Tthere is no Public Transport on this Island. But what about all the Bus stations we see on the Main Roads? They are – so far – just to gather…
Tthere is no Public Transport on this Island.
But what about all the Bus stations we see on the Main Roads? They are – so far – just to gather the children together for the School Bus.
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Although there are no ‘official public busses’ – there is a kind of bus service with minivans. These taxi vans drive around picking up anybody from anywhere on the side of a street, mostly locals of course. This transport system may be cheap, but not reliable for various reasons. One never knows when such vans will come along, and even if they do come, they might be full already, making one wait quite a long time to catch one. Then in my own experience, these vans very often do not even stop, going by empty or half empty. I have the impression that Westerners are supposed to hire and pay in full for a privately chartered taxi – which costs 10 times more.
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And there is another reason why Langkawi has so many private cars: Langkawi is Tax Free! There is therefore no tax on cars on this Island and so they are much cheaper to buy than on the mainland.
NB: The tax free cars are restricted to Langkawi and can only go off the Island for not more than 30 days per year.
The good thing is – the cars are practically all new.
The reason: New cars can be purchased with low or no initial payment and low monthly rates, so most people can only afford a new car!
Mark
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