"Give way to buses" scheme to cut travelling
time
SINGAPORE: Bus commuters can expect a smoother ride with
the implementation of the Mandatory Give Way To Buses Scheme.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) says the pilot scheme will be
rolled out along three roads from 20 December.
Under the new scheme, some 23 bus stops along Ang Mo Kio Ave 8,
Bukit Batok East Ave 3 and Toh Tuck Road will be affected.
LTA said these roads are often congested and buses have a hard time
exiting from the bus bays.
In a study conducted earlier, LTA said buses spent about 10 per
cent of travelling time trying to get out of bus bays.
To reduce travelling time for passengers, LTA said the scheme has
to be introduced.
Dr Chin Kian Keong, LTA's chief engineer of transportation, said:
"I think we'd like to widen all roads if that's the case.
Unfortunately, that's not the case in Singapore. There's a limited
amount of road space and it's because of this reason, because
there's a limit to road space, we need to make sure that more
people get to their destination faster and the way to do it is to
give way to buses which carry much more people than cars. With that
in place, more people should be able to get to their destinations
faster."
Under the pilot initiative, special yellow boxes and triangular
"give way to buses" markings will be painted in front of selected
bus stops along the three roads.
Signs will be installed ahead of these bus stops to indicate to
motorists to slow down and give way to buses exiting the bus
bays.
LTA said motorists who flout the rule will be fined S$130.
Most commuters 938LIVE spoke to, welcomed the new move.
"Maybe, (it can) help us to save time," said a commuter.
But some motorists said the new scheme is unnecessary.
"It's not really necessary because there is already a bus lane
there. So when (it's) peak period, no private vehicles are able to
go into that lane, so the bus will not have problem (getting out of
the buy bay). Outside the peak period, there are not many vehicles
around, so actually there's no need for the rules," said a
motorist.
LTA said it will assess the scheme after a three-month trial before
deciding whether or not to extend it to more locations.
- 938LIVE.
