$900m to be invested in improving public bus network
Over the next eight years, up to $900 million will be spent to improve public bus connectivity in Singapore under a new government initiative that will speed up the roll-out of bus services in new towns and introduce express feeder buses that will call at fewer stops.
As part of the new Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme, more peak-hour express bus services – including those from housing estates to the city – will also be added to complement busier MRT lines, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) on July 30.
In response to changing travel patterns, more bus trips will be added to certain routes, new services will be rolled out, and some bus routes will be adjusted too.
Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said on July 30 that the new tranche of funds will be used to buy more buses, hire more bus drivers and maintenance staff, and build new infrastructure, such as bus stops, so that the planned improvements to the public bus network can be made.
Asked how many new buses and services will be introduced, and how many new workers are needed, Mr Chee said it was difficult for the authorities to be too precise at this point because it is not a one-off scheme, but a multi-year one.
“It is town by town,” the minister told reporters at the Ministry of Transport’s headquarters in Alexandra Road. “We don’t have a template that is the same across different parts of Singapore. It depends on the needs of the commuters in that location. And we will do this in consultation with the grassroots advisers.”
LTA said that with the pace of housing development gathering speed in recent years, travel patterns have changed and demand for bus services has climbed.
Some precincts in newer housing estates that are growing are farther from town centres and MRT stations.
At the same time, new developments in more mature estates can also be better served. This is especially the case in areas with fewer public bus services, or where the number of residents has increased substantially and passenger loads on the MRT and buses have gone up.
To serve early groups of residents in new estates, for example, LTA said it intends to bring forward the introduction of a new bus service to connect residents in new and upcoming Build-To-Order developments in Yishun East with the nearby Khatib MRT station.
The aim is to launch this service by the end of September.
As for the new express feeder services, they will take more direct routes with fewer stops in between, thus reducing travelling time for residents to and from major transport nodes.
For example, in December, a new express feeder bus service will provide Tampines North residents with a more direct link to Tampines MRT station.
For those travelling to the central business district, there will be more peak-hour express services, including a new City Direct Service from Punggol starting around October.
To cater to evolving travel patterns in Toa Payoh East, a bus service will be rolled out by the end of 2024 connecting residents with the Thomson-East Coast and Circle lines at Caldecott MRT station.
More of such adjustments will be made based on regular reviews of the bus network, LTA said.
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