Rapid Penang On-Demand Service Expanded To Three New Zones Starting April 26
In a statement today, Rapid Bus said these new zones will encompass the George Town city centre as well as the densely populated areas of Jelutong and Bayan Lepas.
'This service will connect passengers from areas with limited access to existing bus routes through a first-mile and last-mile solution, either by linking to current Rapid Penang bus services or directly to the passengers' destinations.
'The introduction of these new zones is expected to encourage more people to opt for public transport over private vehicles,' the statement said.
Rapid Bus acting chief executive officer Ku Jamil Zakaria said 14 vans will be deployed for operations in the new zones, with an additional 21 vans to be introduced in phases starting from June 2025 to support the next phase of the service.
As part of service improvements, Ku Jamil said Rapid Bus will consolidate On-Demand operations in the Paya Terubong and Farlim zones starting in May, which is expected to enhance connectivity between the On-Demand service and existing Rapid Penang routes.
He said the service initially began with just two vans in the Farlim zone and recorded an average of 120 passengers daily. However, with expansion to new areas such as Gurney, Sunway and Paya Terubong, the number of vans has increased to 17.
'After this expansion, the Rapid Penang On-Demand service continues to receive encouraging response, with current daily ridership averaging 753 passengers,' he said.
The Rapid Penang On-Demand service operates daily from 6 am to 11 pm, offering a promotional fare of RM1 per trip.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


New Straits Times
3 hours ago
- New Straits Times
RM100 Sara aid brings relief for housewife
PADANG BESAR: While RM100 may not seem like a lot to many, it has become a vital source of financial support for Nursyafiqah Sobri, 31. Each month, the housewife from Bukit Keteri uses RM30 from the RM100 Basic Rahmah Contribution (Sara) assistance received by her husband to buy ingredients for making traditional kuih that she sells to shops near her home. "Alhamdulillah, my husband receives the Sara aid. Although it is only RM100 a month, it helps ease our family's financial burden. "Every month, I use RM30 to buy flour for making kuih, with the rest on essentials like rice." Nursyafiqah, who has two children aged 6 and 11, sells kuih such as cucur badak, keria and popia. Although her home-based kuih business brings in just RM50 to RM80 a week, she said she was grateful that the modest earnings could ease her husband's burden. "Some days, the kuih sell out and other days, they don't. But at least there's still some income." She said her husband, a security guard earning RM1,700 a month, remained the family's pillar of strength. The couple also care for their elderly parents who live with them. Nursyafiqah said the Sara assistance was a timely and much-needed initiative by the government, providing meaningful relief to families. The monthly aid, she said, was something they looked forward to. "I hope that the government will consider increasing the monthly Sara assistance from time to time as the prices of essential goods continue to rise." Under the 2025 Budget, the annual Sara assistance was increased to RM2,100 from RM1,200 previously. To boost public convenience, the government has expanded the range of goods eligible for purchase under the Sara programme to 14 categories. The number of registered participating retail outlets and supermarkets has also grown significantly, rising from 700 last year to over 4,100 premises nationwide as of this month.


BusinessToday
9 hours ago
- BusinessToday
86% And Counting, PM Slams Claims Of ‘No Results'
Credits to PMO FB Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has dismissed claims that multibillion-ringgit investments bring no tangible results, stating that the manufacturing sector continues to deliver direct benefits to Malaysians through job creation, wage increases and industrial value-add. 'They say billions in investments, where are the results? There's nothing to show. The reality is, 86% of the approved projects are already operational,' he said. He revealed that 3,494 manufacturing projects have been approved by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) from 2021 until June 2025. Of these, 3,095 projects or 86.4%, have been realised and are now operational. Speaking at the monthly assembly of the Prime Minister's Department, Anwar noted that the implementation rate of approved projects stood at 90.6% in 2023, 79.2% in 2024 and 49.8% in the first quarter of 2025. 'I've told Minister Tengku Zafrul to continue publishing the relevant data and highlight the locations of operating plants — in Kulim, Johor, Sarawak, Sabah and the Klang Valley,' he added. He said most of the realised projects focus on digital and green industries. In the first quarter of this year alone, these projects have created 50,000 new jobs in the manufacturing sector. Median wages in the sector also rose by 5.4% to RM2,745, up from RM2,600 last year, aligning with the new minimum wage policy of RM1,700. Anwar also reported that since the establishment of the Invest Malaysia Facilitation Centre (IMFC) in December 2023, a total of 28,166 investor applications have been facilitated with a resolution rate of 99.9%. These applications involved matters such as approvals, permits, foreign worker quotas, utilities and tax-related issues. Related


The Sun
14 hours ago
- The Sun
MyCIF co-invesments since inception surpass RM1 billion mark
PETALING JAYA: The Malaysia Co-Investment Fund (MyCIF) has surpassed RM1 billion in total co-investments since its inception, marking a significant milestone in supporting the growth of micro, small, and medium enterprises in the country. MyCIF, set up by the Ministry of Finance under Budget 2019, has been a pivotal force in the financing landscape, utilising equity crowdfunding (ECF) and peer-to-peer (P2P) financing platforms to channel funds into MSMEs. Since its inception, more than 9,500 MSMEs have benefited from MyCIF's co-investments. In its annual performance report released today, MyCIF said total co-investments reached RM1.19 billion as at end-2024, with RM264 million invested that year alone. MyCIF has attracted 4.1 times in private sector funding for every ringgit invested, demonstrating a strong crowding-in effect. This saw a 21.4% increase in total private investment. The RM1.19 billion total co-investments by MyCIF represent 4.6 times of RM260 million total funds disbursed from the government to date into the programme, demonstrating efficient use of public funds. In addition to the General Scheme 1:4 co-investment, MyCIF continues to bolster strategic and underserved segments of the economy through targeted schemes. These include Food Security and Environmental & Social Enterprise Schemes with a preferential 1:2 co-investment ratio. Co-investments in these segments rose to RM7 million in 2024 from RM3.4 million in 2023, reflecting MyCIF's strengthened commitment to targeted investment areas. Under Budget 2025, MyCIF has earmarked up to RM40 million for promoting innovative Islamic risk-sharing financing through ECF and P2P platforms. This allocation complements existing MyCIF schemes and aims to encourage greater adoption of Islamic financing structures by offering various incentives. They include MyCIF's investing on a first-loss basis in ECF and P2P campaigns based on Islamic risk-sharing models, and for P2P campaigns, MyCIF will additionally invest at 0% financing rate. In July 2024, MyCIF introduced the Environmental and Social Impact Scheme to support impact-driven businesses in the environment, community, food security, education and healthcare sectors. The scheme also extends to MSMEs financing waqf assets development projects within these focus areas. To enhance awareness and access to financing, MyCIF hosted its inaugural nationwide roadshow in Penang in February, themed 'Empowering Financing, Advancing Growth'. The event, supported by the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority, aimed to raise MyCIF's profile and benefits among MSMEs in the northern states of Malaysia. The MyCIF will next hold a roadshow in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, on July 31 to raise awareness of alternative funding avenues and foster connectivity between the capital market and entrepreneurs in Sabah, thereby further supporting MSME growth