Rapid Penang buses at the Balik Pulau Bus Terminal
Taking the bus is now a convenient way to get around Penang Island and most parts of the mainland. It wasn't so all the while, though. Until August 2007, taking the bus was an exercise in utter misery. The existed bus companies were using old, ramshakled buses with irregular, infrequent services. All this changed overnight when the government, tired of the incessant complaints from the public, introduced a new bus company into Penang. The new company, called Rapid Penang (the word Rapid is an acronym for Rangkaian Pengangkutan Integrasi Deras, and Rapid Penang is a subsidiary of RapidKL, the bus and mass transit company in Kuala Lumpur), transformed and improved bus services on Penang Island and some parts of the mainland overnight.
As of now, I will only recommend taking buses from Rapid Penang. Although the other bus companies still exist and continue to ply their routes, they are no match to the frequency and comfort of Rapid Penang's fleet of 150 buses plying 33 routes on Penang Island and the mainland.
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Fare
The bus fare for taking Rapid Penang ranges from RM1.00 to RM3.00 depending on the distance traveled. Expect to pay RM1.00 or RM1.50 for rides anywhere within George Town. Rides between George Town and places outside the city should cost about RM2.00 while rides from George Town to places further away such as Balik Pulau and Seberang Perai should cost RM3.00.
2 July 2008 Update: Rapid Penang has informed me that they have not increased their bus fare since the increase in fuel prices earlier the previous month. They are still following the existing fare.
Acknowledgement
I'd like to thank BB for help in preparing the information on this page.
Compare and Find the Lowest Hotel Room Rate
Booking hotel rooms online is today the most convenient and cost-effective way to get accomodation. But do you know that different Hotel Booking websites actually offer the same hotel room at different prices? If you just stick with one Hotel Booking site, you could be paying more for the same reservation. Why pay more?
At Penang Travel Tips, I want to encourage people to become informed travelers. Before you book your hotel room, use the free Hotel Search Engine below to find out the rates offered by the major Hotel Booking Sites. First, the engine shows you the rates from different hotels. Select the hotel, and it will show you the rates for the same room offered by different Booking Sites. You will see that the different sites really offer different rates! Select the Hotel Booking Site that offers the most attractive rate and you could well be saving a good amount of money.
Flying somewhere? Compare Flight Prices from different Airlines
Now everybody can book flights online. It's the cost effective way, cutting out the travel agent. But which airlines has the lowest-priced seats for the date you are flying? It would be tedious to go from one airline website to another just to compare their prices. But there's better way to go about that.
Use our free Flight Search Engine to compare the rates offered by different Airlines for the date destination. First we show you the best price from different airlines. Select which one you prefer, and we take you to the airline website. It saves you a whole lot of time comparing prices from different airlines sites.
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