the main points i copy and paste from sunday times one. the
sunday times did write that services 9, 27, 45, 53, 131, 145, 163,
166, 183 will use DDs instead of SDs during peak hours.
you're right.... the reporting really jialat...
More, bigger buses during peak hours
20 routes to benefit from tomorrow; 120 more train trips
weekly on NEL too
Can't squeeze into that bus or train during the morning rush
hour?
Some commuters will get a reprieve tomorrow when 20 heavily used
bus routes get more frequent services and bigger buses during peak
hours.
In addition, the North-East MRT Line will see 120 more train
trips a week from tomorrow.
Transport Minister Raymond Lim announced this yesterday when he
visited the Distance Fares roadshow at Boon Lay Bus
Interchange.
These moves come hot on the heels of the recent Budget debate
during which he said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will work
with transport operators to improve capacity on busy bus
services.
Yesterday, Mr Lim said he shared commuters' concern that the
public transport system was getting more crowded, and resolving
this was 'one of our top priorities'.
The operators are 'aggressively increasing' transport capacity
for bus and rail, he added.
For example, over the last year, LTA has added 18 stations and
close to 21km to the rail system when it opened the Boon Lay
Extension and the Circle Line from Dhoby Ghaut to Marymount.
Of the 20 bus routes that will be enhanced, half are run by SBS
Transit and the other half by SMRT.
SBS Transit will add 24 bus trips a day from Mondays to Fridays
and use double-decker buses instead of single-decked ones for
services 9, 27, 45, 53, 131, 145, 163, 166, 183 and 198.
A double-decker bus can pack in 130 people - 40 more than a
single-decked bus.
SMRT will add 47 bus trips daily and deploy more bendy buses for
its heavily used services 67, 75, 180, 184, 187, 188, 190, 858, 911
and 960.
It has also bought nine new buses to service these heavily used
routes, said Ms Kang Huey Ling, vice-president of SMRT Buses.
Bendy buses can take in 125 passengers - 40 more than a normal
bus.
These measures will kick in only during what the operators term
'peak of peak' hours. They define this as a half-hour duration any
time between 7am and 9am, and between 5.30pm and 7.30pm. 'Peak of
peak' hours vary depending on the routes.
The additional bus services may not run the full journey.
Take service 45, which runs from its Upper East Coast terminal
to Ang Mo Kio depot. During 'peak of peak' hours, additional trips
will run only from Lorong Ah Soo to the Serangoon MRT station, said
an SBS Transit spokesman.
At the Distance Fares roadshow, Mr Lim also urged the public to
use an online fare calculator (http://www.publictransport.sg/distancefare )
put up by the LTA to learn more about the new fare system that will
kick in on Saturday.
Commuters will pay fares based on how far they travel by bus,
MRT and LRT - regardless of how many transfers they make - as long
as these are kept to a maximum of five transfers.
They will no longer pay a boarding charge - also known as a
transfer penalty - each time they make a transfer.
The move to the new 'distance-based' system is aimed at making
fares fairer.
At present, commuters who transfer, say, from a bus to a train,
may pay a higher total fare even though they may travel a shorter
distance than someone who takes a bus that travels a longer
distance.
Two-thirds of commuters will save 48 cents on average each week,
based on data compiled by the Public Transport Council (PTC).
One-third of commuters will see a 31-cent weekly fare increase on
average.
PTC's chairman Gerard Ee had explained that commuters who end up
paying more will mostly be those covering a long journey.
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