THE long-awaited Penang Sentral in Butterworth, which started its first day of operations today, was generally well received by the public.
By 8am this morning, the new transport hub in the northern region was bustling with commuters rushing to catch trains, buses or taxis.
“As today is the first day of operation, I feel worried as I did not know how to get tickets. But the personnel at the information counter helped me. Thanks to such a good system and facilities, this transport hub is beneficial for the public,” Vimala Elangkovan, 31, told Buletin Mutiara in an interview.
Another passenger, Salfaizah Osman, 40, also gave her thumbs up after dropping by to see the new facility.
“We’ve waited for many years. I’m happy it’s finally over. I feel this place is very safe to wait for buses. On top of that, Penang Sentral is well equipped, with food outlets, ticketing counters, waiting bays, parking areas and so forth.”
Penang Sentral, owned and managed by Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad (MRCB), is built on 290,000 sq ft of land. Its construction started in 2007 but was delayed by land acquisition issues and other factors.
Penang Sentral has 38 express bus bays, ticket counters, self-service ticketing kiosks, retail stores, taxi counters, information counters, waiting rooms, indoor walkways of the ferry, shops and food outlets to accommodate the needs of travellers.
The hub, which can accommodate 3,000 to 4,000 passengers per day, will link bus and taxi services to the Butterworth KTM train station and Pengkalan Sultan Abdul Halim ferry terminal.
MRCB executive vice-president Datuk Dell Akhbar Khan said there are many more facilities for the public to utilise in Penang Sentral.
“There is also a self-service ticketing kiosks, which makes it easier for everyone to purchase tickets. Other facilities include fingerprint luggage options and mobile lockers.
“At present, there are more than 80 employees to carry out various tasks. In order to improve the service, the management has also specially arranged service personnel to answer public queries,” said Dell.
Story by K.Thaarshenii
Pix by Ahmad Adil Mohamad