SINGAPORE – It takes up to 45 minutes for long-time Toa Payoh East resident Hong Yuan Pei to travel by public bus to Caldecott MRT station, which is about 2km from his flat in Lorong 7 Toa Payoh.
As part of his commute to his workplace in the one-north business park, the 47-year-old building survey manager takes a bus to Toa Payoh bus interchange and transfers to another bus service bound for the MRT station. It then takes him another 20 minutes on the Circle Line to get to work.
But by the end of 2024, Mr Hong will no longer have to make such an early start on weekdays.
As part of a new eight-year, $900 million Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme announced on July 30, an existing bus service that goes to Toa Payoh East will be extended to connect with the Circle and Thomson-East Coast lines at Caldecott.
“Wonderful news”, Mr Hong told The Straits Times, adding that residents in the area have been requesting such a bus service for years.
Transport experts also welcomed the new government initiative, telling ST that the move sends a signal that the Government is trying to make public buses and trains a more attractive travel option compared with driving or taking a taxi or private-hire car.
Associate Professor Walter Theseira, head of the urban transportation programme at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, believes the new $900 million kitty is a way for the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to reassure the public that bus services are still an important part of the public transport system here.
This is especially in the light of concerns over the removal of some bus services that run parallel to new MRT lines. The most recent example of this was the furore over the withdrawal of bus service 167, which led LTA to reverse its decision.
National University of Singapore (NUS) economist Timothy Wong said that for certain trips, travel times on private vehicles are shorter than those on public transport, especially for journeys that require transfers between buses and the MRT.
“By reducing bus waiting times, and creating bus routes that are more direct, LTA is trying to narrow that gap so that commuters begin to choose public transport over driving or booking a private-hire vehicle,” he said.
“The hope is that with an expanded rail network over the next few years and more frequent and direct bus services, even in more peripheral areas of the city, public transport becomes a more competitive option to the car for a larger set of trips across the island.”
Associate Professor Raymond Ong, a transport infrastructure researcher at NUS, said $900 million over eight years is a significant investment by the Government.
He said the consultations with grassroots advisers is a key part of the new enhancement programme, as it means the improvements made will better reflect the needs of the local community.
MPs for Yishun East, Punggol and Toa Payoh East, which are among the first places that will benefit from the improved bus services under the new programme, said they are glad that their feedback has been turned into action.
Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC MP Saktiandi Supaat, who chairs the Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport, said the new initiative is more about the first and last miles, and he sees the rationalisation of overlapping bus services as a separate issue.
Mr Saktiandi said he has been pushing for LTA to introduce new bus routes in his ward, or change existing ones, so that his residents have better access to Caldecott MRT station.
Punggol West MP Sun Xueling, who is Minister of State for Home Affairs, and Social and Family Development, said her residents in Sumang are also eagerly awaiting the launch of a new City Direct Service to the Central Business District.
Ms Sun said she had given feedback to LTA about the need for an express service to the city as more and more people have moved into the Sumang area over the years, with new Build-To-Order developments and property launches there.
She added that City Direct bus service 666, which passes through Punggol Drive and Punggol Field, remains in service, and LTA will continue to monitor its usage and capacity.
Nee Soon GRC MP Louis Ng, whose constituents will get a new bus service to Khatib MRT station by September, said: “Residents have been calling for this. I’m glad their wishes have come true.”
Over in Tampines North, Tampines GreenCourt resident Benedict Tay hopes that the planned express feeder bus service there, which is set to launch in December, will help ease the overcrowding on the buses that ply the area during peak hours.
The sales manager, 34, said only three bus services serve the area – 46, 129 and feeder service 298 – and the buses get so full that passengers are often unable to board.
“I usually take 129, and it takes me about 15 to 20 minutes for the last mile… This new bus service will really help to resolve the issue,” Mr Tay said.
He also hopes there can be more double-decker buses used on some of the services there.