Penang ferry service worsening

The condition of the ferry service in the state is getting from bad to worse ever since Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB) cut down on the ferry service starting Jan 1 this year.

Regular ferry commuters had been complaining that the service had been extremely poor with no sign of improvements and they wondered if anyone would do anything about it.

Ahmad Khairul Ismail, 49, a regular ferry commuter said that he had to wait for a long time and the service was dwindling, leaving regular commuters like him in a difficult position.

"I have been using the ferry for a very long time to travel from the mainland to the island for work, but if this type of service continues, many people like me would suffer," he said.

Another ferry commuter, Siti Nadiah Sukorr, 35, said the ferry had been an icon for the state for so long and it was sad to see the current condition of the service.

"We can see during the peak hours and holiday seasons that cars have to wait in long queues for a long time and cause a traffic jam on the main road. I just cannot understand why do they reduce the number of ferries because from what I see, people are still using it regardless what the situation is," she said.

PPSB had previously announced that there would be only three ferries from four that would be operating in an effort to cut down costs due to the decline in the number of vehicles being ferried between the mainland and island.

Due to the decreased number of ferries, the time interval had increased for an hour after 8.20pm with the first ferry to leave the dock being at 6.30am and the last one at 11.30pm from the island and 11pm from the mainland.

The state government had previously sent a letter of proposal to Putrajaya stating that the state government was willing to take-over the ferry service under several conditions but the idea had been halted since early this year.

Currently, PPSB has the concession to operate the port till 2023 under a privatisation agreement with the federal government and to date, 49 percent of PPSB shares had been sold to MMC Corporation, an infrastructure and utilities group in order to solve the ferry issue.

The takeover of the companies is expected to be finalised by early next year. -- Bernama