Penang transportation in the past

Prepared by:

THERESA YEOH TZE YUEN 229196MELISSA YEOH TZE YEN 226177HAFIZUL BIN SUHAIME AFFINDI 226274MUHAMMAD IZWAN BIN SABRI 227373LIM WEN XING 227737ONG CHEE WEI 227764YEOH HOUI MEI 227899DOSTONBEK TILOVMURODOV 228637AKHHMEDOVA SARVINOZ 228645

Prepared for:

MR. MOHAMAD ZAKI BIN AHMAD

Introduction

• In the past, Penang had an impressive local transportation such as the trams, trolleybuses, trishaws, ferries, buses and the funicular railway.

• Some of these old transportation were now gone or changed over the years and some have become a tourists attraction.

• Look back on how these old transportation have changed and have been discontinued.

Trams

• There are 3 types of trams used which were steam, horse and electric trams.

• In 1880, Penang’s first tram was the steam tram which was used to transport farm goods and construction materials.

• In 1898, steam trams stopped operating as they were dangerous.

• Then, horse trams were used but it is not popular due to the lack of speed and safety.

• In 1906, electric trams begun operating.

• In late 1920s, trams were replaced by trolley buses.

(Pictures above are the electric trams used in Penang)

Trolleybuses

• In 1925, the first trolleybus hit Penang streets.

• Trolleybuses ran on rubber tires and were powered by electricity supplied by the tram power lines.

(Pictures above are the trolleybuses used in Penang)

• In 1956, there were five secondhand double-deckers trolleybuses.

• In late 1959, the trolleybuses were replaced by buses.

(Picture on the left is the secondhand double-deckers trolleybuses)

(Picture on the right is the last trolleybuses were sold to scrap)

Funicular Railway

• In 1897, there had been a earlier attempt to build a mountain railway to Penang Hill but the project failed.

• In 1909, a new funicular railway was designed and was informally opened to the public in 1923.

• In early 1924, it was officially launched.

• The original train was wooden coached with different seatings.

• In 1977, the Penang state government took over and the coaches had changed into red carriages with fans and automatic doors.

• In 2010, the funicular railway was closed and was upgraded to a new funicular train with air-condition and more capacity.

• The new railway was launched in 2011.

Buses

• In 1961, Penang had fully adopted the use of buses as the public transport.

(Pictures above are the buses used in the past in Penang)

• As the years gone by, more privately owned bus companies started their services such as Hin Company Bus, Penang Yellow Bus and Lim Seng Seng Company.

• Due to the increasing demand, more improved public buses with air conditioner were operated such as the Transit Link, mini buses from Angkasa Barisan(M) Sdn. Bhd and the upgraded buses from the Yellow Bus Company.

• However, these bus services were enforced to end their operation due to unsystematic and poor condition.

(From top left: upgraded bus frm Yellow Bus Company, mini bus frm Angkasa Barisan & Transit Link bus)

• In 2007, Rapid Penang began its operation.

(Pictures above are Rapid Penang CAT bus and the new open air double-decker Hop-On Hop-Off bus)

Ferry

• In 1894, the Penang passenger and goods ferry services began.

• In 1924, Penang Port Sdn. Bhd. (PPSB) took over the management of the ferry services.

• In late 1925, vehicular ferry services in Penang began.

• In 1950s, there were three ferries shuttling between the jetty to Butterworth were known as “Elizabeth II”, “Victoria” and “Violet”.

(Picture on the left is "Violet" that operates frm jetty to Butterworth)

• Most of the ferries that are used today were built in the mid-1970s.

• Some ferries board pedestrian passengers on the upper deck and small vehicles on the lower deck. Meanwhile some ferries board vehicles on both decks.

Trishaw

• The trishaw originally was introduced in 1880s.

• In 1936, the three wheeled trishaw was introduced in Penang and became popular in 1941.

• In 1950s, trishaw faced challenges due to the introduction of motorcycles.

• In 1970s, trishaw riders faced problems due to the better education and employment.

• Recently trishaws are becoming a mode of transportation for tourists as they are used for sightseeing and to explore Penang.

• In addition, the Penang state government also rebranded the trishaw service as tourism products.

Conclusion

• These old transportation were the important transport system in Penang in the past.

• These transportation were also the regional trendsetter for public transport back in day in Penang.

• Although, some of these old transportation were now gone or some have changed over the years, it is important to know that these old transportation existed in Penang.