Free Bus Ride

April 22, 2011
BEST passengers increase six folds, more pick-up points mulled
Star

THE free Bridge Express Shuttle Transit (BEST) may be expanded to cover more departure points following increasing demand for the service.

More than 800 commuters are now using the park-and-ride service per day from its current departure point in Seberang Jaya to the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone.

This was in stark contrast from the poor response when the service was introduced on March 1. Less than 100 people used the service then but the figure increased to 400 by the end of March.

Penang Transport Council member Sim Tze Zin said the council would consider expanding the service to include more departure points in Bukit Mertajam and Nibong Tebal on the mainland, and Komtar on the island.

Sim, who is also Pulau Jerejak assemblyman, said the current service which was using 16 Rapid Penang buses could carry up to 1,000 passengers a day.

He said the number of passengers had grown by 500% to 600% to more than 800 passengers now compared to the initial days of the service.

“Many of the commuters are white-collar workers such as administrative staff, executives and engineers,” he said after visiting the BEST bus pick-up point near the Sunway Carnival Mall in Seberang Jaya yesterday. Also present was Rapid Penang chief executive officer Azhar Ahmad.

Commuters can park their vehicles at the mall’s outdoor car park at RM1 per entry before boarding the buses which leave at 20-minute intervals between 5.30am and 8.10am.

The buses will make return trips starting from the bus-stop outside Kompleks Bukit Jambul in Bayan Baru through the FIZ area between 4.30pm and 7.30pm on 20 to 30-minute intervals.

Azhar said the frequency of the buses would be increased when the company takes delivery of 200 new buses next year.

It was earlier reported that the state government was spending RM176,000 a month on BEST which is aimed at reducing traffic congestion on the island and on the Penang Bridge.

For details on BEST, visit the Penang Transport Council website at http://ptc.penang.gov.my/.

--------

March 31, 2011
Roadshows to promote Best bus service
Star

RAPID Penang has embarked on a series of roadshows to lure commuters to use the state government’s Best free shuttle service between Seberang Jaya and the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone (FIZ).

Its creative communications manager Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Kassim said roadshows had been held in Intel PG12 last Friday and Intel PG4 on Monday.

“Our next roadshow will be at Avago Technologies, Osram Opto Semiconductors, Robert Bosch, Blaupunkt, Renesas, Spansion and Jabil Circuit.

“We are confident of getting more commuters to use the free shuttle service through these roadshows,” he said.

The free park-and-ride Bridge Express Shuttle Transit (Best) service, which the state government introduced on March 1, got off to a lukewarm response partly due to lack of publicity.

The state government had allocated RM160,000 a month for the service.

Commuters only need to pay RM1 to park their cars in Sunway Carnival Mall Seberang Jaya’s car park and board the buses at the bus stop outside Billion Shopping Centre in Seberang Jaya between 5.30am and 8.10am.

The buses will make return trips starting from the bus stop outside Kompleks Bukit Jambul in Bayan Baru through the FIZ area between 4.30pm and 7.30pm.

Penang Transport Council secretary Lim Siew Hai said about 400 commuters were using the service daily.

He said the council would seek help from the Free Industrial Zone Penang Companies’ Association (Frepenca) and Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) Penang branch to help promote the service.

“This service is to help factory employees from Seberang Prai, who worked in the Bayan Lepas FIZ, save on transportation costs travelling across the Penang Bridge to work.

“During the roadshows, we found that many factory employees were not aware of the service, while many wanted to know more about the schedules and routes,” he said.

For details on the Best system, visit the Penang Transport Council website at http://ptc.penang.gov.my/.

-----------

March 2, 2011
Slow start to free Best rides
By DERRICK VINESH and MUSTAPHA AHMAD
Star

A FREE park-and-ride ‘Best’ system appeared to have got off to a lukewarm start with only a handful of commuters taking the shuttle buses from Seberang Jaya on the mainland to factories in the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone on the island.

Several of the Rapid Penang buses departed with only 10 to 15 commuters while a few had only one or two on board during the launch of the Bridge Express Shuttle Transit (Best) service yesterday.

Sunway Carnival Mall Seberang Jaya’s outdoor car park that was open for commuters to park their vehicles and take the buses bet-ween 5.30am and 8.10am appeared deserted with only a few cars parked there.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who flagged off the service at 6.50am and later boarded one of the buses at 7.10am, admitted that the response was rather slow.

“This is a good start even though the turnout was not full,” he said while trying to play down the issue.

“We will review the service in a month’s time to gauge its over-all response,” he said, adding the service would be successful if there had been adequate publicity.

Lim said of the 11 commuters who travelled with him on the same bus, nine said they were taking the bus to work for the first time.

He said the commuters said they could save about RM10 a day if they took the free shuttle service, instead of driving across the Penang Bridge to their workplace in Bayan Lepas.

“We hope they will tell their friends about the service to encourage more factory staff to use the free shuttle,” he said.

Couple Lim Teng Chun and Joey Boey Hooi Fung, both 30, from Taman Bagan, said they could save up to RM300 each a month as they used to drive separately to their workplace, Motorola Technoplex, due to their varied working hours.

Boey, a secretary, said her working hours between 8.15 and 5.35pm were fixed, while Lim, a product engineer, occasionally had to work overtime and finished around 8pm.

“But, my husband can still ride the same bus with me in the morning and later hitch a ride with his colleagues on the way back,” she said.

Another commuter Fadzillah Mohamed, 52, a supervisor in Renesas, said with the Best shuttle, she no longer needed to car pool to work.

“My friend drops me off some distance from my workplace, and I have to walk for nearly 20 minutes to get to my office.

“Now, the bus takes me right to the doorstep of my company,” she said.

Commuter Chung Soon Cheng, 38, an engineer with Robert Bosch, said he was relieved that he no longer needed to drive through heavy traffic, adding he hoped the free shuttle service would remain ‘free’ after the sixth month.

Another commuter Normahane Abd Manaf, 34, a human resources training assistant in STEC Sdn Bhd, said she was glad she could save RM250 on petrol and about RM130 on bridge toll fare a month with the free shuttle.