Once Shit Times reports of improvements to be made, fares increases always follow.....Remember I said so.......lol
Home > Breaking News > Singapore > Story
Aug 1, 2009
Shorter wait for buses
80% of services must arrive every 10 minutes during peak periods
By Yeo Ghim Lay
SBS Transit will spend $147 million on 400 new buses this year and has hired 200 bus drivers in the last two months. -- ST PHOTO: CAROLINE CHIA
COMMUTERS can expect a shorter wait for buses from Saturday, as a stricter service standard for bus operators kicks in. At least 80 per cent of bus services must now come not more than 10 minutes apart during peak hours on weekdays, down from 15 minutes.
Feeder bus services, which link heartland estates to MRT stations and bus interchanges, will be held to a higher standard: At least 85 per cent of them must come not more than 10 minutes apart during rush hours on weekdays.
The new standard does not apply on weekends and during off-peak hours.
The Public Transport Council (PTC), which tracks the performances of bus operators SBS Transit and SMRT, said on Saturday that the two companies were ready to meet the new standards. To do so, the operators have had to roster more bus trips each week, buy buses and hire more drivers.
Four in 10 bus services - or 109 out of the 261 basic bus services now running - will have their waiting times shaved to fall in with the new requirements, the PTC said on Friday.
Not all services are required to run at the raised frequency of every 10 minutes because some operate on routes with low demand, a PTC spokesman explained.
Traffic conditions elsewhere may also upset bus frequencies, he added.
To cut the waiting times of the 109 services, the bus operators are running 1,300 more trips during the weekday rush hours each week. They have also deployed 116 new buses on the roads since early this year, and hired more bus drivers.
SBS Transit will spend $147 million on 400 new buses this year and has hired 200 bus drivers in the last two months. SMRT spent $25 million on new buses last year and will buy 66 more, said SMRT Buses' vice-president Kang Huey Ling.
Overall, the average frequency of the services will be raised by 18 per cent, and carrying capacity by 24 per cent.
Dr Lim Wee Kiak, chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport, is pleased that bus waiting times are now shorter. 'But while it's good to have such guidelines, bus operators must make sure that they translate into a difference that commuters on the ground can feel,' he said.
Read the full story in Saturday's edition of The Straits Times
[email protected]
Home > Breaking News > Singapore > Story
Aug 1, 2009
Shorter wait for buses
80% of services must arrive every 10 minutes during peak periods
By Yeo Ghim Lay
SBS Transit will spend $147 million on 400 new buses this year and has hired 200 bus drivers in the last two months. -- ST PHOTO: CAROLINE CHIA
COMMUTERS can expect a shorter wait for buses from Saturday, as a stricter service standard for bus operators kicks in. At least 80 per cent of bus services must now come not more than 10 minutes apart during peak hours on weekdays, down from 15 minutes.
Feeder bus services, which link heartland estates to MRT stations and bus interchanges, will be held to a higher standard: At least 85 per cent of them must come not more than 10 minutes apart during rush hours on weekdays.
The new standard does not apply on weekends and during off-peak hours.
The Public Transport Council (PTC), which tracks the performances of bus operators SBS Transit and SMRT, said on Saturday that the two companies were ready to meet the new standards. To do so, the operators have had to roster more bus trips each week, buy buses and hire more drivers.
Four in 10 bus services - or 109 out of the 261 basic bus services now running - will have their waiting times shaved to fall in with the new requirements, the PTC said on Friday.
Not all services are required to run at the raised frequency of every 10 minutes because some operate on routes with low demand, a PTC spokesman explained.
Traffic conditions elsewhere may also upset bus frequencies, he added.
To cut the waiting times of the 109 services, the bus operators are running 1,300 more trips during the weekday rush hours each week. They have also deployed 116 new buses on the roads since early this year, and hired more bus drivers.
SBS Transit will spend $147 million on 400 new buses this year and has hired 200 bus drivers in the last two months. SMRT spent $25 million on new buses last year and will buy 66 more, said SMRT Buses' vice-president Kang Huey Ling.
Overall, the average frequency of the services will be raised by 18 per cent, and carrying capacity by 24 per cent.
Dr Lim Wee Kiak, chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport, is pleased that bus waiting times are now shorter. 'But while it's good to have such guidelines, bus operators must make sure that they translate into a difference that commuters on the ground can feel,' he said.
Read the full story in Saturday's edition of The Straits Times
[email protected]
