Water Taxis In Penang

In view of the introduction of water taxis in Penang, the fellow Penangites are able to travel around Penang island and mainland faster if that takes off by the end of next year.

According to Penang Port Commission (PPC) chairman Tan Cheng Liang, who had suggested the idea, the coastal points are Bagan Ajam, Butterworth, Pulau Aman and Nibong Tebal which is on the mainland, Teluk Bahang, Tanjung Bungah, Tanjung Tokong, Weld Quay, Pantai Jerejak and Batu Maung on the island.

She added that the Federal Government, especially the Prime Minister, had approved the project in sync with the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER).

Water taxis has been operated by many major cities around the world, include Amsterdam, Auckland, Bangkok, Brisbane, Capetown, Chicago, Copenhagen, Dubai, Hamburg, Istanbul, Kobe, London, Manila, New York, Osaka, Oslo, Paris, Rotterdam, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Vancouver and Venice. Penang would be the first in Malaysia to have its very own water taxi.

I actually pledge in full support, as these water taxis is another form of efficient public transport which saves travel time for those people who are travelling from the mainland to the island. These commuters would not have to take the trouble to face traffic jams on the Penang Bridge which sometimes would take 45 minutes to get to the island, especially during peak hours.

Water taxis would be very useful to those who travel from Nibong Tebal or Bagan Ajam to Batu Ferringhi, which the usual journey either drive along the bridge or take a ferry and then a bus takes more than 2 hours.

With the implementation of the water taxi, they serve as an alternative public transport as it will ease the traffic congestion on roads and highways, especially on the Penang bridge. In this way, a proportion of travelling commuters would be diverted to water taxis.

Water taxis would also be useful as it also provides new job opportunities and boost the tourism industry.

Currently, the mainland and the South Seberang Perai district are deliberately being cut off from Penang island as not many tourists who visited Penang had even step on the mainland soil just to catch a glimpse of several tourism areas on the mainland, namely Pulau Aman, Bukit Tambun village, fireflies and food haven in Nibong Tebal.

However, there are several conditions to be considered before implementing the project. Feedback from residents living along the coast on whether the water taxis is a necessity to the residents should be considered, or otherwise, if the idea is mooted but the residents are showing their displeasure, then the water taxis facility would be gone to waste and the company who run the water taxis would end up losing money and gone bankrupt.

Besides that, environmental-friendly water taxis should be considered so as not to have any environmental impact. Jetties or pick-up points should be built in such a way that it would not bring any geographical impact. Furthermore, water taxi pick-up points are to be built at high population density areas and easily accessible to bus stops, convenience stores, tourist attractions, towns or roads. This is to improve the popularity of the routes.

Source: The Star online "Penang To Have Water Taxis" (updated 15 July 2009)