THE MY50 Mutiara pass programme has been a resounding success in Penang and it has driven the state government to allocate an additional RM1.5 million to cover the cost of free bus rides for Penangites until the end of the year, state Transport and Infrastructure Committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari said.
Last year in December, Zairil announced that the state government had allocated RM4.5 million for 90,000 Mutiara passes to be used this year.
“Since the initiative was warmly welcomed by the people here and purchasing of the cards skyrocketed since March this year, we have decided to allocate the said amount to further support this initiative for the benefit of regular bus users.
“The RM1.5 million will be able to subsidise another 30,000 passes, which will be essential for the remaining of the year.
“We hope that through this additional subsidy from the state, more people, especially regular bus riders, will benefit from the free bus rides throughout the state,” Zairil during a press conference at the Weld Quay Bus Terminal in George Town today.
The MY30 unlimited travel pass, which was introduced by the Federal Government under the Penjana Economic Recovery Plan in June 2020, expired on Dec 31, 2021.
It was then replaced with the MY50 unlimited travel pass from Jan 1, 2022, onwards.
Story and pix by Kevin Vimal