1. In total, 28 bus
services1 will
be improved and 5 new bus services will be introduced between
October and December 2012 under the Bus Service Enhancement
Programme (BSEP). By end of 2012, a total of 89 new BSEP buses will
be on the road2.
Another 3 new bus services will be introduced in the first quarter
of 2013. These improved bus services will benefit many commuters as
they are geographically spread island wide.
Better connectivity with new bus
services
2. Commuters can expect
better connectivity with more new bus services rolled-out under
BSEP. To date, three of the five new bus services planned for the
fourth quarter of 2012 – Services 119, 860 and 116 - were
introduced in October and November. The other two new bus services
– new Service 50 and new Express Bus Service 513 - will start on 16
and 17 December 2012 respectively.
3. From 16 December 2012,
the new bus Service 50 operated by SBS Transit, will enhance
connectivity for commuters along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8, Ang Mo Kio
Avenue 5, Yio Chu Kang Road, Sengkang West Avenue, Sengkang East
Way and Punggol Drive. The new bus route will provide
commuters with convenient access to key transport nodes and
amenities, such as MRT stations, town centres, schools including
the new ITE College Central along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5, and the
Sengkang Sports and Recreation Centre along Sengkang West. The
service will operate daily at a frequency of 10 to 15 minutes from
Bishan and 10 to 19 minutes from Punggol. (Please refer to Annex A
for the route map of Service 50)
4. From 17 December 2012,
commuters travelling between Tampines West and the Central Business
District (CBD) during weekday peak periods (excluding public
holidays) will be served by a new Express Service 513. The new
service, operated by SBS Transit, will provide an alternative for
Tampines West commuters travelling to the CBD. With limited stops
and the use of the East Coast Parkway (ECP), the journey time is
expected to be comparable to taking a feeder service and
transferring to a train into the city. The new express service will
operate two trips on weekday mornings at 7.30am and 7.45am from
Tampines Avenue 5 towards Shenton Way. In the evening peak hours,
the service will operate two return trips from Anson Road towards
Tampines Avenue 5 at 6.15pm and 6.30pm. (Please refer to Annex B
for the route map of Service 513)
5. The three new bus
services for the first quarter of 2013 will be progressively
introduced from January 2013. These new routes will improve the
connectivity in Changi North, Choa Chu Kang, Tampines, and Yishun.
Details of these new routes are being worked out and the Public
Transport Operators (PTOs) will provide more information closer to
implementation dates.
6. In addition, a new
trunk service will be introduced by SBS Transit at its own cost as
part of the on-going network improvement. The new bus route will
improve the connectivity in Tampines, Simei and Changi Business
Park. The route is being worked out and is targeted for
implementation in the first quarter of 2013. More information will
be provided closer to implementation. The bus fleet for this
service will be from the 250 buses that PTOs will add to their
fleet at their cost within 5 years.
Better bus
services
7. New BSEP buses will be
introduced to 28 bus services with heavy ridership during the
morning and evening peak periods in the fourth quarter of 2012.
This will add 445 more weekly bus trips. Commuters on these
services will have more frequent, more reliable and less crowded
buses. (Please refer to Annex C for list of these bus
services).
8. Service 284 operated
by SBS Transit, for example, will run at a frequency of 4 to 8
minutes during morning/evening peak periods instead of 6 to 14
minutes currently.
9. Service 962 operated
by SMRT Buses now runs at higher frequencies of 4 to 8 minutes
during morning peak period and 8 to 9 minutes during evening peak
periods, from 4 to 9 minutes in the morning, and 10 minutes in the
evenings previously.
10. Mr Chua Chong Kheng, Land
Transport Authority’s (LTA) Deputy Chief Executive said, “These
improvements are geographically spread to benefit as many commuters
as possible and aim to make meaningful enhancements to bus service
levels. We will continue to work closely with the bus operators to
inject the buses progressively over the next 5 years.”
11. SBS Transit CEO, Mr Gan Juay Kiat
said, “SBS Transit CEO, Mr Gan Juay Kiat said, “We have made
improvements to more than 50 services this year as part of our
on-going regular review and will continue to work closely with the
LTA under the BSEP to develop and improve our service network to
ensure better rides for all.”
12. SMRT spokesperson said: “We are
gearing up both our people and fleet to better serve the needs of
our customers and to meet the increase in demand for more and
better bus services. The latest round of improvements will
see more new buses added to our fleet. This will not only provide
our customers with shorter waiting times and greater comfort, but
also enhance our customers’ overall travelling
experience.”
13. In addition, as part of the
on-going quarterly bus service review process, PTOs have also
improved bus services3 by
deploying higher capacity buses and/or adding more bus trips along
sectors that experience consistent heavy ridership to better match
demand and to increase frequency/capacity along these sectors.
Together, the two operators have added a total of 185 more weekly
trips during peak hours for 30 services.
14. Under the BSEP, the Government
will partner the bus operators to significantly ramp up bus
capacity and current bus service levels by providing funding for
550 buses. Over the next 5 years, the buses funded with Government
assistance will be deployed to reduce crowding and improve bus
frequencies of existing basic bus services, and run about 40 new
bus routes. Together with the 250 buses that PTOs will add to their
fleet at their cost, over the next 5 years, these 800 new buses
will amount to a 20% increase in bus fleet.
15. With the additional capacity,
commuters can expect better service levels. By end of 2014, the
PTOs will be required to reduce the loading levels for all basic
bus services to 85%, down from today’s 95% of their licensed
capacity.
16. Peak hour frequencies for feeder
and trunk bus services will also be improved. Under the BSEP, all
services will operate within 20-minute scheduled intervals, with
another 10% of services having intervals brought down even further
to within 12 minutes. Currently, under the existing quality of
service standards, all services have to operate within 30-minute
scheduled intervals, of which 80% must be within 10-min scheduled
intervals.
Annex A : New Bus Service 50
Annex B : New Express Bus Service 513
Annex C : Improvements to bus service
levels
Annex D : Map of BSEP
improvements
1 Bus services enhanced under BSEP in
fourth quarter 2012:
• SBS Transit bus services: 2, 8, 21, 29, 48, 57, 60,
79, 86, 87, 147, 168, 228, 229, 238, 246. 262, 273, 284,
315, 317, 325, 333 and 335
• SMRT bus services: 77, 962, 963 and 969
2 The breakdown of the new BSEP buses
is as follows:
• 28 new BSEP buses for improvements to 26 bus services
in Q3 2012
• 31 new BSEP buses for improvements to 28 bus services
in Q4 2012
• 30 new BSEP buses deployed on the 5 new BSEP bus
services introduced in Q4 2012
3 SBS Transit bus services improved
between October and December 2012 under the quarterly bus service
review process: 5, 7, 19, 25, 36, 39, 45, 76, 88, 90, 94, 95, 109,
145, 154, 161, 185, 198, 225, 240 and 334.
SMRT bus services improved between October and December 2012 under
the quarterly bus service review process: 178, 811, 852, 854, 856,
859, 961, 966 and 971E
Source: http://sg.sg/R9TXYC
