S$1 million to run Marine Parade cluster shuttle bus service, says Alvin Tan

Over the past three weeks, approximately 1,000 residents weekly have utilized a free shuttle bus service provided in the Marine Parade GRC, MacPherson, and Mountbatten areas. Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth, Mr Alvin Tan, addressed Parliament today regarding the funding and sustainability of this service, which costs about S$1 million annually.

According to Mr Tan, the pilot scheme, on top of being supported by a one-off S$200,000 grant from the South East Community Development Council (CDC), is largely funded through donations raised by the CDC and grassroots organizations.

Mr Tan explained that the Government matches donations raised by CDCs with grants to support ground-up initiatives.

The total cost for the one-year trial, which commenced on 8 July, is about S$150,000 per division per route, with the CDC grant contributing approximately S$2,400 per division monthly.

Mr Tan responded to specific questions from opposition MPs, Leader of Opposition Mr Pritam Singh, Ms Hazel Poa, Mr Leong Mun Wai, and Mr Gerald Giam about the shuttle service.

These questions included inquiries about the sources and total cost of funding, justification for limiting the service to specific constituencies, the adequacy of public bus services in the area, financial prudence, and the potential for similar services in other parts of Singapore.

He revealed that over 10,000 residents have registered for the shuttle, with more than 40% being seniors aged 65 and above. “It is too early to assess the service’s effectiveness,” Mr Tan stated, emphasizing the critical factor of financial sustainability. He noted that once the CDC grant is exhausted, grassroots organizations will need to fund the entire operation or develop a more sustainable financing model.

Mr Tan highlighted the high proportion of seniors in the Marine Parade cluster and their feedback on the physical challenges they face in accessing transport, healthcare, and community nodes. He also mentioned that the narrow roads in older estates make it difficult for large public buses to serve these areas effectively.

In her supplementary question, Ms Poa, a Non-consistency Member of Parliament from Progress Singapore Party, also questioned why the shuttle bus service applies only to residents and why questions about the service were redirected to the Ministry of Culture, Community, and Youth (MCCY) instead of the Ministry of Transport. She had asked in her parliamentary question about the funding sources, costs, justification for limiting the service to specific constituencies, and the potential for extending such funding to other areas.

She also queried whether the existing public bus services are adequate and if the free shuttle service meets financial prudence criteria.

Mr Tan responded that the project is a grassroots initiative funded primarily by private donations, with the CDC providing seed funding. He, however, did not answer why the question was redirected to him.

Mr Gerald Giam raised concerns about the depiction of grassroots advisors, who are also MPs, on the shuttle buses. He argued that public transport should be provided by the government through the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and its public transport operators.

In response, Mr Tan stated that the buses feature various Marine Parade landmarks, including familiar figures to help residents identify the buses.

The session concluded with Mr Singh’s request for an extension of question time being rejected by Deputy Speaker Christopher de Souza, leaving several questions from the MPs on the issue unanswered.