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Penang Bus guide (2024): taking the bus around Penang Island

Posted on Last updated: July 4, 2024

Everything you need to know about taking the public bus in Penang.

Clean, modern air-conditioned buses offer a comfortable option to get around Penang Island. Whilst they lack some of the convenience and speed of a Grab taxi , the buses are safe, affordable and particularly useful if your start and end point are close to the bus stops.

Managed by a company called Rapid Penang, they serve all four corners of the island with the main routes from Penang Airport in the southeast corner all the way around the coast to Teluk Bahang near Penang National Park in the northwest, via George Town and Batu Ferringhi.

How to buy tickets and prices

If you’re just a casual or infrequent user of Penang buses, you’ll need to buy a ticket from the driver when you board. Let them know where you are going and the price will be worked out depending on the distance.

As a guide, shorter trips less than 7km will be RM1.40, all the way up to RM5 for any journey over 35km. The fares are half-price for Malaysian senior citizens (or international senior citizens on the MM2H visa) and children aged 7-12. Kids under 6 are free.

Check the table below for the full price details.

It’s very important to remember that (other than travel passes, more on that later), the payment must be made in cash-only , no credit cards and there is no change given . The drivers don’t carry or have access to any cash, instead you slot your notes and coins into a metal box which remains locked for the entire journey.

This is for security/safety reasons, so there’s no way for the driver to give change, however large the note you are trying to pay with. Try to plan ahead and have the correct change (or as close to it as you can) before you board. It’s a little bit of a hassle and makes the bus a less appealing option if you make a spur of the moment decision to jump on board and only find a RM50 note in your wallet.

Penang bus travel pass options

Rapid Penang have a travel pass specially tailored for local and foreign tourists called the Rapid Passport. It costs RM30 per week and can be purchased from the Rapid kiosks at the major hubs (e.g. KOMTAR, Jetty and Balik Pulau), but not on board the bus itself.

You’d need to do some maths to decide if it’s worthwhile, depending how often you intend to use the bus and how long the journeys are likely to be. At RM1.40 for a trip up to 7km, you’d need to make 20+ journeys per week to save money, although the convenience of not needing the correct change is worth quite a lot on its own. On the other hand, if you’re planning to take several 30km plus journeys (e.g. from George Town to Balik Palau, or from the airport to Penang National Park), it will soon pay for itself.

There are also other passes available, more aimed at Malaysian residents. They’re either for a longer period than most visitors would need, or restricted to Malaysian nationals.

What to expect on board a Penang bus

Penang buses are almost uniformly clean, well-maintained and pleasant to ride in. There’s a small amount of luggage space at the front, but the racks don’t have steep sides, so you need to keep an eye on your bags as you go around corners.

There are electronic information screens on each bus which list the route information and time. The buses are often very quiet with few passengers aboard, aside from the busiest commuter times around the city.

One thing to mention is that the seats are quite narrow, so it’s likely you’ll be up close and personal to the person next to you, which can make the ride slightly uncomfortable.

Where do the buses go and how often?

There are over twenty bus routes serving Penang Island, with many more operating on the mainland.

The main hubs are Komtar, Jetty (also known as Weld Quay or Pengkalan Weld on the timetables) and Balik Palau, with the most popular routes departing from the first two locations.

As a visitor to Penang Island, it’s likely you’ll mostly use the following buses, but you can get information on all of the routes, timetables and prices from the official website .

• 101 – Jetty to Teluk Bahang, via George Town and Batu Ferringhi
• 102 – Airport to Teluk Bahang, via George Town and Batu Ferringhi
• 104 – Komtar to Tanjong Bungah
• 204 – Jetty to Bukit Bendera (good for Penang Hill, close(ish) to Kek Lok Si Temple )
• 403 – Balik Pulau to Pulau Batong (for Long Sand Beach/Pantai Pasir Panjang )

The 101 and 102 buses are the best to catch for ESCAPE , Penang National Park , Batu Ferringhi hotels and the Tropical Spice Garden .

