My observations on svc 137 (on a weekend afternoon):
I agree 137 is slow and so far not many people are taking 137
(maybe because people are still not familiar with the route).
Between UEC terminal and UEC Rd/Bedok South Ave 3: Demand not
high as commuters going to Bedok MRT can take 25, which is more
frequent and faster
Between UEC Rd/Bedok South Ave 3 and Bedok South Ave 1: Demand
not high as commuters changing to EWL can take 14/48 to Tanah Merah
MRT, 55 to Eunos MRT, 48 to Bugis MRT, or 10/14 to City Hall.
Between Bedok MRT and Bedok North St 3: Demand not high because
commuters can take 225G/W, which is faster and more direct. 137 is
supposed to serve Heartbeat @ Bedok but the nearest stops along
Bedok North St 1 and Bedok North Ave 2 are quite far away
(200m).
Between Bedok North St 3 and Bedok North MRT: Probably the
portion with the heaviest load. Even so, the seats are not fully
filled.
Between Bedok North MRT and Ubi MRT: Demand not high. Most bus
stops in Kaki Bukit estate has only 1-3 people boarding or
alighting. As the route is designed to primarily connect to DTL
stations, it awkwardly avoids the bus stops along Bedok Reservoir
Rd and Eunos Link, making it difficult to transfer between 137 and
bus services along Bedok Reservoir Rd and Eunos Link (unless you
walk).
Between Ubi MRT and Paya Lebar MRT: No demand between Ubi MRT
and Ubi Ave 1, but moderate load between Ubi Ave 1 and Paya Lebar
MRT.
Between Paya Lebar MRT & Sims Place: moderate load (I'm
amazed that it took LTA so long to introduce a direct service from
Paya Lebar MRT to Geylang Rd (between Paya Lebar and Aljunied)
after svc 71 was withdrawn in the early 1990s)
Travel time from Bedok MRT
- to Bedok North St 3: about 10 min
- to Bedok North MRT: about 15 min
- to Ubi MRT: more than 30 min
- to Paya Lebar MRT: more than 45 min (on 137) or less than 10 min
(on EWL)
Not just 71 too, even temporary 864 also a direct service from
Paya Lebar MRT to Geylang Rd. It was then withdrawn when O305s
began their withdrawal, and there were limited supply of Volvo
Olympians.
864 was merged with 84 to form 80. 865 and 866 are progressively
renumbered to 85 and 86 so that elderly can still remember numbers
while the 86x can still be used in the event 85x runs out.
Some of the older double deckers were not immediately replaced
for various reasons. These include the 1995 handover exercise
(Yishun, Bukit Panjang, Northeast), 1999/00 handover exercise
(Bukit Batok, Choa Chu Kang), and 2003 North East Line
rationalisation. During the 2003 North East Line rationalisation,
there is no production B10TL except SBS9800A. Only after the 2003
North East Line rationalisation, there are only 56 LO2X, which was
withdrawn in June 2004.
The Leyland Atlantean had started to withdraw in 5 March 1989
without a single replacement for 1977 buses, 10 June 1992 for 1978
buses all the way to 1994 and 1982 buses until 1997. This is
because of newer generating bodies. The Leyland
Atlantean (Alexander R) and O305s were primarily replaced from
January 1999. The last LA is on January 2001 after 9669M/9670H
already in service, O305s were withdrawn on June 2002 but no
repainting involved.
First LO2X to withdraw is SBS6907X, which was somewhere in 31
December 2002. SBS7196Z was withdrawn on 14 December 2003 because
it came from SLBP. It realised it replaced by a random LO3X. In
order to replace LO2X from SLBP and to further upgrade JIS to full
double decker fleet, LO3X and VO2X first transfers were made from
individual depots (with BNDEP involved). Even 291 was
downgraded (or upgraded). Then, VO3X first transfers were
made after B9TL CDGE and Wrights introduced.