Singapore
Singapore Govt to spend S$900 Million to enhance public bus connectivity
Over the next eight years, up to S$900 million will be spent to improve public bus connectivity in Singapore. The initiative will speed up the roll-out of bus services in new towns, introduce express feeder buses, and add more peak-hour express services to complement busy MRT lines.
Over the next eight years, the Singapore government will invest up to $900 million to improve public bus connectivity under a new initiative aimed at speeding up the roll-out of bus services in new towns and introducing express feeder buses with fewer stops.
This significant investment, announced by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) on Tuesday (30 July), is part of the new Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme.
Key Enhancements in Public Bus Services
As part of this programme, more peak-hour express bus services, including those from housing estates to the city, will be introduced to complement busier MRT lines.
In response to changing travel patterns, additional bus trips will be added to certain routes, new services will be rolled out, and some bus routes will be adjusted.
Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat, speaking at the Ministry of Transport’s headquarters in Alexandra Road, highlighted that the new funds would be used to purchase more buses, hire additional bus drivers and maintenance staff, and build new infrastructure such as bus stops.
This multi-year scheme will be tailored to the needs of commuters in different locations, developed in consultation with grassroots advisers.
Responding to Changing Travel Patterns
LTA noted that with the pace of housing development accelerating in recent years, travel patterns have shifted, increasing demand for bus services.
Some precincts in newer housing estates, farther from town centres and MRT stations, and new developments in mature estates will be better served under this programme.
Areas with fewer public bus services or increased resident numbers and higher passenger loads on MRT and buses will also benefit.
To serve early residents in new estates, LTA plans to introduce a new bus service by the end of September to connect residents in new and upcoming Build-To-Order developments in Yishun East with Khatib MRT station.
Additionally, new express feeder services will take more direct routes with fewer stops, reducing travel time for residents to and from major transport nodes.
New Services and Adjustments
In December, a new express feeder bus service will provide Tampines North residents with a direct link to Tampines MRT station.
More peak-hour express services, including a new City Direct Service from Punggol starting in October, will be introduced for those traveling to the Central Business District. An existing bus service in Toa Payoh East will be extended by the end of 2024 to connect residents with the Thomson-East Coast and Circle lines at Caldecott MRT station.
Historical Context and Future Plans
The new bus enhancement programme mirrors the earlier $1.1 billion Bus Service Enhancement Programme, which added 1,000 government-funded buses to Singapore’s roads and introduced 80 bus services from 2012 to 2017.
Many of these services were feeder or short trunk services to improve local connectivity in newly developed areas like Choa Chu Kang, Sengkang, Punggol, and Yishun.
Despite the new funds, LTA stressed the importance of spending public transport resources prudently. The authority will continue to review and adjust the bus network, reallocating any potential savings.
Mr Chee emphasized that optimizing current bus routes alone would not meet the commuting needs of residents, necessitating additional government resources.
“Having taken a look at the overall picture, and to be able to meet the commuting needs of our residents, we have decided to pump in additional resources from the Government,” Mr Chee said.
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Give anyone millions or billions tax dollars to spend on infra, anyone also can
Oh Oh…….bus fares going to increase ?
Sounds like more emergency spending on infrastructure because the population growth is artificially induced at an unhealthy rate. And to finance such expenditure, we should expect a forthcoming hike in the transport fares too.
Just like the Founders Memorial, … they have to create activity and gdp right ??? !!! !!!
It’s VERY VERY VERY HIGH time to KICK the BLOODY ASS out of this PAP Administration HEGEMONY.
This PAP Administration is NOT SHORT of MONEY IDEAS to do Plenty of things SEEMS to improve this or that.
VOTE OUT THIS PAP MEANS MEANS citizens use their MONEY WISELY by ANOTHER POLITICAL PARTY.
Bus Co. Panties ARE PRIVATE Companies, with it’s OWN group SHAREHOLDERS.
WHY is this SMART PAP Administration ACTING FOOLISHLY to assist Bus Companies?
When they MAKE tons of money, NOT ONLY RAISE FARES, REDUCE ROUTES, BUNCH UP BUSES, do they share with citizens, commuters their PROFITS from this PAP Efforst, DO NOT CALL this a Govt Efforts.
It’s NOTHING to Do with the Government Services to the People. The NAME itself, a “Government Services”. It is NOT a PAP’s Services.
Do NOT SAY OR NAME it Govt Service.
50 years on. Still talking about improving connectivity. That means the following: 1. Number of existing bus services which not making sufficient money will be ‘re-directed’; 2. More feeder bus to feed the MRT lines, so that the trains will pack more, more profitable and get faster return on investment; 3. More money spend on poorly designed bus interchange and bus stops; 4. More packed buses, more buses will have their seats reduced to stand; 5. Reallocating any potential savings meant CEO pay will increased so that to attract and retain talents to make the organization stronger, more profitable, and… Read more »
Come on, have you seen the peak hour jams? More buses, more jams.
Use the money to improve on road or build more roads. If there’s a Covid 20, these buses and MRTs are the perfect place to share it.
How many such bus cater for Tengah
With this type of funding, I also can do the same. It’s not my money
Few years before Covid-19, government said will improve public bus services, notably bus frequencies. During peak hours, wait time like cut to 7 to 10 mins. During and after Covid-19, seems like bus frequencies increased to 8 to 15 mins.
Now say want to improve bus services again.
The money like going to feed some giant blackholes in circle and circle. Improve a bit then back to normal or become worse
Can the State afford this expenditure? How much was spent on simply go? GST was increased by 2% when most of us are addressing high food costs. How many new citizens are we subsidising? What is the rising temperatures telling you? Stop building. The heat is going to become unbearable. The cost of cooling these buildings will increase costs. In every area we are overbuilt and overpopulated. R&D should be done to study sustainability to be able to live below the earth surface. It will not be viable to live on the earth surface as temperatures continue to rise. So… Read more »
Tooting their own horn…again.
Its your job after all.
Bring in 1000s of foreigners , of course the transport facilities and connectivity needs to be upgraded…
Plus users are faced with fare increases ever so often…
Its about time services improve.
Why is the government subsidising something that the bus companies should be doing on their own with their own profits?
What is point of having profit-driven “private” companies running bus services when the government subsidises infrastructure?
Are profits made by bus companies taken back by the government? Where does the money go?
We collect more than $100 billion from COE in 2023, yet we can only apportion $900 million to enhance public bus connectivity. Can we not do more? Perhaps the policy makers can themselves take buses for a month to better comprehend the challenges ordinary folks faces daily when taking public buses. Come on 4G, you can do better.