Dear YB Lim Guan Eng,

I support your effort to sustain the ferry service which is the pride of Penang and one of the many icons attracting tourist both local and overseas.

It’s a disappointment that Penang Port Commission has failed to see its heritage, social and economic value. Penang needs the ferry service more than before especially as the daily traffic jams on the Penang Bridge are both a burden on Penangites and a culprit in polluting the precious clean air. This overreliance on the Penang Bridge has taken its toll on daily commuters whose tolerance levels are thinning.

If you can offer an efficient and alternative ferry services, the result will be positively explosive as more commuters will be switching to the ferry. This is a piece of crown jewel any corporation would love to sponsor.

Your team is required to look into the fundamentals of running a ferry operation from the standpoint of cost and customer satisfaction. I have the benefit of using the ferry to commute frequently and have had the chance of looking inside the engine room of the ferry.

The following recommendations are based on my observations involving a simple queuing theory and ferry engine technology.

1) Technology – The current ferry uses a diesel engine to drive two sets of vertical rotating blades to create omni-directional thrust. The engines are designed to enhance maneuverability. It remains useful but is costly to operate. There is a need to look for alternative engine technology while maintaining the iconic look of the ferry.

The ticket cost should be about RM0.50 to RM1.00 per trip per passenger car and the ferry mujst be able to cruise at 30 knots an hour and cross the channel in less than 15minutes.

2) Critical mass – To remain attractive to commuters, we will will need large capacity ferry (of 100 cars pay load per ferry) and about 26 of them to offer a comparable alternative to the Penang Bridge.

3) Jetty locations – May I suggest retaining the existing jetties but improving the feeder bus service an synchronising it with the ferry schedules. We will also need to identify new locations for four to six new jetties along the Jelutong Expressway to accommodate traffic from Georgetown and Bayan Lepas.

Similarly, four to six new jetties are required on the mainland ie, at Batu Kawan, Prai etc.

4) Fare – set the fare at RM5.60 for a return trip. There is no reason why I would not want to use the ferry if this is the case.

5) Ticketing and toll gates – There is new technology for drive-through electronic toll collection. The technology is matured and available today. We have the choice not to depend on the archaic ‘Touch N Go’ or ‘Smart Tag’.

6) Access roada to the jetties should be designed without causing traffic pile -ups. We have town planner and JKR engineers - they are the experts and should be able to validate the numbers and finalise a plan for execution.

We are over-relying on the Penang Bridge so please provide an alternative ferry service which could be cheaper and better to use than the Second Link.