Public transport fares will increase 2.9% from 26 Dec 2022. I asked the Minister for Transport in Parliament on 8 Nov whether the Public Transport Council decides on fare adjustments based on bus service reliability. Minister S Iswaran said “steady improvements” had been made and that between 2018 and 2022, all services had met the required standards, including bus 228, which he said was “close to Mr Gerald Giam’s heart”.
In fact, bus 228 is even closer to the heart of my residents in Bedok Reservoir, who could previously take several other bus services from their homes to Bedok Interchange before they got rerouted. They now depend on only bus 228, which has an arrival interval ranging from seven to 15 minutes. I urged the Ministry to look into increasing the frequency of this service to improve the commuting experience.
The Minister recalled that I had raised the issue earlier this year in Parliament as well and noted my “consistency” in doing so. He replied that reducing headways had cost implications because of the need for more buses and bus captains.
I understand that more frequent buses will cost more, but these costs have to be seen in the broader context of getting more Singaporeans to shift from pollutive private transport to greener public transport.
