The Penang government is constantly looking for ways to alleviate the severe traffic jams that exist throughout the state, especially when it comes to Butterworth and Seberang Jaya traffic coming towards the island’s towns of George Town and Bayan Lepas.
Zairil Khir Johari, the chairman of the State Infrastructure, Transport, and Digital Committee, reported that the state government has implemented a number of short-term initiatives, such as promoting public transportation use.
As of right now, Rapid Penang operates 237 buses throughout the state; however, as more are needed to deliver a higher caliber of service, the number will be gradually increased. “In addition, the state government has fully funded the My50 Mutiara pass for free unlimited travel for all daily commuters and provided a free Central Area Transit (CAT) service in the George Town city centre area to create an efficient transport system and encourage the continuous use of public transport,” he said.
In response to an oral inquiry concerning efforts to alleviate Penang’s traffic congestion, K. Kumaran (DAP-Bagan Dalam) asked him this during today’s State Legislative Assembly meeting.
Aside from that, Zairil (DAP-Tanjung Bunga) stated that the availability of the Bridge Express Shuttle Transit (BEST) bus service for Komtar employees and the free Congestion Alleviation Transport (CAT) Bridge bus service for Bayan Baru to Seberang Jaya and Bukit Mertajam-Komtar routes proved to be very helpful in resolving the issue of traffic congestion from Butterworth and Seberang Jaya towards the island.
According to him, the state government has also taken a number of other steps to ease traffic congestion, particularly along the Juru-Sungai Dua North-South Expressway. One such measure is changing the layout of the road lines at specific points to increase the number of one-way lanes from three to four, which will increase the capacity of the highway.
He continued by saying that additional strategies included working with the police and stepping up enforcement to manage traffic at the Penang Bridge and other high-traffic areas, particularly during rush hour.
