The Penang Ratepayers Association (PRA) wants the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) to offer free stage bus services to several secondary schools, arguing that dismissal-hour traffic is a major driver of the island’s worsening jams, The Vibes reported.
The proposal was raised during a recent dialogue with MBPP president and George Town Lord Mayor Datuk Anthony Rajendran. PRA president Lee Kim Noor said schools along strategic routes such as Gottlieb Road, Green Lane, Bayan Baru, Air Itam and parts of George Town could serve as pick-up points for free Rapid Penang Central Area Transit (CAT) buses during dismissal hours. Students would then be ferried to convenient drop-off points where ride-sharing providers or parents collect them. Security personnel would be stationed at both the schools and the pick-up points to look after students, teachers and parents.
Lee suggested that open areas at the Lotus hypermarkets in E-Gate and Tanjong Tokong be used as collection points for parents, instead of the present practice of gathering inside school grounds, which she said clogged up an already bottlenecked situation.
“There is a need for an out-of-the-box solution to the traffic woes in Penang, especially if the ratepayers need to put up with additional roadworks due to the infrastructure being in place,” she said. Daily dismissal hours and extracurricular activities at Penang Chinese Girls High School, Penang Free School, Convent Green Lane, Han Chiang and Chung Ling Boys High School have further complicated congestion, she added. The association also wants a renewed campaign by local authorities promoting public transport, from ride-sharing services to the Rapid Penang stage bus, as a better alternative to driving. It suggested that road users from Kedah and Perak be allowed to park at a convenient location before boarding public transport into the state.
Police data released this year showed 167 road fatalities in Penang in the first five months, with motorcyclists making up the vast majority of the victims. The same period recorded 23,534 accidents across the state.
Works for the Mutiara Light Rail Transit (LRT) line are already reshaping traffic flow. Nearly 40% of the alignment and stations sit in Bayan Baru, and Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah, a main road serving the Bayan Lepas industrial area, has been under traffic diversion since 12 September, The Star noted, an arrangement expected to last until 31 July 2027.
Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin said authorities had adopted a no-closure approach, with roadworks scheduled at night and affected sections reopened for traffic during the day wherever possible. He acknowledged the frustration of road users while pointing to the factories, investment and jobs concentrated in the area.
“The LRT can help ease congestion by encouraging more people to use public transport. But it will not solve 100% of the problem,” he said.
Congestion is expected to worsen over the next five years as the state works towards completing the LRT by 2031, alongside the reclamation of Silicon Island off Batu Maung.
