Largest air-conditioned bus interchange in Boon Lay
begins operations
SINGAPORE : The largest air-conditioned bus interchange in
Singapore opened its doors to passengers on Sunday.
Spanning four football fields, the interchange is also the first
Integrated Public Transport Hub to be located in the West.
It is all systems go at the new Boon Lay bus interchange, located
along Jurong West Central 3.
Integrated with nearby retail mall Jurong Point, commuters can now
shop, dine and hop on a bus, all under one roof.
It takes about three minutes to walk from the furthest bus berth to
the nearby Boon Lay MRT station.
Many commuters have welcomed the change, after using a temporary
bus interchange for more than three years.
One commuter said: "It is much better than the last one, because it
is air-conditioned, and it looks much nicer."
Another commented: "The new interchange, very nice, very big and
very comfortable because (it is) air-conditioned."
A third noted: "(It is) easy to find and comfortable."
Spanning some 20,000 square metres, the bus interchange in said to
be Singapore's busiest, with 30 bus services operating from its
berths, and more than 100,000 people are expected to use the
interchange every day.
So the operator has taken steps to ensure human traffic flows
smoothly.
Ang Wei Neng, vice-president, West District, SBS Transit, said: "We
have been preparing for the past few months, so we have chosen the
date to open on a Sunday and a school holiday so that the crowd is
not so intense.
"(In preparation for) normal weekdays especially on January 4, when
school reopens, we have more people deployed these few days to give
out brochures, telling the customers and passengers where to find
the buses and the different berths."
Bus services 179,179A and 199, which
have heavy passenger volumes, will still operate at the temporary
interchange for now.
The services will be moved to this new facility by the first
quarter of next year.
The new Boon Lay bus interchange is similar to the first three
air-conditioned bus interchanges in Toa Payoh, Sengkang and Ang Mo
Kio. All are equipped with automatic sliding doors for the
convenience and safety of passengers.
Separately, the Land Transport Authority said six more Integrated
Public Transport Hubs will be built over the next 10 years, with
those at Serangoon and Clementi expected to be completed in 2011. -
CNA/ms
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1027165/1/.html
six more integrated... wad are the other 4? bedok and tampines
are included right?
