Make better use of buses

24 July 2012 

Editor, Forum Page

Straits Times

Many commuters take the MRT because they are familiar with the routes and the 

stops. They may not realize that there is a bus route that could be more suitable for their

commuting.

As the trains are now over-crowded and it is difficult to increase the capacity, the Land

Transport Authority should look into encouraging more people to take the bus, if this is

a more convenient mode of travel. 

Here are some steps that can be taken:

• Educate the public on how to use the bus, especially to find a convenient way
  to reach the destination on a direct route or with one convenient change of bus
• Get the bus operators to display the sequential stop number and allow the
  commuters to know when to alight from the bus
• Display the expected arrival time of the next bus, so that commuters can know the
  waiting time.

The bus arrival time is now available on mobile apps for SBS services, but is not

available for SMRT services. It should be possible for the information to be provided

by LTA using the data that is now collected for the calculation of the fares.

I hope that the Land Transport Authority can take early steps to improve the usage of

buses, to relieve the over demand on the trains.

Tan Kin Lian