Runtime and buses added over the years,If they travelled 60kmh
they're prone to bunch at Yishun..I agreed that runtime should be
cut 2-3 mins.
Hello, 2-3 mins cut is not sufficient, svc 969 runtime can
easily shave at least 5 minutes.
Standard timetable from Tampines (3rd last bus out from
Tampines):
+01 min: Tampines Concourse stops
+02 mins: Stop at Tamp Ave 9
+16 mins: TPE stop
+33 mins: First stop at Lentor Ave
+38 mins: Khatib MRT
+43 mins: Yishun MRT
+48 mins: Last stop at Yishun
+54 mins: 3M @ Gambas Ave
+57 mins: Admiralty MRT
+64 mins: Woodlands MRT/Int
As you can see, SMRT has scheduled a grand total of 22 mins
between the TPE stop and the stop at Khatib MRT during the off-peak
hours. Pre-GCM, this journey took about 12 mins in off-peak hours,
and 15 mins in peak hours. Of course if you artificially add 10
mins into the schedule, then the svc 969 buses have to crawl
between Punggol and Yishun!
Another observation: Almost all svc
969 buses depart Tampines Int at least 5 mins later than the timing
indicated on their DDUs. This seems to allow the buses to travel at
normal e'way speeds to Punggol, but after that they all slow to a
crawl anyway ...
Last mind-blowing observation: SMRT has given svc 858 the
exact same runtime between the TPE stop
and the first stop at Lentor Ave (in spite of the detour to Jln
Kayu), which clearly shows that SMRT is sandbagging the svc 969
schedule for no obvious reason ...