Optimize bus services

Sent to Today Paper on 2 January 2013

Editor, Voices

Today Paper

I took a bus SBS 163 from my home in Yio Chu Kang Road to 

my office in Upper Thomson Road a few times during the past two weeks.

I had to wait more than 15 minutes for the bus to arrive. During this time, I saw

an average of 5 buses under SMRT 857 and SMRT 854 pass

by and they were virtually empty. When SBS 163 arrive, it was packed.

It appeared to me that SBS is trying to maximize its profits while SMRT is 

rather lax in managing its operating costs.

As the Government is now shouldering a large part of the cost of operating

the bus services, through the budget of $1.1 billion to purchase new buses,

it should be their duty to ensure that the resources are well used.

The Land Transport Authority has data on the number of passengers that

go up each bus. Surely, they should be able to tell, by looking at the data, if

the buses are optimally utilized across the various bus services?

I like to ask the Authority to comment on whether they do look at the data of

the bus usage regularly and work with the bus operators to ensure that

the resources are used optimally. Commuters should not have to wait

too long for a bus to arrive or to enter into a packed bus, when other buses

go by almost empty.

Tan Kin Lian