Penang commuters pay the price as traffic eats into their day
GEORGE TOWN: For Penang commuters, traffic congestion is no longer an occasional nuisance. It has become a daily calculation of time and cost that they cannot afford to waste.
George Town commuters now face daily traffic congestion that impacts both time and finances, according to local content creator Siti Khadijah Alias and factory operator Siti Zalikha Majid. For Khadijah, a 40-minute to an hour journey from Balik Pulau to Harbour Trade Centre in Jalan Macallum can stretch beyond an hour during peak hours due to heavy congestion.
She prefers driving over the Rapid Penang buses for its convenience, but the cost comes in the form of higher fuel consumption and vehicle maintenance as she sits in slow-moving or idling traffic. Zalikha, who commutes from Air Itam to her workplace near Bayan Lepas, experiences a 20 to 30 minute journey, now extended to up to 30 minutes during bad days.
She and Khadijah have adjusted their schedules, leaving home earlier and seeking alternate routes, but the unpredictability of journey times remains a significant issue. The authorities should have planned roads and infrastructure development together from the start, they argue. Heavy rain compounds the problem, as it can worsen congestion and make certain routes hazardous.
While the daily loss of 30 minutes may not seem severe, the cumulative time and productivity loss, as well as the diminished quality of life, are significant.
Written by urgent.news from New Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
