The convenience and comfort of public transport is an important factor that commuters consider before going “car lite”. Fewer private cars on the road reduces both traffic congestion and carbon emissions. Conversely, inconvenient public transport can have the opposite effect of encouraging more driving or riding of private vehicles. Most residents, however, have no choice but to take public transport as cars in Singapore are unaffordable for them.
Many of my residents, especially those living along Bedok Reservoir Road, continue to voice their dissatisfaction to me about the Government’s decision last December to reduce the number of bus services plying routes to nearby bus interchanges and MRT stations, as well as trunk routes to other parts of the island. This represents an overall reduction in public transport convenience for them, particularly since the frequency of bus 228, which takes them to and from Bedok Interchange, has not increased enough to make up for their loss of bus service 66. The frequency of feeder bus services like bus 228 should be increased further, to make public transport a more attractive option for Singaporeans.
During the 9 May 2022 sitting of Parliament, I asked the Minister for Transport what percentage of bus services operate with frequencies (technical term: headways) of no more than five minutes during peak hours and 10 minutes during off-peak hours. This is the Minister’s reply:
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for Transport in the last six months, what percentage of (i) all public bus services and (ii) feeder bus services, operated with headways of no more than five minutes during morning and evening peak hours, and no more than 10 minutes during off-peak hours, respectively.
Mr S Iswaran: LTA monitors the performance of our bus operators against the standards stipulated under the Bus Contracting Model (BCM).
Under BCM, basic bus services have scheduled headways of 15 minutes or less during the morning and evening peak periods. At least half of these services are required to have scheduled headways of 10 minutes or less. Feeder services run at shorter intervals, with scheduled headways of no more than eight minutes during peak periods. In the last six months, bus operators have adhered to the standards set by LTA.
Source: Parliament Hansard
Read Land Transport Guru’s in-depth analysis of the bus service changes in Bedok Reservoir.
