Prasarana Malaysia Bhd Group — which manages Penang's public bus and cross — channel ferry services have incorporated high tech into their operations to make it easier for passengers to determine the routes and the arrivals timetable.

Group president and chief executive officer Datuk Mohamed Hazlan Mohamed Hussain said that the tech initiatives are part of the transformation in the public transport services as they try to mitigate the traffic congestion here.

Among the new initiatives introduced was a digital ticketing system for passengers taking the ferries, cashless payments, and integrated passenger information system kiosks which was installed at 32 bus stops throughout the state.

Hazlan said that Rapid Penang which operates its public bus services was also committed in its Congestion Alleviation Transport (CAT) cooperation with the state government by expanding such services to the Bayan Baru satellite town.

Currently, Rapid Penang operates 12 CAT routes which function during peak hours in Air Itam and George Town respectively.

He said this before the breaking of fast dinner with the media here on Monday.

Among those present were Rapid Penang chief operating officer Mohd Azmi Abdullah and Rapid Bus Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Muhammad Yazurin Sallij.

Hazlan also said that the ferry services have improved on its time efficiencies from a previous 78.5% in 1 May 2018 to 94.9% as of December last year.

There are also plans to install electronic billboards at the terminals in Raja Tun Da and Sultan Abdul Halim soon so foot passengers and motorists, as well as motorcyclists, can see the actual departure and arrival time of the ferries.

There is also a plan to set up a global position system (GPS) terminal so passengers can see the actual locations of the ferries.

Hazlan said that with the incorporation of new initiatives, the efficiency of both the public buses and ferries should improve and with it, the commitment of more people to utilize such services so there is less dependence on automobiles.