LTA Central Planning (Phase I) – Splitting ultra-long routes

last SG · 2010-03-27T22:14:40+00:00

*sigh* what to do? this is singapore, where everything is rising anyway, hope 135 wont be affected, for now

SBS2601D SG

If "transfer" is seen as a "cost", then there must be rebates/benefits to compensate for that....otherwise commuters suffer, or at least the majority will. Its almost impossible to please everyone, in which case, changing this current system might not be such a good idea.

Samuel Lee SG

I think it is better to have a board all you can system in all SBST and SMRT services (Train as well -- but daily 4 train tap in / out), at current price for students, $170 for adults and $60 ~ $80 for senior citizens.

SBS2772T SG

pls don't be crazy.. what happens if you are the sole breadwinner for a family of 3 adults?

one month $510 gone just to use the bus? could be 1/3 of an ordinary worker salary..

that's gonna dissuade pple from using ez-link cards or public transport

a system based on point-to-point mileage is more efficient as users would then pay for their distance instead of the lack of coverage of bus services. commuters can then choose which way they want to go

Samuel Lee SG

pls don't be crazy.. what happens if you are the sole breadwinner for a family of 3 adults?

one month $510 gone just to use the bus? could be 1/3 of an ordinary worker salary..

that's gonna dissuade pple from using ez-link cards or public transport

The pricing can be changed, I am based on the board all you can $98 monthly to calculate the estimation for MRT as well. This $170 is a bus + mrt (Limited to first 4 trips daily)

service_238 SG

I believe that through the split of some of the services it will benefit the majority of the bus communters right here in Singapore. Although we are now being forced to make transfer from 1 bus service to the other or from one mode of transport to the other, but i feel that generally, our transport network will improve. Think about the through-fare system that they will be introduced from July onwards, this will help us to cut down our transport fares significantly.

hard to say.. i foresee an increase across the board and then somewhere somehow they will give you the feeling that its cheaper than the Oct 08 fare structure.

Something aside from central planning.. I think after the CCL opens fully, the hubs with the major rail lines at Buona Vista, Bishan, Paya Lebar and probably Serangoon will be as good or worse than the current Dhoby Ghaut, City Hall, Raffles Place and Outram Park. Look at the uncanny resemblence below:

Aim: Divert traffic away from city centre by allowing these traffic to commute via an outer ring system around the city centre

Drivers: Outer Ring Road System (ORR)
Commuters: Circle Line

Current system for drivers on the roads is that the ORR is heavily congested with traffic. The planners were successful at diverting away traffic bypassing the city but they have created problems in the ORR instead. So next step is divert traffic away from ORR?

If this current system applies to commuters, the CCL will be heavily congested with human traffic?

ok maybe the full operation of CCL may divert some drivers to taking the train as corridors like Tai Seng, Pasir Panjang, PSA, Alexandra, One-North, NUS gets served by CCL. However it would be pretty hard for them to do so unless the companies/bldg mgt themselves impose higher season parking charges for the vehicles.. then we may see some progress...

tanjun SG

hard to say.. i foresee an increase across the board and then somewhere somehow they will give you the feeling that its cheaper than the Oct 08 fare structure.

Aim: Divert traffic away from city centre by allowing these traffic to commute via an outer ring system around the city centre

If this current system applies to commuters, the CCL will be heavily congested with human traffic?

I still feel that the North South Line and the East West Line are still most integrated lines. Transfers between these two lines looks efficient and convenient. In Dhoby Ghaut MRT, commuters have to walk a certain distance to make a transfer from North South Line to North East line and that also applies to Outram Park MRT. In City Hall MRT and Raffles Place MRT, East West Line and North South line ply just on top of one another. The order of lines in City Hall and Raffles Place is just the opposite and that is another add point for people to save the effort of climbing the stairs if they have a huge difficulty of doing so.

SBS2601D SG

The pricing can be changed, I am based on the board all you can $98 monthly to calculate the estimation for MRT as well. This $170 is a bus + mrt (Limited to first 4 trips daily)

There's a reason behind the term "sticky prices".

SBS3688Y SG

I’m against splitting of long routes, except converting long loop services to terminate at nearest bus interchange or terminal.
Should deploy more mid-trip bus svcs to long routes at times of uneven frequency.
Depending on situation, some bus trips should be made to bypass certain areas to avoid bottlenecks, so that commuters down the route is less affected by the frequency.

lemon1974 SG

from ST online Forum

http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/OnlineStory/STIStory_509793.html

lemon1974 SG

Dun think splitting of the long route will help also, if they dun bother to improve on others areas.
1) illegal parking/waiting of car at bus stop. look at the bus stop outside Bishan Mrt.. even they put up barrier, still same situation. cars still park at the bus stops...
look at the bus stop along Toa Payoh Lor 2 (block 175), there is alway long line of taxis parking/waiting there.. treating the bus stop as taxi stands and where is the enforcement?

2) road works - can see road works here and there, on small road/major roads.. some time 2 lanes can be closed? all these lead to traffic jam.

3) Tree cutting - i have seen tree cutting being carry out on peak hours at AMK Ave 6 and the lorry just parked at the bus lane and dun care whether it is blocking the buses or not...

4) blocking of yellow boxes at bus stops...look at the bus stop at AMK Ave 3 (opposite AMK MRT station).. Sv 25/73/261 have to filter 3 lanes to turn right to Ave 8/interchange.. but the vehicles just all stopped at the yellow boxes and dun give way at all.. this also happen at other junctions/bus stops..

better for LTA to go work on these first, or else, no matter how many routes they split, in the end timing also wont be accurate...

