Rapid Penang (stylised as ''rapidPenang'') is a

public bus Public transport bus services are generally based on regular operation of transit buses along a route calling at agreed bus stops according to a published public transport timetable. History of buses Origins While there are indications o ...

brand operating within the

George Town Conurbation The George Town Conurbation, known officially as the Northern Conurbation, is the metropolitan area within and surrounding the States and federal territories of Malaysia, Malaysian state of Penang, including parts of neighbouring Kedah and Perak. ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. Established in 2007 as a subsidiary of

Prasarana Malaysia Prasarana Malaysia Berhad (Prasarana) (English: Malaysian Infrastructure Limited) is a government-owned company which was set up by Ministry of Finance (Malaysia) as a corporate body established under the Minister of Finance (Incorporation) A ...

, it serves as the main public transport system within the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...

, with routes extending into neighbouring towns in

Kedah Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman (Islam), Aman (دار الأمان; Arabic for 'The Safe Abode') and historically as Queda, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of ...

and

Perak Perak (; Perak Malay: ''Peghok'') is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kel ...

. Rapid Penang forms part of

Rapid Bus Rapid Bus Sdn Bhd is the largest bus operator in Malaysia operating mainly in urban areas of Klang Valley, Penang & Kuantan. As of February 2023, Rapid KL service brands unit of Rapid Bus, has operates 113 normal routes and also 69 MRT Fee ...

, which also operates public bus services across the

Klang Valley Klang Valley () is an urban agglomeration in Malaysia that is centered in the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, and including their adjoining cities and towns in the state of Selangor. It is the urban area of the much larger Ku ...

and

Kuantan Kuantan (Pahang Malay: ''Kontaeng''; Terengganu Malay: ''Kuatang/Kuantang'') is a city and the state capital of Pahang, Malaysia. It is located near the mouth of the Kuantan River. Kuantan is the Largest cities in Malaysia, 12th largest city ...

. , Rapid Penang's fleet comprises 350 buses operating on a total of 47 routes throughout the conurbation. Additionally, since 2024, Rapid Penang has been expanding its

demand-responsive transport Demand-responsive transport (DRT), also known as demand-responsive transit, demand-responsive service,
US National Trans ...

(DRT) service, with a fleet of 17 vans to address last mile connectivity at specific locations within Penang.

History

Prior to the introduction of Rapid Penang in 2007, public bus services in

had been run by several competing private operators. The operators were plagued by fragmented zoning, inadequate asset maintenance and financial mismanagement. In 2004, the Yellow Bus Company, one of the largest public bus operators in the state, abruptly ceased operations due to a

price war A price war is a form of market competition in which companies within an industry engage in aggressive pricing activity "characterized by the repeated cutting of prices below those of competitors". This leads to a cycle, where each competitor att ...

and financial losses. The continued deterioration of Penang's bus operators prompted the

state government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonom ...

to intervene. Under

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

Koh Tsu Koon Koh Tsu Koon (born 26 August 1949; ) is a Malaysians, Malaysian politician. He was the Chief Minister of Penang from 1990 to 2008, Dewan Rakyat, Member of Parliament (MP) for Tanjong (federal constituency), Tanjong from 1982 to 1986 and was ap ...

, the state government in 2006 attempted to revive the public bus system by rezoning routes to designated operators. This proved unsuccessful, forcing Koh to seek assistance from the

Malaysian federal government The Government of Malaysia, officially the Federal Government of Malaysia (; Jawi: ), is based in the Federal Territory of Putrajaya, with the exception of the legislative branch, which is located in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia is a federation comp ...

. In 2007,

, a

government-owned company A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a business entity created or owned by a national or local government, either through an executive order or legislation. SOEs aim to generate profit for the government, prevent private sector monopolies, provide goo ...

, launched Rapid Penang. While some quarters within Penang voiced their objections to the federal takeover of the state's public transportation, Koh's administration defended the move, arguing that federal expertise and financial resources were necessary to improve the public bus system. Rapid Penang initially began its services on 31 July that year with a fleet of 150 buses. Of the 150 buses, 110 were allocated to George Town to service five corridors, while the remaining 40 buses were assigned to

Seberang Perai Seberang Perai is a city in the Malaysian state of Penang. Located on the Malay Peninsula and separated from Penang Island by the Penang Strait, it shares borders with Kedah to the north and east and Perak to the south. The city spans an are ...

