On a related note, the "brainchild" behind Sv76 amendment,
as reported in 16/3's Shin Min.
Brief translation of article:
Turning hobby into job, 30 year-old bus
enthusiast - now a route planner - shortens Sv 76
1. Mr Tan Hao Rui (direct translation, might not be accurate)
joined LTA's Policy and Planning Group 4.5 years ago out of his
interest in buses. He is currently a Senior Transport Planner under
Bus Planning Dept.
2. He has delved into bus photography, bus spotting, advert
spotting etc. in his younger days.
3. He outlined various phases in route planning - understanding
commuters' travelling patterns and needs, field investigation,
resource allocation for new routes, how to connect key nodes
etc.
4. Has spent the past 4 years (seriously?!) shortening/amending
Sv 76, which will cease to loop at Marine Terr this coming 20th Mar
to become a bi-directional service.
5. He derives job satisfaction from providing greater
convenience to commuters. (Ok... I can't seem to see how cutting Sv
76 and making people alight and wait for Sv 134 is really more
convenient just to solve the reliability issues of long loop
service. As many on the forums have said, there are other avenues
to alleviate the long headways at the looping end.)
6. Ever since he joined LTA, he has been explaining to friends
and relatives the constraints and unfavourable road conditions that
bus services are subject to. Has also been taking feedback and
recommendations from them.
7. Lastly, he said that resource allocation are based on needs.
(Not much surprise here, though it's hard to explain the excesses
of Sv 120/121/122, Sv 102/324 and Sv 150's duplication with Sv
13/15/155/966.)