Channel NewsAsia - Monday,
July 30
LTA rolls out
pilot project to provide arrival info at bus
stops
SINGAPORE : The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has rolled out a
pilot project to provide real-time bus arrival information at
selected bus stops.
This is expected to take the guesswork out of waiting for a bus for
commuters.
Panels with LED displays will be set up at the bus stops.
They will list bus service numbers, what time the next and
subsequent buses will arrive, plus or minus three minutes, and
whether they are wheelchair-friendly.
The panels will be progressively installed at 30 selected bus stops
in the Orchard Road, Ang Mo Kio and Yishun areas, at a cost of just
over a million dollars.
For now, it is a pilot scheme for 6 months.
Although the panels will be located at a fairly low level, LTA says
they should be fairly tamper-proof as they are made up of strong
tempered glass surrounded by stainless steel frames.
Many commuters say they are all for it, if it works well.
"Sometimes you don't know when the bus is going to arrive.
Supposedly they say bus interval is about 15 minutes, but it can be
delayed by up to half an hour or one hour, (especially) during
traffic jams. So with these bus panels, I think it will be...
useful," said one commuter.
"Sometimes I'm not sure if I'll be late for school. So if I know
the bus is taking too long, I can take a cab straight away and
won't waste too much time," said another.
"But the thing is that - will they really come? If they say 5
minutes, will the bus really come? To me, it's the same - not much
difference. I'm used to waiting already."
This is not the first time the LTA has tried out such a
system.
In 2003, the LTA aborted a three-year-old venture with homegrown
company Stratech for a bus commuter information system.
But Transport Minister Raymond Lim said things are different
now.
He said: "The main difference is that technology has improved and
cost has come down."
Mr Lim added that the authorities want feedback from commuters
before they go any further.
Still, even if the scheme works well, it will not be going
island-wide.
Mr Lim said: "Because it's not cost effective. There are 4,000 over
bus stops. You might not want to put one in every single bus stop.
You look at where are the major areas where there are high commuter
traffic and you target them."
Also introduced on a pilot level are Key Bus Services Maps which
will be installed at 36 key bus stops around Orchard Road by
end-August.
Primarily meant to help tourists, they are pictorial
representations of surrounding landmarks and how to get there using
the nearest bus stops and MRT stations.
Commuters can send feedback via the LTA hotline 1800-2255582 or at
the forum . - CNA/ch
