Rapid Penang Bus Routes is your guide to taking the bus in Penang. Not only are all the Rapid Penang bus routes explained in detail, I am now also updating each page to show you the location of sights along the way. This helps you determine which bus to take. I need to inform you in advance (and to apologize) that although I try to keep the information updated from time to time, there may be changes made to the bus route that is not to my knowledge. I will update the information from time to time whenever I learn of those changes.
Rapid Passport to Unlimited Free Rides for a Week
If you are visiting Penang for a short period of time, you do well to get the Rapid Passport. The Rapid Passport is a smartcards that allow you unlimited travel on the Rapid Penang buses for a period of one week. These "Passports" can be purchased at RM30 per passenger at the following locations:
CAT Air Itam (CT 1A & 1B) is a free bus service in Paya Terubong and Air Itam. It moves in a loop, with CAT Air Itam A going in a clockwise direction and CAT Air Itam B in the anti-clockwise.
CAT Bukit Mertajam (CT2) is a free feeder bus route that forms a loop starting and terminating at the Bukit Mertajam Bus Terminal.
CAT Balik Pulau (CT3) is a free feeder bus route that forms a loop starting and terminating at the Balik Pulau Bus Terminal.
CAT Nibong Tebal (CT4) is a free feeder bus route that forms a loop starting and terminating at the Nibong Tebal Bus Hub.
CAT Tanjung Tokong (CT5) is a free feeder bus route that plies a route between Pulau Tikus and Tanjung Tokong.
CAT Batu Kawan (CT6) is a free feeder bus route between the Design Village Bus Hub and Simpang Ampang Railway Station.
On this page, I provide a general idea of each bus route. To know more about the route, click on the link, to get more information about the route, along with detailed maps of the route.
AT: Airport Transit This is a bus service between the Weld Quay Bus Terminal and the Penang International Airport.
BEST: Bridge Express Shuttle Transit This is a park-and-ride bus service between Seberang Perai and Bayan Lepas. It is intended for transporting commuters to work at the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone. From 20 July, 2015, commuters pay a fee of RM50 per month for using this service.
Bus 10: Jetty to Botanic Gardens Bus 10 takes you across George Town, from the Jetty to the Botanic Gardens. Along the way, you pass through the city centre and makes a detour to the Gurney Roundabout (so, you can take it to Gurney Drive).
Bus 11: Jetty to Jalan Tan Sri Teh Ewe Lim Bus 11 is a city route that is used mostly by locals commuting to work. It connects the Jetty to the densely populated suburbs of George Town such as Dato Kramat, Jelutong and Green Lane.
Bus 12: Jetty to Bandar Sri Pinang Bus 12 is a city route covering the densely populated southern coastal suburbs of George Town, such as Macallum Street Ghaut and Bandar Sri Pinang.
Bus 101: Jetty to Teluk Bahang Bus 101 covers the northern coast of Penang Island. From the Jetty, it passes through the northern suburb of Pulau Tikus before continuing to Tanjong Tokong, Tanjung Bungah, Batu Ferringhi and Teluk Bahang, all the way gate of the Penang National Park. If you are visiting the beaches of the north coast, this is the route to take.
Bus 102: Penang International Airport to Teluk Bahang Bus 102 starts at the Penang International Airport and ends at the Teluk Bahang roundabout. This is the ideal bus for tourists who book their accommodation at the north coast beach hotels. For the convenience of tourists, the bus also makes stops at the Sungai Nibong Express Bus Terminal (where you can take long-distance buses to other states) and the Komtar Bus Interchange.
Bus 103: Komtar to Bagan Jermal Bus 103 is a city route covering the northern suburbs of George Town, from Komtar in the city centre to Bagan Jermal and back, passing through Pulau Tikus.
Bus 104: Tanjung Bungah to Komtar via Northam Road Bus 104 connects the city centre with the northern residential suburb of Tanjung Bungah. Parts of its route overlaps that of 101, the difference being, Bus 104 enters the minor roads of Tanjung Bungah (and go no further than that), while Bus 101 stays on the main road (and goes all the way to Teluk Bahang).
Bus 200: Jetty to Penang State Mosque Bus 200 is a commuter bus route used mostly by the locals. It connects the Jetty to the Penang State Mosque, where George Town meets Ayer Itam.
Bus 201: Jetty to Paya Terubong via Air Itam Bus 201 is a commuter bus route used mostly by the locals. It connects the Jetty to the working class neighbourhoods of Air Itam and Paya Terubong, in the heart of Penang Island.
Bus 202: Jetty to Paya Terubong via Farlim Bus 202 is a commuter bus route used mostly by the locals. It is similar to Bus 201, except that, it goes through Farlim instead of Air Itam Village.
Bus 203: Jetty to Air Itam via Farlim Bus 203 is a commuter bus route used mostly by the locals. It passes through both Farlim and Air Itam Village (which buses 201 and 202 don't).
Bus 204: Jetty to Penang Hill Lower Station Bus 204 starts at the Jetty and ends at the Penang Hill Lower Station roundabout. This is the bus to take if you are on your way up Penang Hill.
Bus 206: Lotus's Penang to Jetty Bus 206 bridges the central and southern suburbs of George Town. It passes the densely populated Jelutong and Green Lane suburbs to end at Lotus's Penang in Gelugor.
Bus 301: Jetty to Relau via Sungai Dua Bus 301 serves the south-central neighbourhoods of Penang Island. It starts at the Jetty and ends at the fast-developing suburb of Relau.
Bus 302: Jetty to Batu Maung via Bukit Gambir Bus 302 covers the eastern seaboard of Penang Island. This rather lengthy route passes through the fast-developing suburbs of Relau, Sungai Ara and Bayan Lepas, within sight of the airport but doesn't stop there.
Bus 303: Jetty to Bukit Gedung Bus 303 also covers the eastern seaboard of Penang Island, but takes on a different and slightly shorter route to Bus 302. It passes through Bayan Baru and end at the working-class neighbourhood of Bukit Gedung.
Bus 304: Bukit Gedung to Gurney Drive Bus 304 goes from Bukit Gedung to Gurney Drive, linking the southern neighbourhoods of George Town with the shopping and food precinct of Gurney Drive.
Rapid Kamunting was launched on 3 March 2016 to provide bus services in Kamunting and Taiping. This is operated by Rapid Penang, with an initial run of 7 buses. The routes are as shown below
The information provided here is accurate at time of writing, and may have been updated by the bus service provider without the author's knowledge. Please use the information as guidance and check with Rapid Penang at their information kiosks for the latest route details. The author endeavours to update the information on this page from time to time, but regrets any inaccuracies if there be any.
Private Guided Tours of Penang
If you are seeking private guided tours of Penang, message Penang Tour Guides at penangtourguides@gmail.com and enquire with them.
Buy, rent or sell properties in Penang
Do you have a property for sale or to rent out? Are you looking to buy or rent a property? Get in touch with me. WhatsApp me (Timothy Tye) at 012 429 9844, and I will assign one of my property agents to serve you. I will choose the agent for you, according to your property needs. So when you message me, provide me some details of what you need, whether to sell, to buy, to rent or to rent out, and what type of property, is it condo, apartment, house, shop, office or land.
Looking for information on Penang? Use this Map of Roads in Penang to zoom in on information about Penang, brought to you road by road.
About this website
Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.
While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.