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Billion-dollar Bus Service Enhancement Programme completed with 1,000th bus added to fleet

SINGAPORE — The government’s billion-dollar Bus Service Enhancement Programme (BSEP) that was rolled out in 2012 to tackle bus congestion and long waiting times has wrapped up, as the 1,000th government-funded bus and 80th new bus service planned under the initiative hit the road.

To mark the BSEP’s completion, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong rode the new bus service 71 – a trunk route passing through Ang Mo Kio and Bishan – on Saturday (Dec 9) morning. Photo: Najeer Yusof/TODAY

To mark the BSEP’s completion, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong rode the new bus service 71 – a trunk route passing through Ang Mo Kio and Bishan – on Saturday (Dec 9) morning. Photo: Najeer Yusof/TODAY

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SINGAPORE — The government’s billion-dollar Bus Service Enhancement Programme (BSEP) that was rolled out in 2012 to tackle bus congestion and long waiting times has wrapped up, as the 1,000th government-funded bus and 80th new bus service planned under the initiative hit the road.

The five-year effort translated to a ramping up of bus capacity for about 70 per cent of bus services – or 218 out of 309 basic services – either through the deployment of higher capacity buses or the operation of more frequent bus trips, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on Saturday (Dec 6).

With the increased capacity, the maximum time set between the dispatch of buses during peak periods has reduced by 15 minutes. Commuters can now expect to get on a bus every 15 minutes or less, compared to a wait time of up to 30 minutes previously if they missed the previous bus at the interchange.

Heartland commuters can also expect shorter wait times now, as feeder services ferrying them from their homes to the interchange are now scheduled to service every six to eight minutes during peak periods, compared to more than 10 minutes previously.

The BSEP was rolled out in September 2012, against the backdrop that more than a third of bus services (96 out of 261 basic services then) were identified to be suffering from persistent peak-period crowding, which means that their load of standing and seated passengers exceeded 85 per cent at those times.

Now, only less than five of these bus services are plagued with that issue, the LTA said in an update.

(Above) A comparison of bus loading during morning peak period between November 2012 and November 2017. Source: Land Transport Authority

To mark the programme’s completion, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who is an advisor for Ang Mo Kio GRC, rode the new bus service, 71 – a trunk route passing through Ang Mo Kio and Bishan – on Saturday morning. He then joined residents at Teck Ghee Market and Food Court to participate in a series of activities organised by grassroots organisations.

In a press release, the LTA said the increased bus capacity “has allowed commuters to enjoy more comfortable rides as crowding had been reduced substantially, especially during peak periods”.

Of the 80 new bus services rolled out under BSEP, many of them are feeders or short trunks intended to improve local connectivity to major transport nodes and key community and commercial facilities in the heartlands, as well as to serve newly developed areas that will see ridership growth, such as Choa Chu Kang, Sengkang, Punggol and Yishun, the LTA said.

They also include 22 City Direct Services – two more than originally planned – which offer commuters a direct connection from housing estates to the central business district by making use of the expressways during weekday peak hours.

Source: Land Transport Authority

Riding on the achievements of BSEP, Senior Minister of State for Transport Lam Pin Min told reporters at Saturday’s commemorative event: “We are going to introduce hybrid as well as electric buses over the next few years, and we are also going to trial some innovative models such as autonomous vehicles probably starting from 2022.”

Dr Lam added that there will also be more new bus services introduced in new housing estates under the new bus contracting model, where the government pays operators a fee to operate the services.

BSEP was announced by then-Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew in Budget 2012, which spelt out plans to put 550 government-funded buses and 40 new bus services on the roads.

The programme was expanded in 2014, with a new target to roll out 1,000 government-funded buses and 80 new services by the end of 2017.

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