No Kacau and Don’t Kacau
- Stephen Doss
- Contemporary Malaysia
- Black and White (Justin Choo)
- The Kuala Lumpur Traveller
- Forest Explorers
- Apprize
- News for Malaysians
- Wartawan Rasmi Laman Reformasi
- DanielYKL
- Lucia Lai
- I am a Malaysian
- Carol and Jeffrey’s Big View of the World
- Lestari Heritage Network
- Motivation in Motion
- World Messenger
- Brand Bounce
- Sources of Life
- Maaran Matters
- Messy Christian
- Sivin Kit’s Garden
- u-jean
- Fair is what fair wants
- BalikPulau.org
- Sally Knits
- Accidental Blogger
- The Freak
- The Stray World
- Rainstormz
- The Dreamkid Lair
- pbsiew
- Binding Love
- Everything under the Malaysian Sun
- Strategic Analysis and Thoughts
- Justice4otk
- Ecowarriorz
- anilnetto.com
Come on, together we can bring the trams back to Penang!
In case you are wondering what advantages trams bring, here’s a list from the City of Edinburgh Council website.
The number of residents, visitors and businesses are expanding, especially in key areas such as the Waterfront and west Edinburgh.
While growth is good for our economy, it also means our roads will get busier and journeys longer without a new transport choice. Trams can carry large numbers of people quickly and efficiently.
Trams don’t take up a lot of road space but they do carry a lot of people. As Edinburgh continues to grow, trams will be the most efficient way for people to travel about our city.
- Trams show a city is a modern and well-connected place to do business which can lead to more investment, new jobs, regeneration and more prosperity for us all
- Trams are an attractive option for motorists, with car users likely to be attracted to tram travel. Research shows 20% of peak hour and 50% of weekend tram passengers in the UK previously travelled by car
- Trams enhance the urban environment and generate civic pride
- Trams will encourage shoppers to travel to the city centre which can lead to more investment by businesses and regeneration. Dublin saw a rise of between 20% – 50% in pedestrian footfall figures on Grafton Street, the city’s main shopping thoroughfare. Some retailers reported a 25% increase in trade
- Residential and commercial properties may see prices increase beside tram routes. In some cities with trams, house prices have risen by up to 15% and rental prices by up to 7%
- As trams run on electricity, there will be no emissions from the vehicles themselves
- Trams will be accessible to everyone, with benefits of low level boardings at every stop and other easy-to-use features which particularly help the disabled and less mobile
- Trams will be safe to use as, in addition to a driver, every tram will have a passenger attendant on board to check tickets, answer passenger queries and ensure no anti-social behaviour occurs
- Trams will offer concessionary fares
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Tram is fine. But Penang Transport Authority needs to ensure that feeder bus service is there. How many corridor can the Tram Line operate? Can’t be all over Penang like the bus system right?
In Kuching,, Sarawak someone says that the CM is keen on Tram system but someone advises that “fix your poor bus passenger transport” first.
Those who have been to Vienna or Amsterdam or Rome and various other European cities will understand the concept of trams and how efficiently it works. I am all for it also and i believe it will work in Penang (provided it covers the whole island like the MRT in Singapore).
Tram is fine but I personally feel that it is not practical with the current road condition in Penang.
I would support the Aerobus system which was brought up some time ago.
i agree too TRAM in penang.
Rail services: Can Ultra Light Rail provide the third way?
Somewhere between a tram and a bus, Ultra Light Rail (ULR) has the potential to bring reliable, cost-effective and environmentally friendly public transport to towns and cities across the country. Can it realise that potential?
The concept of ULR involves using lighter weight, smaller capacity and consequently lower cost vehicles than a conventional light rail system. The size and low impact of the vehicles means that they are ideal for use in pedestrian areas, in historic town centres and even inside shopping centres or other building complexes.
The shallow-laid rails used by the vehicles (usually about 10 centimetres deep) can be moved easily and allow underground services such as water pipes and cables etc to be left in place. This represents a substantial cost saving.
The vehicles are self-powered, with electric or hybrid diesel/electric motors. Energy is stored on board by batteries or flywheels, and power can be topped up at stops. This on-board power supply obviates the need for any form of wayside power supply or overhead conductors, further reducing costs.
Studies have shown that the cost of building a ULR system is about ₤1 million per kilometre, one-tenth of the cost of a conventional light rail system. The lack of need for extensive infrastructure also means that a ULR line can be constructed in substantially less time than a conventional light rail line.
ULR is thought to be suitable for passenger flows of between 300 and 3000 passengers per hour, in each direction. Staff costs would be similar
to a bus operation, while other operating costs would be much lower than an equivalent bus system. ULR vehicles also incorporate easy access for the disabled.
There are other advantages over the traditional diesel bus system. The low rolling resistance of steel wheels on steel rails means that less energy (about 30 per cent of that required by a conventional bus) is needed to power the vehicles. This makes new sources of power, such as currently expensive ‘fuel cell’ technology, economically viable. This adds up to a low or zero-emission public transit system that is both fuel and cost efficient.
