Complaints of lack bus services in Sembawang New Town

off_service SG

In Lian He Wan Bao, two readers called the hotline and complaint about the following:

LACK OF BUS SERVICES

Reader 1 hopes that there will be more direct bus services and feeder services to make every part of the town more accessible.

AMEND SERVICES 965 and 969

Reader 2 hopes that Tibs will amended services 965 and 969 into Sembawang New Town, so as to save cost and to reduce inconvenience of changing bus at Chong Pang / Yishun before proceeding to the East.

TIB1186Z SG

Originally posted by off_service:
In Lian He Wan Bao, two readers called the hotline and complaint about the following:

[b]LACK OF BUS SERVICES

Reader 1 hopes that there will be more direct bus services and feeder services to make every part of the town more accessible.

AMEND SERVICES 965 and 969

Reader 2 hopes that Tibs will amended services 965 and 969 into Sembawang New Town, so as to save cost and to reduce inconvenience of changing bus at Chong Pang / Yishun before proceeding to the East.[/b]

965 may be amended, but definitely not svc 969......if the route gets longer, its going to lose the business for pax btw Admiralty and Gambas Ave going to the east to SBST....

For students on bus pass like me, this means that we no longer have a rather direct bus that connects Yishun and Woodlands....this may be bad news to thise living in Yishun or Woodlands and require these 2 svcs to say cost

TIB1186Z SG

Sorry again...my browser got problem and this is a repeated post...thanks for ignoring it

off_service SG

Agreed. Also, sv 969 is having direct competition with svcs 39 and 168.

kuang SG

Sembawang is indeed a growing town, with plenty of potential for new services. Unfortunately, one of the elements that the town lacks is a permanently fixed bus interchange. Currently, it houses two terminals: sembawang rd end and admiralty rd west. If there was an interchange, the existing services at the two terminals would be redeployed to serve the interchange. With the redeployment, tibs will be able to introduce feeder services to cover the routes of the existing amended services. There is a strong possibility that Tibs is in final preparations to introduce a new service possibly from Sembawang to the East possibly to Changi Village or Pasir Ris via Yishun. There are also talks that a temporary int would be built by end of next yr. I also would like to see Sembawang develop into a viable town with good transport links other than the MRT.

SBS9818A SG

Yes. A temporary interchange will be built. Sv. 980 and Sv. 167 will be amended to terminate there, and feeder services will most likely be introduced. Sv. 965 may even terminate at Sembawang. Anything can happen!

mercedes_hispano SG

Oh, you know, that will be very good, in my opinion. With the new interchange, Service 167 can perhaps consist or a partial fleet of Bendies. The Pax load during peak hours are really great, sometimes the passengers have to stand all the way from Shenton Way to Orchard or Thomson. Some Bendies would make things better. But one concern is this: How is Service 167 going to serve Sembawang Beach? It is after all, quite a famous place, many people still make use of Service 167 to go there. Nonetheless, can the Bendies make a loop around the round-a-about like Jalan Kayu, and construct another new stop to indicate which direction the bus is travelling to?

Then there is Service 980: Will it cause inconvenience because the Admiralty Road West Terminal is too far away from Sembawang Central?

Or do you guys think that Service 858 can be extended to Sembawang, with the introduction of Bendies when the new terminal 3 is up? I hope that Transitlink or LTA will consider building a permanent interchange at T3 when it opens. It may take long, but at least it gives the drivers (e.g. from Service 36, 53, 27, etc) a break. What are your takes on this? Smile

AntiDennisLance SG

167 currently can already take bendies - just that they didnt feel the load is enough. They dont even bother to bolster the 167 fleet even on a temporary basis during peak hours. One habit used to serve on 167 for a period on a trial basis. Remember even service 82 used to have bendies even at the cramped Punggol End terminal. Unlike service 804, bendies are safe on 167.