's three corridors. In 2013, Rapid Penang, along with

Rapid KL Rapid KL (stylized as ''rapidKL'') is a public transportation system owned by Prasarana Malaysia and operated by its subsidiaries Rapid Rail and Rapid Bus. The acronym stands for , which translates to Kuala Lumpur Integrated Rapid Transit Net ...

and

Rapid Kuantan Rapid Kuantan (styled as ''rapidKuantan'') is a corporate brand owned by Prasarana Malaysia Berhad ( Prasarana) to operate stage bus services in Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia. It was launched on 1 December 2012. It currently has a fleet of 80 ...

, was merged into

. While the Rapid Penang brand is retained, its assets and staff were transferred to the newer entity. , Rapid Penang 's fleet consists of 350 buses operating on a total of 47 routes across the

. In 2024, a

demand-responsive transport Demand-responsive transport (DRT), also known as demand-responsive transit, demand-responsive service,
US National Trans ...

(DRT) service was introduced in George Town. This service adopts a ridesharing model akin to Grab, aimed at improving last mile connectivity at areas not accessible by conventional buses. A total of 17 vans were originally deployed at selected suburbs. Rapid Penang has plans to further expand the DRT, with an addition of 21 vans scheduled by June 2025.

Routes

, Rapid Penang operates 47 routes across the

, with some extending into neighbouring

and

. Of the 47 routes, 26 are within George Town and 15 are in

. There are two cross-strait routes connecting the two cities. The remaining four routes are interstate services that link Seberang Perai with nearby towns in Kedah and Perak. Since 2024, Rapid Penang has been expanding its DRT service by deploying vans to address last mile connectivity at specific areas of George Town, such as

Ayer Itam Ayer Itam is a suburb of George Town in the Malaysian state of Penang. Nested within the central valleys of Penang Island, it is located approximately southwest of the city centre. Etymology Ayer Itam got its name from the murky waters of th ...

Paya Terubong Paya Terubong is a suburb of George Town, Penang, George Town in the States and federal territories of Malaysia, Malaysian state of Penang. Located nearly southwest of the Central George Town, Penang, city centre, it is nestled within the central ...

Tanjong Tokong Tanjong Tokong is a suburb of George Town in the Malaysian state of Penang. It is located at the northeastern coast of Penang Island, northwest of the city centre. The suburb is bordered by Tanjong Bungah to the west and Tanjong Pinang to the ...

Tanjong Bungah Tanjong Bungah is a suburb of George Town in the Malaysian state of Penang. It is located along the northern coast of Penang Island between Batu Ferringhi and Tanjong Tokong, about northwest of the city centre. Tanjong Bungah is locally known ...

Bayan Lepas Bayan Lepas is a suburb of George Town in the Malaysian state of Penang. Located near the southeastern tip of Penang Island, south of the city centre, it is home to the Penang International Airport, the third busiest airport in Malaysia, as we ...

Jelutong Jelutong is a suburb of George Town, Penang, George Town in the States and federal territories of Malaysia, Malaysian state of Penang. Located south of the Central George Town, Penang, city centre, Jelutong has been inhabited since as early as th ...

and the

city centre A city centre, also known as an urban core, is the Commerce, commercial, Culture, cultural and often the historical, Politics, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely e ...

. In 2025, the service was extended to the

mainland Mainland is defined as "relating to or forming the main part of a country or continent, not including the islands around it egardless of status under territorial jurisdiction by an entity" The term is often politically, economically and/or demogr ...

, covering Butterworth and

Seberang Jaya Seberang Jaya is a suburb of Seberang Perai in the Malaysian state of Penang. Located at the southern bank of the Perai River and east of Perai proper, the area was developed in the 1970s. Since then, Seberang Jaya has evolved into a booming area ...

Fleet

, Rapid Penang's fleet consists of 350 buses. As with other

Prasarana Prasarana Malaysia Berhad (Prasarana) (English: Malaysian Infrastructure Limited) is a government-owned company which was set up by Ministry of Finance (Malaysia) as a corporate body established under the Minister of Finance (Incorporation) A ...

brands such as

and

, Rapid Penang's bus fleet is managed by

References

External links

* {{Public transport in Penang Transport in Penang Bus transport in Malaysia Malaysian brands 2007 establishments in Malaysia

History

Routes

Fleet

See also

References

External links