SMRT fined S$100 for overloading bus
by Sumita Sreedharan Updated 10:09 PM Oct 25, 2012
SINGAPORE – SMRT has
been fined S$100 by the authorities in the latest service standards
survey for exceeding the number of passengers allowed on one of its
bus services.
The infraction occurred last December when bus loading on
SMRT service number 925 was 98.4 per cent,
exceeding the 95 per cent loading allowed during weekday peak
hours.
Despite the single offence, SMRT was given
a pass in the six-monthly Quality of Service (QoS) standards survey
by the Public Transport Council (PTC).
The other public transport operator SBS
Transitpassed as well.
The operators were assessed for reliability, loading and safety
between December last year and May.
In the previous review for June to November last year,
SBS and SMRT were fined
S$400 and S$800 respectively for not meeting the loading
standard.
Operators can be fined S$100 for every loading or headway
infraction as dictated by the QoS standards.
For failing to run at least 96 per cent of its scheduled trips
for each bus service, operators can be fined S$1,000. For a high
rate of accidents or bus breakdowns, operators can be fined
S$10,000.
Compliance with the loading standard is assessed at the bus stop
with the highest bus load during peak periods. The bus loading at
that point is measured against the buses’ licensed capacity to
determine if it is within the stipulated 95 per cent.
“The actual performance of bus services is continuously tracked
by the bus operators’ computerised fleet operation and management
systems,” said a PTC spokesperson.
Performance reports of all bus services are submitted to the
PTC for assessment every month.
The PTC also audits the operators’
reporting processes to ensure that the reports are accurate and
complete.
The current 95 per cent cap on bus loading will be reduced to 85
per cent at the end of 2014 under the Bus Services Enhancement
Programme (BSEP), which will see more buses deployed.
Responding to queries, SMRT explained that
the incident had occurred as they had experienced a shortage of bus
drivers during the period of the incident.
The operator assured that it closely monitors the passenger
loading patterns of their bus services and conducts regular reviews
on bus capacity to cater to changes in passenger numbers.