Even if there is a new terminal at T3, service 858 still cannot take bendies as it still has to pass through T2 which is not bendy-able. Plus after service 969 was introduced, service 858 hardly have any standing passengers now.

off_service SG

If what you say happens, new feeder services can be introduced to cover Admiralty Road Terminal and Sembawang Park. Service 981 could be amended to become a full day service, as the route from Sembawang MRT to Adm Rd West is similar to service 980.

Service 962 could be amended to service Adm Rd West, but possibility is very low.

With regards to service 858, I enquired Tibs about extending service 858 to Sembawang. The reply states that the move is not feasible as this service aims to bring residents from Woodlands to Changi Airport fast, i.e in a hour time.

The more "ulu" part of Sembawang (where service 962 goes to now) still has much not covered by bus services, like Wellington Primary. I don't even have the slightest idea where it is. I hope the bus network in Sembawang can really expand soon. For the new neighbourhoods, only 2 services are serving, services 859 and 962.

TIB1186Z SG

I beg to differ about loads on svc 858.....its undoubtedbly true that there are no standing pax fro most of the time, but it can be very packed during the change of shift at the airport, and in the evening, where a lot of flights land at Changi

SBS9818A SG

I think eventually Sv. 962 will make a big loop around S'wang before terminating at the temporary interchange. Sv. 167 and Sv. 980 will terminate there, and there will have to be a feeder bringing people to Sembawang Rd End.

oliver_yuen87 SG

The main problem of Sembawang is its poor geographical location. Since there is an over-supply of housing, tenants would rather move into Sengkang and Pungool rather than Sembawang. As long as there is no significant increase of residents moving into Sembawang, we won’t see big improvements in the transport network.

off_service SG

Especially with huge and developed towns like Woodlands and Yishun right beside it. The 2 services introduced in 1999 (sv 859, 4 Apr) and 2001 (sv 962, 24 June) provide links to Yishun and Woodlands respectively.

SBS9818A SG

Yes, I think with an interchange, these services may be merged to become a very long Townlink service?

off_service SG

Tibs has replied to the writers. Here's the summary:

They will take into consideration the proposed changes to services 965 and 969, extending them into Sembawang New Town.

Bus network expansion will depend on town development and the completion of the temporary interchange.

SBS9818A SG

After all I think the PTC ruling has been overruled by LTA, according to a source.

Smiley Volgren SG

Yes a Pininfarina Habit bendy bus once went to Sembawang Park for a trial test in 2000. Successfully turned around the circus but it was decided not to use bendy bus due to low ridership. Shit, i should bring a camera.

I must say honestly. In Feb 2001, I saw Citaro Bendy and another Mercedes Benz 0405G entering T1 and T2 bus terminal for a trial run. Of course, it was successful! Asked one of Tibs staffs and he confirmed it was a test for Service 858. However, the result stated that the ridership was very low in the morning after Changi Airport. Hence, they introduced Service 969 and then all ITE Tampines students & Temasek Poly students bidded farewell to horrible 858...

And there is 80% chance for Svc 804 to get bendy bus. It depends on whether the new route amendment is approved. Rolling Eyes

It's confirmed that Sembawang Town will get one feeder service. Service 167 and 980 will likely be moved back to a newly built interchange besides Sun Plaza. Service 962 and 859 should be studied into feasible implemention to see whether they can be mergered or not. Oh 169, 856 and 981 how??? It'll be interesting if Sembawang Town owns two bus terminals and one interchange. Hee hee... Mr. Green

I find NR 2 route TOO LONG-WINDED! It's high time for Tibs to introduce service NR 9 from Marina Centre via Boat Quay, Chinatown, River Valley Rd, Orchard Rd, CTE, YCK Rd, Lentor Ave, Yishun Ave 2, Yishun Ring Rd (former route of 520), Yishun Ave 5, Sembawang Rd, Sembawang Ave, Sembawang Dr, Sembawang Way, Canberra Link, Sembawang Rd and loop at Sembawang Park. What do u think? Cool

off_service SG

This route is similar to the previously withdrawn NR9. But going to Yishun would follow NR1? Rolling Eyes