There are only half as many ferries shuttling between Penang Island and mainland Penang as there were in the late 1970s/early 1980s – and now they are thinking of cutting back the ferry service even further?
Is this a scheme to help boost traffic on the soon-to-be-opened Second Penang Bridge – in the same way that they halved the ferry service a few years after the first Penang Bridge was opened in September 1985? (They never rebuilt the old ferry terminal on the mainland that collapsed in July 1988 under the weight of about 10000 passengers thronging the terminal. The ferries that used to docked at the old terminals on the isand and mainland were then phased out.)
The ferry service has been been pathetic since then and it is no wonder that Penang Port is losing money on the ferries, as more and more people are forced to use the bridge. In any case, the ferry service is an integral part of public transport – a public service – and it should be subsidised if it is true that it can barely break even.
The present management should quit if it cannot provide a reliable and efficient service. People are fed up with the poor service especially during rush hours, at night and on public holidays.
Now take this poll:
[yop_poll id=”4″]
