Better idea is 973 merge with 176 and the latter withdrawn.
Current 973 becomes 973A. Room for 1 new route at BPJ made. 170X
can be extended there and renumbered 974.
7 can be merged with 69. Room for 2 routes at BDK made.
135 can merge with 47 and ply East Coast Rd both ways. 40 can be
amended to Marine Parade as such.
16 can be amended to Chai Chee where there is no direct link to
CBD.
171 can absorb 944 in event of DTL bus route cuts. The BPJ-CBD
portion can be covered by 67, whose LTI-TAM sector can be covered
by 65.
151 should ply Defu which it originally did.
122 should be extended to loop at Holland Village like 95 does
in order to relieve 970.
190 and 700 should merge and 972 terminate at NBR (future Kg
Baru). 700 fleet can be re-allocated to 190 and 972.
62 and 857 should be extended to Marina South ITH when it opens.
Ditto for 23. Current 23 becomes 23A.
970 also another candidate for Marina South, along with 120 and
121.
64 can also start from Marina South, with the DBG-Sims Pl
portion covered by 111.
Marina South to be linked to Clarke Quay by a public ferry, like
the Transperth ferry between Elizabeth Quay and South Perth.
Not all of these pertain to DTL modifications. Here are my
views.
973 & 176: No; the services serve completely
different routes, impossible to merge; along with fleet
restrictions on 973. (75 & 973 may be a more likely pair,
though that would cause an awkward and long route that will be
difficult to optimize.)
7 & 69: No; the services cater to different
demands & a merger would definitely be too long (~30km).
135 & 47: Maybe. Downside is the loss of the loop at
Amber which may irk some commuters.
40: No ... don't see the point of shortening
and the loss of links to Geylang / Mattar.
16: Possible but not quite necessary. 16
itself is winding enough as it is, plus a detour via Joo Chiat
makes it indirect; adding the detour would slow it down
further.
171 & 944: Maybe, but the loss of links to Upp Bt
Timah / Beauty World is an issue. I wouldn't support if there are
better alternatives (such as 171 & 41)
151: No
point if there's no demand.
122: Can.
190 & 700: Maybe, but there'll be a need for a
service to cover either Stevens Rd or Dunearn / Bt Timah Rd.
There's a reason why both 190 & 700 still have high demand (and
700 has not been withdrawn up till now).
62, 857, 970: Can.
64 & 111: Not sure, I'd be careful of disrupting
links from Bt Merah to Serangoon Rd.