The forgotten link: Increase the number of ferries and build more ferry terminals at different points of the island

The ill-conceived 2 billion-ringgit bridge-tunnel project to link Penang Island and the mainland will further worsen traffic jams on the island. The Third Link will only provide a huge additional inlet for cars to choke the island's already congested streets.

As usual, there has been little consultation with the public and citizens' groups. In the hurry to reap profits from the construction contract for the bridge, it is the public that will end up the loser.

No one knows how much the toll rate for the Third Link will be. But one thing is sure: it will be much, much higher than 7 ringgit, which is the current return trip toll rate for a car using the Penang Bridge or the ferry service. If the government reveals the Third Link's toll rate now, one can safely bet that there will be little public enthusiasm for the project. So tell us the toll rate NOW.

The state government talks about sustainable transport - but it is just that: talk. The odd bicycle campaign here, the token pedestrian mall there. Instead of improving public transport on the island, the authorities seem intent on building more roads, the latest of which is the 17.8 kilometre, 1 billion-ringgit Outer Ring Road, which is destined to rake in a windfall in tolls for the concessionaire.

But improving public transport is not on the government's agenda for the simple reason that there is not enough quick money to be earned.

At the end of the day, it is money that talks. It is all about tolls, profits, and favoured companies - business intermingled with politics. It's about lucrative road and bridge construction contracts and the inevitable toll collection that rakes in millions for favoured firms. Will there be an open tender for the third link? Or will a favoured firm again be picked to build and operate the proposed bridge-cum-tunnel? How was this 2-billion ringgit figure arrived at? Has the contract already been awarded?

The track record is not encouraging. The Star (9 March) reported Works Minister Samy Vellu as revealing that a total of eight highway projects had been carried out without an open tender process. The construction costs ranged from 278 million ringgit to 1.1 billion ringgit - and that is just for the physical construction alone.

''Under the (privatisation) policy, privatisation can be carried out either through open tenders or on a first-come-first-serve basis,'' said Samy Vellu. First-come-first-serve? What kind of half-baked policy is this? Where is the check-and-balance to ensure that project costs are not inflated and that the public is not taken for a ride? Where is the transparency and the accountability?

If the government really has the interests of the people of Penang at heart, it should:

• halt any further work on the third link and talk to commuters especially those using the ferries. Why do people prefer using the Penang Bridge? In many cases, it is to avoid the long waits at the ferry terminals.
• therefore, increase the number of ferries from the current 4-5 to a dozen, including double-decker vehicular ferries, like in the 1980s. This alone will substantially reduce traffic on the Penang Bridge with only a relatively tiny capital outlay. You certainly don't need to spend 2 billion on an unnecessary bridge-tunnel that will only burden commuters and taxpayers in the long run.
• build more ferry terminals serviced by faster ferries at different points of the island.
• encourage commuters to leave their cars behind by improving bus services to and from the ferry terminals and across the Penang Bridge. What happened to the free shuttle service in George Town that the Penang government was thinking of? Was that sacrificed because of objections from vested interests?
• above all, urgently implement a state-wide integrated public transport system comprising light rail transit systems, buses, and perhaps electric trams to encourage people to leave their vehicles at home. This is what Penang really needs - not ambitious tolled road projects and a fanciful toll-raking bridge-tunnel.