GEORGE TOWN – Commuters arriving at the ferry terminal on Penang's mainland and the island were shocked to find the services abruptly halted, and were left stranded in the peak-time morning rush.
A technical difficulty with the ferry's ramp forced some travellers to turn back while vehicles had no choice but to take a longer route – the Penang Bridge – to get to the island, especially those wanting to reach work on time.
In today's incident, the ferry operator was forced to temporarily stop its services when a ramp broke down at the Raja Tun Uda ferry terminal on the island about 6.50am today.
It is learnt Rapid Ferry is only operating two ferries and one ramp each at both sides.
The ramp was, however, repaired within two hours.
Following the repairs, the first ferry from the island reached Butterworth at 8.15am, before it returned for a round trip to the island at 8.50am.
Johari Jamil, 48, from Kepala Batas, who was at the ferry toll booth at 8am, said he was upset over the situation as it had made him late for work.
He said it was vital for him to be at his outlet preparing for today's business and he feared being reprimanded by his superiors for failing to report to work on time.
Lee Chong Chee, 62, a stationery supplier from Raja Uda, Butterworth, who was on a delivery, said the ferry breakdown caused him to be late in reaching his customer in Tg Bungah.
Rapid Ferry management in Kuala Lumpur could not be reached for comments.
Services down again
Today's disruption is the second such stoppage to the Rapid Ferry services in three months.
On August 24, the ferry services had also been disrupted when a similar problem occurred.
In recent years, the 126-year-old cross-channel service has seen major engine trouble and other difficulties leave thousands of commuters stranded without notice.
In the last disruption in August, Rapid Ferry shut its services for two days citing repairs for its engines, and conducted shuttle bus services between Penang Sentral in Butterworth to the Weld Quay bus terminal on the island for pedestrians.
It was reported that on January 1, next year, Penang Port Sdn Bhd will take over management of the ferry services. – The Vibes, December 10, 2020
