LTA’s bus service enhancementinitiative ‘very successful’
SINGAPORE — Nearly two-thirds of the 1,000 new buses that are slated to be rolled out under the Bus Service Enhancement Programme (BSEP) have hit the roads since it started in 2012.
Apart from the 660 new buses, 41 new bus services have also been introduced, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) yesterday in its latest update on the BSEP, adding that crowding in buses has fallen by more than 90 per cent.
“It’s been a very successful revamp ... We will continue to work hard because there’s still one-third of the programme to go,” said Minister for Transport Lui Tuck Yew, who visited the Serangoon Integrated Transport Hub yesterday.
The LTA also noted that “commuters now enjoy more comfortable, frequent and better-connected services”.
For example, SBS Transit Service 315, a feeder service that serves Serangoon residents, now runs at a frequency of four to six minutes during the morning peak hour, compared to about nine to 13 minutes previously.
Housewife Belinda Tan, who usually takes bus services 105 and 133 in the morning, said she is “pretty satisfied with the bus service”.
“I feel that the timings on the arrival board are quite accurate, and I don’t have to wait very long,” said the 65-year-old.
In the coming months, eight more new services will be rolled out to improve connectivity in areas such as Bedok, Bukit Panjang and ChoaChu Kang.
People can also expect quicker commutes from their residential estates to the city, with the introduction of 12 more City Direct Services (CDS), bringing the total number of such services to 22.
From next month, the first five of these bus services in areas such as Woodlands, Pasir Ris and Yishun, will be progressively implemented.
The S$1.1 billion-BSEP is slated to be complete by 2017.
TOH EE MING
