Rapid Penang

Rapid Penang's Prasarana corporate branding for buses

Type	Private limited
Industry	Public transportation operation
Founded	June 2007
Headquarters	George Town, Malaysia
Area served	Penang, Malaysia
Products	Public buses transportation
Owner	Prasarana Malaysia Berhad
Website	www.rapidpg.com.my

Rapid Penang (styled as rapidPenang; ) is s a corporate brand owned by Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad (Prasarana) to operate stage bus services in Penang state in Malaysia. Rapid Penang began operations on 31 July 2007 and nominate Rangkaian Pengangkutan Intergrasi Deras Sdn Bhd as a bus operator.

This is the second public transport operating company set up by the Malaysian government. The first was Rangkaian Pengangkutan Intergrasi Deras Sdn Bhd which was set up in 2004 to take over light rail transit operations and a large portion of the bus network in Kuala Lumpur.

Rapid Penang Sdn Bhd was funded by the Ministry Of Finance Incorporated and currently is a wholly owned subsidiary of Prasarana. Like Rapid KL, the assets to be operated by Rapid Bus Sdn Bhd under the brand name of Rapid Penang belongs to Prasarana.

History

The Malaysian Federal government's move to operate bus services in Penang came about when the ailing bus network in the state started showing signs of collapse.^[1]

The bus operators of Penang had been facing financial difficulties for many years but the situation became critical when one of Penang's largest and best known bus companies, the Yellow Bus Company Berhad, which had been operating for 58 years, suddenly stopped running on 1 January 2004, leaving thousands of commuters stranded.^[2] On 1 April 2006, the Penang state government revamped the entire bus network in the hope of improving the bus service in the state. Under the revamped routes, bigger buses were made to run along "trunk" routes while minibuses ran "feeder" routes which branched off trunk routes.^[3] The revamp however failed to improve the situation,^[4] leading the Penang state government to state that it was looking at following the revamp which Kuala Lumpur underwent.^[5] In February 2007, Penang chief minister Dr Koh Tsu Koon announced that the Federal government had agreed to operate a bus service in the state.^[6]

On 31 July 2007, Rapid Penang began operations after being launched by Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as part of his Northern Corridor Economic Region initiative.

Routes

Rapid Penang has introduced a fresh outlook for the routes it covers and buses serving them. Now there are eight corridors served by Rapid Penang buses. The Rapid Penang buses will display new colour codes for each corridor it serves for easy recognition.

Penang Island Bus Route

Rapid BEST

Rapid BEST (Bridge Express Shuttle Transit) is a new special free shuttle service provided by the Penang State Government with goal of reducing the volume of traffic travelling across the Penang Bridge to the Free Industrial Zone. The service began on 1 March 2011.

Fares

A new fare structure took place beginning August 2009 in line with the government's announcement to improve the delivery system of public transportation services.^[7] However, it was heavily criticised by Penang DAP Socialist Youth (Dapsy) secretary Ng Wei Aik who hit out at Rapid Penang for insisting on a price hike when the service provided was not up to mark.^[8]

Fare changes

• RM0.94 for the first two kilometres (km) and RM0.094 for each subsequent km (the current rates are RM0.72 for the first two km and RM0.072 for each subsequent km^[7]

Note fares: Certain Malaysian nationals like senior citizen, OKU (physically disabled) and school children wearing uniform are eligible for concession fare.

Fleet

The Rapid Penang fleet currently consists of 470 buses.^[9]

Model	Image	Year Introduced	Bodywork	Unit Introduced	Notes/Comments
Dong Feng		2007	Scomi Coach (Formerly MTrans)	40	Partially Retired. Only serves as training unit for Academy
Higer		2007	SKS Bus	40	Partially Retired
King Long		2007	DRB-Hicom Defense Technology	40	Partially retired
Jac		2007	Scomi Coach	30	Fully retired from service
Scania K270UB		2009	DRB-Hicom Defense Technology	30 (12m) 170 (10.5m)
Scania K250UB		2013	DRB-Hicom Defense Technology, Gemilang Coachworks	120[9]

Rapid ICIS

Rapid Penang Mobile ICIS

Developer(s)	Apps World Sdn Bhd
Initial release	12 April 2011
Stable release	1.1
Operating system	iOS
Platform	iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad
Type	Rapid ICIS Travel Planner
License	Proprietary
Website	Website

The Rapid ICIS, Short for Rapid Penang Intelligent Commuter Information System. Launched in the early 2010, the facilities provides commuters with live information of bus arrival time anywhere via phone call. The ICIS centre also serves as the integrated command centre of bus operation. The current Hi-tech ICIS centre is located at Rapid Penang Headquarters.

The Rapid ICIS also enables commuters to locate their bus arrival time via two other methods:

• Rapid ICIS Display, located at KOMTAR Bus Terminal and Penang International Airport Arrival Hall.
• The newly launched Rapid Penang iPlanner for Apple iPod Touch, iPad, and iPhone with iOS4 and newer operating systems.
• The new Web Bus ETA system has been launched on March'12 through their official webpage,rapidpg.com.my

See also

• Prasarana Malaysia Berhad
  • Rapid Bus Sdn Bhd
    • Rapid KL
      • BRT Sunway Line
      • BRT Federal Line
    • Rapid Penang
    • Rapid Kuantan
• Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD)
• Public transport in Kuala Lumpur
• Buses in Kuala Lumpur