TIB1232Z SG

2) road works - can see road works here and there, on small road/major roads.. some time 2 lanes can be closed? all these lead to traffic jam.

3) Tree cutting - i have seen tree cutting being carry out on peak hours at AMK Ave 6 and the lorry just parked at the bus lane and dun care whether it is blocking the buses or not...

better for LTA to go work on these first, or else, no matter how many routes they split, in the end timing also wont be accurate...

Actually I would say that the measures are in place already but it is always very hard to chase after such offenders... if LTA can clamp down very hard on those that illegally park in bus bays, as well as those who illegally stop in the yellow box then I'm sure points 1 and 4 wouldn't be a problem.

Point 3 is much of a headache... I wonder if they can schedule plant pruning in busy roads to specific hours of the day when traffic volume is much lower.

SBS2601D SG

Point 3 is much of a headache... I wonder if they can schedule plant pruning in busy roads to specific hours of the day when traffic volume is much lower.

They once tried to prune trees at off-peak hours at night. The trial failed.

lemon1974 SG

They once tried to prune trees at off-peak hours at night. The trial failed.

they should do it during non-peak hours and weekend for those busy roads..

TIB1234T SG

Now there are more and more articles about the splitting route problems. Below are some unhappiness that came out from the news after surveying:

1) Not visible for the elderly as mostly have the difficulty to climb the steps, furthermore no gurantee seatings if they have to transfer to either MRT or buses. Taxis are too expensive for them, so no need to say.

2) More people think that having to transfer is a waste of time, not inclusive of waiting time as it varies. They would rather take the bus instead for some readings, sceneries, sleeps, which all these are hard to do when you are in a very packed train when transfering.

3) Having asked about transfering from buses to MRT, more percentage of people think that they will still choose buses instead because trains were already so packed, not to even say about saving time. Transfering from a transport to another transport still need time to wait.

SBS2601D SG

they should do it during non-peak hours and weekend for those busy roads..

Think LTA mentioned before sometimes its not possible because the window is too small to finish pruning in a realistic time.

SBS8533C SG

This is true.

Example would be Service 30. If Service 30 were to get amended elsewhere or withdrawn or even split up, possible scenarios are:

- Commuters living in West Coast, Pasir Panjang or Corporation Dr were either had to take alternative services or the nearest MRT to get into their destinations. Alternative services can be a hassle job to some, because transfers in bus and MRT is required to get to their desired destinations. As some had pointed out, the MRT would be fully packed during peak hours and no seats will be guaranteed for them (it means standing on the MRT throughout the journey).

- The Service would became disintegrated if the 2 routes are to be split up (Bedok - Harbourfront; and Harbourfront - Boon Lay), and at the end of its route, commuters will have to take another bus to continue the route, which will consume more time on travelling (inclusive of waiting time) and had to pay an extra fare. Thus with this kind of scheme to be proposed, regular commuters of service 30 will had to put up with inconveniences, on which it may affect their travelling time and fares.

Junyang700 SG

The Sunday Times has an article on this LTA central planning thingy.

They did drop some hints.
Services 39,85,161,168,858,965,969 will not be affected at all.

Some long routes will also not be affected, with the exception of "problematic
buses with "problematic" frequencies and scheduling problems, most likely to say 10,14,30,196... Those that operates between East and West and passes by the city.

SMRT says it has 8 routes that are longer than 30km.
SBST says it has 35 routes that are longer than 25km.

rx7Savanna SG

No wonder they announce sometime back that they wanted to open up the market to allow more bus companies to operate.

I was thinking where do they get bus routes for them to operate in the first place. Maybe through this splitting up of long route?

SBS7888K SG

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is not splitting up or phasing out all long-distance bus services.

It is relooking only long bus routes with known reliability issues, and where there are sensible midpoints to break, so that overall, more commuters will benefit.

Making this point, an LTA spokesman said yesterday that there are also many long bus routes that do not face reliability problems and are not being considered for splitting.

He cited those running along the Tampines Expressway corridor, or where the ridership is well distributed along a substantial portion of the entire route.

He added that LTA has not finalised the routes to be split or where they should be split as it is still at the central bus planning consultation process, and getting feedback.

'At the end of the day, the proposed changes must benefit the largest number of commuters, while taking into account the trade-offs involved,' he said.

Among the changes being considered is how service reliability can be improved.

Long bus routes are particularly susceptible to traffic delays and disruptions from boarding and alighting. He cited the example of a service running from the east to the west through the city centre.

'If there are delays due to traffic congestion and high boarding and alighting activity in the east, commuters waiting to travel west from the city will find their bus service frequency adversely affected by these disruptions, especially during peak hours.'

Public transport surveys have shown that commuters want waiting times and reliability to be further improved.

LTA analysis also shows that more than 85 per cent of commuters alight before or at the city centre. This means there is room to achieve better service reliability to benefit the majority of commuters using the service if these routes are split.

But LTA is mindful of commuters who travel across the split sector. It would hence also consider their alternatives, overall journey times, fares and ease of transfers before making recommendations.

The spokesman added that when distance-based fares are introduced in July, commuters travelling the same distance will pay the same fare for the same type of service, whether they travel direct or make transfers.

Document STIMES0020100403e6440000h

One Harmonius Blend SG

The Sunday Times has an article on this LTA central planning thingy.

They did drop some hints.
Services 39,85,161,168,858,965,969 will not be affected at all.

Just had a feeling it won't be touched, and yes it did

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