Rapid Penang
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| Parent | Prasarana Malaysia |
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| Founded | 2007 |
| Headquarters | George Town, Penang, Malaysia |
| Service area | Greater Penang, Malaysia |
| Service type | Public bus |
| Routes | 56 |
| Fleet | 406 |
| Annual ridership | 30,309,000 (2014) |
| Website | Rapid Penang |
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| Developer(s) | Apps World Sdn Bhd |
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| Initial release | 12 April 2011 |
| Stable release |
1.1
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| Operating system | iOS |
| Platform | iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad |
| Type | Rapid ICIS Travel Planner |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | Website |
Rapid Penang (styled as rapidPenang) is a public bus brand in the State of Penang, Malaysia. Formed as a subsidiary of Prasarana Malaysia in 2007, to date it is the main public transport operator within Penang; its bus network serves commuters within Greater Penang, including the neighbouring towns in Kedah and Perak.
Rapid Penang was the second public transportation firm established by Prasarana Malaysia, a corporate body owned by the Malaysian federal government to manage urban public transportation. The first was Rapid KL in 2004, which now encompasses public bus, LRT and monorail services within Kuala Lumpur and the greater Klang Valley. Thus, similar to Rapid KL, Rapid Penang's bus fleet is under the management of Rapid Bus Sdn Bhd.
Originally, the public bus service in Penang were fragmented and disorganised, with several local public bus operators facing financial difficulties and showing signs of collapse. This situation reached a critical point when the Yellow Bus Company, one of the largest public bus operators in Penang with a 58-year history, suddenly ceased operations in 2004, leaving thousands of commuters stranded.
The Penang state government at the time under the then Chief Minister, Koh Tsu Koon attempted to revamp the state's ailing bus network. Under the revamped routes that were launched in 2006, bigger buses were made to run along trunk routes while minibuses ran feeder routes which branched off the trunk routes. The revamp, however, failed to improve the situation, leading the Penang state government to study the revamp already conducted in Kuala Lumpur and request for federal intervention. It was felt that bringing in Rapid KL, which already had the expertise and know-how, was the better solution than simply purchasing more buses, although Rapid KL at the time chose to focus on its core operations in the Klang Valley.
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