References

1. ↑ Singh, Sharanjit (20 February 2007), "Rapid KL to manage Penang buses", New Straits Times, p. 22 
2. ↑ Ng, Su-Ann (2 January 2004), "End of the road for Yellow Bus after 58 years", The Star, p. 19 
3. ↑ Tan, Emmeline; K, Kasturi Dewi (1 April 2004), "New bus system starts today", The Star (Penang final edition), p. 16  Check date values in: |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
4. ↑ Yeng, Ai Chun (4 July 2006), "Bus system in a mess", The Star, p. 3 
5. ↑ "KL bus system for Penang", The Star, p. 28, 24 August 2006 
6. ↑ Singh, Sharanjit (20 February 2007), "RapidKL to manage Penang buses", New Straits Times, p. 22 
7. 1 2 "Rapid Penang To Introduce New Fare Structure From Aug 1". Bernama. 21 July 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2009. 
8. ↑ "Service 'not up to mark'". The Star. 4 August 2009. Retrieved 5 August 2009. 
9. 1 2 "Additional 120 buses for Rapid Penang - Prasarana". Bernama. Factiva. 11 November 2013.  |access-date= requires |url= (help)

External links

• Official Rapid Penang website

Bus transport in Malaysia
Bus service	Airport bus Airport Coach Skybus Star Shuttle Bus expressway transit (BET) Central BET1 BET2 BET3 BET4 BET5 BET6 BET7 BET8 BET9 BET10 BET11 BET12 BET13 BET14 BET15 BET16 BET17 Southern BET1 BET2 BET3 BET4 BET5 BET6 Bus rapid transit (BRT)  B1  BRT Sunway Line  B2  BRT Federal Line BRT Kota Kinabalu BRT Kuching Free bus service Central Go KL City Bus Green Line Purple Line Blue Line Red Line PJ City Bus Smart Selangor Bus IPC Shuttle Bus IKEA Cheras Shuttle Bus Citta Mall Shuttle Bus Paradigm Mall Shuttle Bus The Gardens Mall Shuttle Bus Mid Valley Megamall Shuttle Bus Tropicana City Mall Shuttle Bus 1 Utama One Card Express Bus Publika Mall Shuttle Bus UEM SUNRISE Shuttle Bus Northern MBPP Rapid Penang Free Shuttle Bridge Express Shuttle Transit (BEST) Central Area Transit (CAT) Pulau Tikus Loop (PTL) Southern Bas Muafakat Johor MBJB 1 MBJB 2 MBJB 3 MBJB 4 MBJB 5 MPJBT 1 MPJBT 2 MPJBT 3 MPKU 1 MPKU 2 MPKU 3 MPPG 1 MPPG 2 MPPG 3 Intercity bus service A-Class Seremban Coach Causeway Link Konsortium Bas Ekspres Semenanjung Maju Nice Express Executive Plusliner Rapid Penang SKS-KL Transnasional Transit bus Causeway Link Cityliner Len Seng Trans Iskandar Maju Metrobus MRT operated by Rapid KL Panorama Melaka Perak Transit Rapid KL Rapid Kuantan Rapid Penang Rapid Kamunting SJ Bus Kuala Lumpur Mini-Bus Service
Major Bus Hub	Central Duta Putra Titiwangsa Klang Sentral Medan Pasar Pudu Sentral Seremban Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (TBS) Eastern Kuantan Sentral Northern Amanjaya Terminal Butterworth Bus Terminal Penang Sentral Shahab Perdana Bus Terminal Southern Melaka Sentral Larkin Sentral
Companies	Handal Indah Johor Corporation - Maju Metrobus Nationwide Nadicorp - Konsortium Transnasional Prasarana Malaysia - Rapid Bus Utamagas Setara Jaya
Related topics	Greater Kuala Lumpur and Klang Valley Bus Network Revamp (BNR) Buses in Klang Valley Trolleybuses in George Town, Penang
Automated fare collection	Integrated Cashless Payment System MyDebit/ATM Card Touch 'n Go Card Manjalink Card MyRapid Card
Commissions	Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) Johor Public Transport Corporation (PAJ)
Fleet	Alexander Dennis Enviro500 Alexander Dennis Enviro200 BYD electric bus Daewoo BV120MA Daewoo BS106 Daewoo GDW6126HGD Dongfeng DHZ6120RC2 Higer KLQ6119GC King Long XMQ6121G King Long XMQ6122G King Long XMQ6930G MAN 18.280 HOCL-NL Mercedes-Benz CBC 1725 Mercedes-Benz O500M 1725 Volvo B10M Volvo B290RLE Volvo B7RLE Scania K250UB Scania K270UB Scania K310IB Iveco EuroClass Iveco Turbocity sksbus SA9-260L Ankai HFF6111GS01D
italics indicated the project is under construction.

Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER)
NCER Perlis	Kangar Padang Besar Perlis Seed Centre
NCER Kedah	Alor Setar Anak Bukit Langkawi Bukit Kayu Hitam Universiti Utara Malaysia Sultan Abdul Halim Airport Menara Alor Star Trans Eastern Kedah Interland Highway Paddy Museum Gurun Sungai Petani Halal Hub Kulim Hi-Tech Park South Kedah Expressway
NCER Penang	Butterworth Butterworth Outer Ring Road Sungai Juru Expressway Georgetown Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway Jelutong Expressway KOMTAR Penang Ferry Service Penang Port Penang Monorail Penang Bridge Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah Bridge (Penang Second Bridge) Penang Sentral Penang International Airport Penang Global City Centre Penang Outer Ring Road Penang Undersea Tunnel Rapid Penang Universiti Sains Malaysia
NCER Perak	Belum-Temengor (Temenggor Lake, Temenggor Dam, Banding Island, Lake Temenggor Bridge) East-West Highway Gerik Pengkalan Hulu Lenggong Universiti Teknologi Petronas Jelas Expressway