Simple.
1. Relieve loads on 72. Horrific amount of pax boarding 72 at
HG, with half of them heading to Ave 4/9. 116 is a tool to relieve
loads so that they can share between Ave 4/9 pax, allowing for more
YCK bound pax to board.
2. Simplify transfer. 116 enters the int while 72 does not. And
yes, it is a disadvantage during rainy days. And isn't that LTA's
aims, to provide for better alternatives?
I am just going to copy my answer to dupdup to you.
Thanks for accepting my point of view. Somewhere we agree. Just
a comment on sv 72. It had horrible loading at one point of time.
With significant upgrades to 72 itself, the loading now has been
spaced out. There is also 72A which used to be totally packed
before but now has around 40-50 pax. 72 with the number of buses
added now has around 70-75 pax per bus. Those days when buses used
to be 100+ pax are gone.
If 72 was not getting these upgrades, 116 routing would have
made complete sense. But LTA added capacity on 72 and introduced
116 on same route. At HG Interchange, PM peak, you will still see
people wait at 72 stop and 116 bus leaves with a mere 20-25 pax at
the max from interchange. Does it really serve the purpose? No. If
it was calling on st 51,93.. .at least people who would get direct
service to their home would wait specially for 116.
