PenangTalk

Home > Getting around > CAT bus Penang: the free shuttles, routes, hours and how often

Back to Getting around

Getting aroundGuide

CAT bus Penang: the free shuttles, routes, hours and how often

The free CAT buses Rapid Penang runs today, the George Town loop, the hospital shuttle from Komtar and the CAT Bridge bus over the Penang Bridge, with their stops, first and last buses and how often they come, as Rapid Penang's own timetable data and the press publish them.

PenangTalk · Checked 14 October 2026

Rapid Penang runs three free CAT buses: the George Town loop from Weld Quay, every 10 to 15 minutes from 06:00 to 23:45 in its own timetable data, the CAT Hospital shuttle from Komtar to the city's hospitals, every 20 to 30 minutes from 06:00 to 20:00, and the CAT Bridge bus between Bayan Baru and Seberang Jaya over the Penang Bridge. Prasarana, Rapid Penang's parent company, says the George Town CAT is free.

The short version

BusRoute numberBetweenFirst and last busHow often
George Town CATCATA loop from Terminal A Weld Quay through George Town and Komtar06:00 to 23:45, every dayEvery 10 minutes at busy times, 15 minutes otherwise
CAT HospitalCT15A loop from Komtar past the city's hospitals06:00 to 20:00, every dayEvery 20 minutes at busy times, 30 minutes otherwise
CAT BridgeCT13Terminal Bas Bayan Baru and Hotel Blanket, Seberang Jaya06:00 to 20:30Mornings and evenings, see below

The times come from the timetable file Rapid Penang publishes as open data on data.gov.my.

George Town CAT

The CAT (Central Area Transit) bus starts and ends at Terminal A Weld Quay in George Town. In Rapid Penang's timetable data it runs as route CAT, headsign PENANG FREE CAT BUS, with 84 trips a day, the first at 06:00 and the last at 23:45, on every day of the week. A bus leaves every 10 minutes from 07:00 to 09:00, 12:00 to 14:00 and 17:00 to 19:00, and every 15 minutes at other times.

The stops, in order:

  1. Terminal A Weld Quay
  2. Balai Polis Lebuh Pantai
  3. Bank Negara Malaysia
  4. Muzium Pulau Pinang
  5. SMK St. Xavier
  6. Hotel Cititel
  7. Penang Road
  8. Komtar II
  9. Wisma MCA
  10. Pasar Chowrasta
  11. Komtar Timur
  12. Hotel Armenian
  13. Kampung Kolam
  14. Gereja St. George
  15. Dewan Sri Pinang
  16. Padang Kota Lama
  17. Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal
  18. Church Street Pier
  19. Back to Terminal A Weld Quay

Prasarana describes the service as free, daily from Weld Quay Bus Terminal, covering 19 stops, and says it runs every 20 minutes. The timetable data schedules one every 10 or 15 minutes, so allow for the longer wait.

Sources: Rapid Penang timetable data on data.gov.my, downloaded 2026-10-14, and Prasarana, Hop on the CAT Bus, read 2026-10-14.

CAT Hospital: Komtar to the hospitals

The Penang Island City Council (MBPP) pays for a free CAT shuttle linking Komtar with Penang Hospital (Hospital Pulau Pinang), three private hospitals and several healthcare facilities in the city centre. Bernama reported in July 2026 that it started on 1 January 2026, that MBPP has set aside RM900,000 a year for it, and that three Rapid Penang buses run the eight-kilometre route daily from 6am to 8pm, making 36 trips at 20-minute intervals.

Rapid Penang's timetable data has route CT15, headsign CAT HOSPITAL, with 36 trips a day from 06:00 to 20:00, every day: every 20 minutes from 06:00 to 09:00, 12:00 to 14:00 and 17:00 to 19:00, and every 30 minutes at other times. The loop starts and ends at (M1) Hub Lebuh Carnarvon, by Komtar, and its stops include:

Sources: Bernama, 3 July 2026 and Rapid Penang timetable data on data.gov.my, read 2026-10-14.

CAT Bridge: Bayan Baru to Seberang Jaya

The Vibes reported in October 2025 that the CAT Rapid Penang bus on the first Penang Bridge, between Bayan Baru on the island and Seberang Jaya on the mainland, is free for Penang commuters, and that a second CAT route over the second bridge was being planned and might not be free.

In Rapid Penang's timetable data this is route CT13, CAT BRIDGE, between Terminal Bas Bayan Baru and Hotel Blanket in Seberang Jaya. Its stops include Bukit Jambul, Queensbay Mall, Jeti Pulau Jerejak, the Penang Bridge (Jambatan Pulau Pinang) and Megamal Pinang.

DaysBayan Baru to Seberang JayaSeberang Jaya to Bayan Baru
Saturday and Sunday21 trips, 06:00 to 20:0021 trips, 06:00 to 20:00
Monday to Friday, direct trips10 trips, 06:00 to 20:308 trips, 08:00 to 20:20

There is a long gap in the middle of the day. At weekends the bus runs every 30 minutes from 07:00 to 12:30 and from 16:30 to 20:00, each way, with none in between. On weekdays no direct trip leaves Bayan Baru between 09:40 and 16:20, or Seberang Jaya between 10:00 and 16:25.

On weekdays the timetable also has trips that run through the Bayan Lepas free industrial zone factories (their headsigns start CAT BRIDGE - FIZ, for example CAT BRIDGE - FIZ 4 & BLIP), between 06:00 and 19:05.

Sources: The Vibes, 29 October 2025 and Rapid Penang timetable data on data.gov.my, read 2026-10-14.

Related

Sources

Related

More in Getting around