Trams are known to be far more popular with the travelling public than buses. It is reported that trams have a proven record of success in tempting people out of their cars, which buses cannot match. It has also been proven that the laying of tramlines raises property values in neighbouring areas in a way that bus routes do not.
The Bristol experience
The first ULR system to run in the UK was created by an European company, who saw the potential of ULR in the late nineties. They set up a harbourside tramway, running for just under a kilometre along the Bristol waterfront, on the rails left by the defunct harbourside railway.
The six-tonne tram, with capacity for 35 passengers, operated using a flywheel from a 70 volt DC supply picked up from a short stretch of third rail situated at two stops. The extremely popular service ran for two years and carried some 50,000 fare-paying passengers.
The operation of the line was suspended in 2000 owing to a dispute with Railtrack over land needed to extend the service into the town centre itself. Though the line was considered a great success, the company maintained that without the extended service the tramway was not economically viable. In spite of this setback, the operators were so impressed with the system that it has included ULR in its draft Local Transport Plan.
The Kalamata experience
The first completely new system using ULR principles is to be built in the Greek town of Kalamata in the southern Peloponnese, a seaside town and port with a population of 55,000. The Kalamata ULR system will comprise a 5 kilometre route of conventional metre-gauge tramway track, a depot; 23 stops, and eight hybrid diesel electric trams, each with 45-passenger capacity.
It is expected that with the associated civil works, to be carried out by a local contractor, the total project cost will amount to around EUR 8 million (£5 million). This represents only 10 per cent of the cost of building a conventional light rail system. The planned service will provide a tram every seven and a half to ten minutes in each direction. Maximum speed will be 50 kilometres per hour, although it is expected that speeds through Kalamata`s rather narrow streets will seldom exceed 30 kilometres per hour.
ULR makes it possible to provide a modern tram system at no greater cost than a traditional diesel bus network.
Support tram in Penang.
And continue to support Pakatan Rakyat in the next GE.
Who says Pakatan rakyat is not developing Penang?
What had BN done when they had Penang for a few decades? The old ferries? or traffic jams?
I remember the GTCT trolley busses which used to run through our fair city up till around the early 1960s. They were absolutely non-polluting, their only draw-back arising when the trolleys came adrift from the overhead electricity supply lines. I do have a photograph of one of the double decker trolleys taken in front of The Penang Road Police Headquarters Circa 1958 or so if anyone is interested.
in order for our public transport to improve, all our politicians should used public transport.
in Penang, we have roads fr 2 4 lanes narrowing to 1.5 lanes. i suppose we all are good drivers
) it takes a lot of effort to make things happens & people hv to make way for development. otherwise, it will be just as what LKY hd commented during his visit …
learn from hongkong, protect mother earth, use trams
I used to stay in Penang in the early 1990s when Yellow Buses ply GT and BP. Those were the days when I thought that the service could be better.I’m staying in KL now. When I visited Penang after 10 years, the traffic situation is worse especially when there’s less communication between the policy maker and the public. Getting anywhere by taxis means I have to fork out hundreds per day. Just wish that the government will be more proactive in providing better choice for Penangites. Giv ‘em trams just like the KL people have LRT. Looking for another 10 productive years!! Prove it PKR!
Me and my fellow Penangites support the reintroduction of trams back into Penang . Yes I think we would like to have it here to compliment Penang as a Heritage city .
Request to reproduce this article in my blog Justice for Ong Tee Keat
Thanks Justin, please go ahead and reproduce.
I am supporting this noble cause of re-introduction of Trams usage back to Penang . I have made a link to your article . Its done .
You can view it here :http://justice4otk.blogspot.com/
Thanks
Justice4otk
Any type of transportation that will reduce the carbon foot print of the method existingly deployed should be strongly encouraged considering we are a growing population – 6 billion and climbing.
I support clean and efficient public transport. However I don’t think that will be enough to resolve the traffic problem. The state government still needs to do a better job at this especially the many lanes to a sudden bottleneck issue. With the state trying to attract more foreign investor to fill up the high rise, traffic will be becoming worse if not addressed.
In this matter, we can sure learn from other countries which have quite successfully tackled this problem eg. Singapore, Hong Kong etc.
A brilliant initiative which will have a positive impact on the environment and the people. I fully support it and hope it spreads to other cities.
no no no… it cant be done… the island is inhabitted by third world people… the idea if implemented will be rendered useless.. just on the first week of implementation..the island is dirty.. uncivic citizens.. and uncivic motorist
Yes, yes, yes.
Penang is full of motorists that are suicidal…
It’s good for Penang.
May help to change the image of the third world mentality. Hey I am from Penang lah.
The tram was there when the British was in Malaya. Who was the rascals who removed it those days? Why HK still keeps it till now…and is still very well liked and costs only a pittens…This show we have moron-quality decision makers.