Express rush-hour bus trial kicks off
The Beeline app.
SINGAPORE — An experiment is underway to see if commuters are willing to pay about S$4 to S$6 during rush hour for a bus trip — from four housing estates in the east and north-east, for a start — to the Central Business District (CBD). Passengers get guaranteed seats and there are no more than five stops along the way.
Called Beeline, it kicked off on Monday (Aug 3) with five on-demand express bus services run by private operators, and at least 10 other routes are expected in the coming months.
There are four morning peak period routes running from Marine Parade, Punggol, Pasir Ris and Tampines to the CBD, and and one evening peak period route from the CBD back to Marine Parade. The estimated travel time for a trip from Punggol to the CBD is about 40 minutes.
The five routes were selected after the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) sifted through more than 3,400 suggested routes collected from the public when the initiative was announced in April, and analysed historical travel patterns.
Commuters will be able to book single or multi-trip tickets and get a seat on these buses, with no more than five pick-up stops for each route. The services will run even if only one booking is made for a trip.
“Prices are set by the bus operators, with introductory prices of S$4 to S$6 per trip, and discounts for every five days booked,” said the LTA and IDA in a joint statement yesterday.
The bookings can be made through the Beeline mobile application. “In addition, to providing more direct journey to its commuters, Beeline experiments with the possibility that bus routes and timings can be adapted in response to commuter feedback and demand over time,” the authorities added.
The three private bus companies running the routes are SMRT subsidiary Bus-Plus, Aedge Holdings and Commute Solutions Group.
Bus-Plus is running three of the Beeline routes. “Beeline will provide commuters with another option in journey planning, and we are anticipating positive commuter experience feedback on the first routes introduced,” said Mr Benny Lim, Managing Director of SMRT Roads.
The IDA and LTA said other interested private bus operators are also welcome. The experiment is expected to run until the first quarter of next year, after which the authorities will assess whether the concept can be “applied more widely”.
Some of the commuters TODAY spoke to felt the prices of these services are too expensive. Accounts executive S S Lim, who lives across from Tampines MRT station and works at Raffles Place, pointed out that she spends less than S$2 on a one-way MRT ride. “I don’t see the point in spending like S$4 or S$5 for this express bus service. It’s too costly for me,” said the 30-year-old.
On the other hand, events assistant Melissa Li, who lives in Marine Parade and works around Raffles Place, said that she would consider using the services as she takes the taxi at least twice or thrice a week to work, spending about S$15 to S$20 for each trip. “I can surely save quite a lot of money if I use this (app), even if I have to pay S$6, I don’t mind because it’s cheaper than calling for a taxi,” said the 31-year-old.
Another commuter, Mdm Ann T, 44, who lives in Punggol and works near City Hall said: “If I’m rushing to work and this app guarantee have seat, I don’t mind paying because taxi (is) quite costly.”
The Beeline app is available for free on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. More information is available at www.beeline.sg.
