Rapid Penang rolls out on-demand vans in George Town, Jelutong and Bayan Lepas from this Saturday to tackle congestion
GEORGE TOWN, April 24 — Rapid Bus Sdn Bhd has expanded the Rapid Penang On-Demand van services to cover three more areas on Penang island from Saturday onwards.
The three new zones will focus on the city centre of George Town and the highly dense urban areas of Jelutong and Bayan Lepas.
According to Rapid Bus acting chief executive officer Ku Jamil Zakaria, initially, a total 14 vans will be used for the Rapid Penang On-Demand service for the three new zones.
Six will be in George Town, four in Jelutong and four in Bayan Lepas.
'To support the following phases, Rapid Bus will introduce another 21 vans in stages by June,' he said.
He said Rapid Bus is committed in expanding access to Rapid Penang On-Demand services in areas with less Rapid Penang bus coverage.
'To improve the operations, we will be combining the Rapid Penang On-Demand services in Paya Terubong and Farlim starting from May,' he said.
He said the restructuring of the on-demand services will improve first mile and last mile connectivity for passengers.
'It is hoped that the availability of the services in the new zones will encourage more people to take public transport,' he said.
He said this will reduce cars on the road and at the same time resolve parking issues especially around the city centre.
The Rapid Penang On-Demand services started with two vans plying the Farlim zone.
The service in Farlim recorded an average of 120 passengers per day.
The service was expanded to Gurney, Sunway and Paya Terubong with a total 17 vans plying the routes.
'With the earlier expansion, the service was well received with an average of 753 passengers daily,' he said.
The Rapid Penang On-Demand operates daily from 6am to 11pm.
Passengers will enjoy special promotional rates of RM1.
Passengers will need to book the service through the Kummute app and payment can be made through Pas Mutiara My50, Pas OKU Smile, debit or credit card, DuitNow QR or e-wallet.
Further details on the service can be found at www.myrapid.com.my.
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