LANGKAWI – The Langkawi ferry service, which is the lifeline for the working-class community here and budget tourists to commute between the island and the mainland, is in dire straits unless there is reinvestment to improve the jetty facilities in four main locations.
Currently, there are just three trips daily from each of the Kuala Perlis (in Perlis) and Kuala Kedah (near Alor Star in Kedah) jetties, with plans to expand to five trips daily, next month.
However, the long-term outlook requires more attention from both the service’s investors and the authorities.
The Transport Ministry was singled out during a recent briefing session between the consortium of ferries with the Kedah chapter of the Malaysian Association of Hotels at the Dash Resort here.
Representing the ferry industry, Baharin Baharom, Lau Ban Hoo and Wong Sie Kiong shared the problems afflicting the operators, who have been rocked by complaints of irregular scheduling of trips, delays, and poor service on board the vessels.
The issue of poor maintenance was also raised.
Currently, a fleet of seven ferries services the routes from Kuala Perlis (45-minute trip) and Kuala Kedah (90-minute trip) daily. Trips to Penang island and Satun (in Thailand) have been temporarily scrapped due to low demand following the Covid-19 pandemic.
While trips to each of the two mainland jetties have been extended to five daily from next month, the services now cannot run as frequently as before when there were rides every 30 minutes.
According to Lau, the operators are unable to meet the schedule of every half an hour efficiently. Demand among the passengers is not as high as before the pandemic.
Making things worse, the operators are facing difficulties navigating the channel from Kuala Perlis and Kuala Kedah due to acute siltation, as climate change has seen more siltation occurring around both jetties.
“This will require constant dredging works other than the present effort by the Transport Ministry,” he said.
“We appreciate the effort by the authorities but more needs to be done if we want to see a marked improvement in the ferry service.”
The jetties also need to be upgraded to facilitate an efficient disembarkation process.
At present, the passengers’ movements in boarding or disembarking from the jetty terminals take about 30 minutes.
Need to upgrade facilities, maintain deep waters
The load of siltation is believed to be caused by climate change where the severe rain patterns wash down more sediments from the hilltops to rivers that flow into the sea.
So, constant effort is needed to deepen the rivers here, said Lau, adding that it is a worry as the government needs to allocate more funding for such an effort.
Each dredging effort is said to cost up to RM185 million.
The consortium is open to fresh ideas on how to improve the service quality, but the main issue is the need to upgrade the facilities and mitigate the operating costs, he said.
There is also the issue of an acute shortage of workers in the business.
“The consortium wants to improve our range of services but more needs to be done by various parties before we can do it,” he said.
Lau said that the consortium is also thinking of innovating price packaging so they can reduce the cost of ferry fares, but the present rate is quite low, to begin with.
“We are not generating much revenue in the first place,” he said.
The Vibes reported earlier this month that local travel trade and community leaders here have accepted the marginal ferry fare increase, which came into effect on August 5 for tourists entering the island.
The return fare between Kuala Perlis and Langkawi for adults is now RM21, compared to RM18 before, while a return trip between Kuala Kedah and the island has risen to RM26.50 from RM23.
The fare for foreign passengers on the Kuala Perlis round trip has risen by RM9 to RM27 for adults and by RM6.50 to RM19.50 for children.
The Kuala Kedah line now costs RM26.50 for local adults, an increase of RM3.50, while foreigners have to pay RM34.50, an increase of RM11.50 – marking the highest fare hike recorded.
It should be noted that residents of Langkawi continue to be charged RM20 per adult for the round trip between the island and Kuala Kedah. – The Vibes, August 28, 2022