Buses don’t run that frequently, it’s not uncommon to wait for at least thirty minutes on some routes, and up to 1.5 hours in the worst cases. The 101, 201 and 301 buses tend to run the most frequently, usually every 10 or 20 minutes.

The start and end times of the buses are also quite variable but, as a broad guide, expect them to run from about 6am to 10:30pm, with some buses starting slightly earlier and finishing later. Check the website for the times for each bus.

George Town CAT

In the central area of George Town, a handy free shuttle service runs from 6am to 11:45pm on a loop from the Jetty (Weld Quay). With a frequency of every 10-15 minutes, it’s an excellent option if you’re walking around George Town and need to hop from place to place.

Keep an eye out for buses with the ‘Free CAT Bus’ sign and the bus stops with ‘CAT’ marked on them.

The loop includes many essential George Town stops including the Jetty, Little India, St George’s Church, museums, The Blue Mansion , KOMTAR, Khoo Kongsi, Esplanade and Fort Cornwallis .

Grab versus Buses

Many visitors wonder if they’ll end up using Grab more often than the buses and the answer is that you probably will. Grab tends to be quicker and more convenient than the buses and, if you’re travelling as a group of 3+, won’t work out to be that much more expensive.

Grab can also take you to places buses don’t reach and will collect you directly from your front door, with no need to walk to a bus stop.

The payment options are also easier and less hassle with Grab, which offers cash, credit card or e-payments.

Click here to read our comprehensive guide for taking Grab in Penang .

Final thoughts on the bus

Whilst the buses are facing competition from Grab cars, they still offer the visitor a pleasant and safe mode of transport around Penang. If you find yourself near a bus stop, or your destination is close to a stop, the buses are easy to use, but remember to bring the correct change with you. The travel passes only offer good value if you plan to use the bus frequently during your stay in Penang, but they do remove the need to fumble around for the correct change as you get onboard.

One definite benefit for the bus is the free George Town CAT which makes travel around the centre of George Town simple and convenient, at the best possible price.

Before your go, check out these useful reads for your visit:

The best things to do in Penang Top 10 tips for visiting Penang One day Penang itinerary Best hotels in Penang How to get around Penang A brief history of Penang

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Penang gives commuters limitless free bus rides

Monday, 02 Jan 2023

GEORGE TOWN: Malaysians can get unlimited free rides on the Rapid Penang buses by paying RM5 for the Pas Mutiara My50 card.

The card, which is renewable monthly at no extra charge, is part of the state government’s RM7.5mil social welfare allocation for the man on the street this year, said State Infrastructure and Transport Committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari.

A total of 150,000 cards are available for commuters.

Zairil said bus passes were first issued in 2021 with the aim of reducing people’s reliance on private vehicles.

To begin, the state provided RM3mil for 100,000 passes, he added.

“The passes were fully taken, so the state eventually upped the sponsorship to 120,000 passes for RM6mil last year.

“Since that was also fully taken up, we raised the sponsorship to 150,000 cards this year.

“You pay RM5 for the card itself, renew it for free every month, and ride the buses,” Zairil said.

In addition to helping people save on fuel and parking, he said it was a good allocation because it would mean fewer vehicles plying the roads too.

An even bigger free public transport initiative is the free bus rides between the Bukit Mertajam bus terminal on the mainland and Komtar on the island that started yesterday.

An ehailing ride along this route would cost between RM50 and over RM70, depending on traffic conditions.

Zairil said passengers of the free rides were expected to be those in the B40 group who need to commute from Bukit Mertajam to the island for work, studies or healthcare.

Along the way, the buses will stop at densely populated spots like Mydin Mall Bukit Mertajam, Jalan Permatang Batu, Jalan Perda Selatan in Bandar Perda, and Jalan Permatang Rawa to allow groups in a wider geographical area to benefit from the service.

The free high-speed ferry rides between Butterworth and the island have also been extended to June 30.

Zairil said that the total budget for six months of free ferry rides was estimated to be RM468,000.

The programme received a warm response from Penangites as figures showed increasing ridership since it began on July 1 last year, especially after the country entered the endemic phase of Covid-19, he added.

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