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http://news.omy.sg/News/Local+News/Story/OMYStory201004260033-146588.html
Some bus rides faster than MRT
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QUICKER: Private tutor David Cheo saves time on his bus trip from Jurong East to Bukit Timah.
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<!--end storyhighlight--><!-- CONTENT : start -->SOME bus services may cross the country and take a long time but they still beat the train, say some residents in the northern, eastern and western parts of Singapore.
Services such as 36, 67, 168 and 190 get the thumbs-up from commuters, for taking them to their destinations at least 10 to 15 minutes faster than if they had taken a train. Most of these buses ply expressways, which explains why they can be faster than train rides.
The commuters were responding to Second Transport Minister Lim Hwee Hua's comment last month, that "a direct bus service cannot be faster than taking a feeder service and then the train".
She had said that the Government will not introduce new cross-country buses, as they are more vulnerable to disruptions, resulting in longer waiting and travel times. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is also studying which long-haul routes to split into two. About 10 per cent of the 260 bus routes here exceed 20km, she said.
Singapore Institute of Management student Darryl Chua, 21, hopes that LTA will retain SBS Transit service 52. Four times a week, he takes a 40-minute ride from his home in Bishan Street 11 to his campus in Clementi Road.
He lives near Bishan MRT station, but taking the train first to City Hall on the North-South Line, then to Clementi on the East-West Line and then a bus, would take about 10 minutes longer than the ride on service 52, he said.
"I would be backtracking if I took the train, whereas service 52 takes the Pan-Island Expressway," he added.
Make-up artist Aishah Kee, 35, hops onto SBS Transit service 36 from her home in Marine Parade Road for a 20-minute ride to either Changi Airport or Orchard Road.
"If I take the train, then I will have to take a bus to the MRT station in Paya Lebar, Eunos or Bedok. Waiting times and transfers will make my journey longer," she said. She added that service 36 is faster as it plies East Coast Parkway.
Private tutor David Cheo, 31, who lives in Jurong East Avenue 1, also prefers bus rides to reach his students in Bukit Timah, Adam Road and Toa Payoh, even if the journeys are longer. "I really doubt I save much time with the train. If it rains, changing from train to feeder bus is a horrendous experience," said the fan of SBS Transit service 157, which plies a mid-distance route because it does not exceed 25km in one direction.
With public-transport operators switching fully to a distance-based fare system in July, some long-haul bus travellers will pay an average of 31 cents more per week. Sales manager Ashini Selva, 27, who takes SMRT bus services 190 and 67, said: "I don't mind paying slightly more. If I can take one bus as opposed to three, why wouldn't I?"
The LTA has not finalised the routes to be split, nor where they should be split at, said its spokesman. Only long bus routes with known reliability issues are being considered for splitting, he said.
"From our analysis of these problematic long routes, more than 85 per cent of commuters will alight before or at the city centre and not go beyond. This means that there is room to achieve better service reliability to benefit the majority of commuters using the service if these routes are split," he added.
The Government is pushing for a "hub-and-spoke" transport system, where commuters have to make a short trip to their nearest MRT station before completing their journey by train.
Private tutor Betty Ng, 39, is one such commuter who prefers the train even though she does not live near an MRT station.
The Ubi resident can take up to 10 bus services from her home to two MRT stations. "The waiting time for any of the buses is usually just two or three minutes. MRT is faster, there are no jams or strange scents and is airy and cool," she said.
=> Why is the world crass public transport system making record profits so SMELLY?
Some bus rides faster than MRT
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<!--end storyleft-->
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<!--end storyhighlight--><!-- CONTENT : start -->SOME bus services may cross the country and take a long time but they still beat the train, say some residents in the northern, eastern and western parts of Singapore.
Services such as 36, 67, 168 and 190 get the thumbs-up from commuters, for taking them to their destinations at least 10 to 15 minutes faster than if they had taken a train. Most of these buses ply expressways, which explains why they can be faster than train rides.
The commuters were responding to Second Transport Minister Lim Hwee Hua's comment last month, that "a direct bus service cannot be faster than taking a feeder service and then the train".
She had said that the Government will not introduce new cross-country buses, as they are more vulnerable to disruptions, resulting in longer waiting and travel times. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is also studying which long-haul routes to split into two. About 10 per cent of the 260 bus routes here exceed 20km, she said.
Singapore Institute of Management student Darryl Chua, 21, hopes that LTA will retain SBS Transit service 52. Four times a week, he takes a 40-minute ride from his home in Bishan Street 11 to his campus in Clementi Road.
He lives near Bishan MRT station, but taking the train first to City Hall on the North-South Line, then to Clementi on the East-West Line and then a bus, would take about 10 minutes longer than the ride on service 52, he said.
"I would be backtracking if I took the train, whereas service 52 takes the Pan-Island Expressway," he added.
Make-up artist Aishah Kee, 35, hops onto SBS Transit service 36 from her home in Marine Parade Road for a 20-minute ride to either Changi Airport or Orchard Road.
"If I take the train, then I will have to take a bus to the MRT station in Paya Lebar, Eunos or Bedok. Waiting times and transfers will make my journey longer," she said. She added that service 36 is faster as it plies East Coast Parkway.
Private tutor David Cheo, 31, who lives in Jurong East Avenue 1, also prefers bus rides to reach his students in Bukit Timah, Adam Road and Toa Payoh, even if the journeys are longer. "I really doubt I save much time with the train. If it rains, changing from train to feeder bus is a horrendous experience," said the fan of SBS Transit service 157, which plies a mid-distance route because it does not exceed 25km in one direction.
With public-transport operators switching fully to a distance-based fare system in July, some long-haul bus travellers will pay an average of 31 cents more per week. Sales manager Ashini Selva, 27, who takes SMRT bus services 190 and 67, said: "I don't mind paying slightly more. If I can take one bus as opposed to three, why wouldn't I?"
The LTA has not finalised the routes to be split, nor where they should be split at, said its spokesman. Only long bus routes with known reliability issues are being considered for splitting, he said.
"From our analysis of these problematic long routes, more than 85 per cent of commuters will alight before or at the city centre and not go beyond. This means that there is room to achieve better service reliability to benefit the majority of commuters using the service if these routes are split," he added.
The Government is pushing for a "hub-and-spoke" transport system, where commuters have to make a short trip to their nearest MRT station before completing their journey by train.
Private tutor Betty Ng, 39, is one such commuter who prefers the train even though she does not live near an MRT station.
The Ubi resident can take up to 10 bus services from her home to two MRT stations. "The waiting time for any of the buses is usually just two or three minutes. MRT is faster, there are no jams or strange scents and is airy and cool," she said.
=> Why is the world crass public transport system making record profits so SMELLY?
