No respite from Penang traffic as more cars means even longer journeys ahead

GEORGE TOWN: The rapid rise in Penang car numbers continues to show with traffic snarls and bottlenecks appearing even after the usual rush hours.

Considered a comfortable and necessary mode of transport, the number of cars on the road has risen alarmingly in the last few years, and is now a worrying trend for the land-scarce state.

With little more than 1,049 sq km of land to a population of 1.77 million, Penang is only slightly larger than Singapore (734 sq km), but the state has registered a whopping 2,671,237 cars and motorcycles – and the number is continuing to soar with each passing year.

Singapore, with a population of about six million last year, had only 996,000 registered motor vehicles over the same period.

In Seberang Perai, the gridlock starts even before 6am as people commute to work. During the holiday season, hours-long traffic snarls are expected.

In Bayan Lepas, where multinational corporations stagger their work hours so that engineers, analysts, researchers, executives and managers need not all drive to work in unison, the inexorable increase of workers with cars now results in gridlock traffic around the industrial estate that stretch for hours before and after work.

Malaysia Semiconductor Industry Association president Datuk Seri Wong Siew Hai said flexi work hours were introduced years ago but it was effective only for a short time.

“Now, even with some factories instituting work-from-home arrangements, the staggered work hours only has minimal effect (on the traffic jam) because the industrial sector has grown so rapidly over the years.

“There are so many workers now,” he said.

Penang Road Transport Department (JPJ) director Zulkifly Ismail said there are “at least two vehicles for every person in Penang” when visitors and vehicles registered in other states are included in the tally.

Zulkifly said as of October this year, there were 1,525,942 motorcycles and 1,145,295 private cars registered in Penang.

And the worst nightmare is the number has continued to soar after the Covid-19 pandemic when more and more people hit the roads.

Based on JPJ records, Penang’s vehicle numbers grew consistently after the pandemic, between 2022 and this year, with motorcycle and private car numbers rising substantially.

In 2022, there were 1,512,849 motorcycles and 1,139,043 cars, totalling 2,651,892.

In 2023, this number grew by 30,773, with 1,523,507 motorcycles and 1,159,158 cars, totalling 2,682,665.

As of October this year, there are already 1,525,942 motorcycles and 1,145,295 cars registered throughout Penang.He, however, said vehicles are not the only reason behind the road congestion.

“Public events being held during the holidays in dense, urban areas add to the bottleneck traffic.

“Perhaps organising such events in less crowded areas outside the city can help reduce jams at traffic hotspots.

“By moving the events to the outskirts, traffic congestion, particularly in the city centre, can be alleviated,” he said.

Unlike in the densely populated Klang Valley – where light rail transit systems were introduced as early as 1996 – the lack of similar public transit systems in Penang could be why most households here have a few cars and motorcycles.

Zulkifly said JPJ does not have jurisdiction over traffic congestion and is only responsible for drivers and vehicle licensing as well as the enforcement under the Road Transport Act.