LTA: Bus-stop benches cost up to $1,500 each
Bus-stop benches in Singapore cost between $500 and $1,500 each, excluding installation, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has said.
The authority was replying on Sunday to media queries on the cost of bus-stop benches after earlier reports about a man who got into trouble with the law for taking home one such bench.
LTA told The Straits Times that benches at bus stops are expected to last at least 20 years with minimum maintenance, and the cost of such benches would depend on its features and materials.
"For example, some older benches are made of concrete and stainless steel, while new ones are aluminium and come with arm rests that enable elderly commuters to get up from their seats more easily," an LTA spokesman said.
The spokesman said that there are about 5,000 bus stops in Singapore of various designs, depending on when they were constructed.
Open tenders are called for the upgrading of existing bus stops, including the construction and replacement of benches, Yahoo reported last Friday.
The cost of these benches came under public scrutiny earlier this month following reports of a man who had taken home a bench.
Tan Ke Wei, 22, was sentenced to a seven-day short detention order on Oct 9, after pleading guilty to taking a grey metal bench worth $1,500 from a Braddell Road bus stop in June last year.
LTA said on Sunday that the bench Tan removed was made of powder-coated aluminium and its cost was about $1,300, with an installation cost of around $200. - TOH TING WEI
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