Commuters at new Bedok interchange frustrated over longer bus journeys

SINGAPORE — Three days after the Bedok Integrated Transport Hub opened, bus commuters were still complaining of long jams that they blamed on the traffic arrangements around one of Singapore’s largest bus interchanges.

Commuters TODAY spoke to during the evening rush hour yesterday said their journey times had been lengthened by as long as 10 minutes due to buses taking longer than usual to leave the interchange.

A congested line of buses wait in line at Bedok North Road to enter the Bedok Integrated Transport Hub. Video: Ernest Chua

Ms Cecilia Quek-Low, 60, a secretary in the construction industry who takes Service 87 to work, said: “It’s so frustrating just to come in to the interchange — it’s taking far too long. It’s not acceptable.”

Accounts assistant Ira Wahyuni, 18, said her ride to the interchange on Service 60 took up to 10 minutes longer because of traffic congestion. She hopes more parking bays can be added to let more buses drop off passengers.

About 30 bus services operate out of the new terminus, which offers commuters a link to Bedok Mall and Bedok MRT Station.

Many of the commuters interviewed cited the traffic lights along Bedok North Drive — the road that leads into the interchange — as the cause of the congestion for buses heading to the interchange.

Many also noted that the temporary bus interchange, which served Bedok for three years while the new transport hub was being constructed, did not face congestion problems of the same scale.

A 55-year-old commuter, who wanted to be known only as Mr Goh, said the authorities ought to adjust the traffic lights to allow buses to turn in to the interchange more promptly.

A bus captain, who declined to be named, said the presence of only one lane — through which buses enter the interchange — had also contributed to the congestion.

Channel NewsAsia first reported about the situation on Tuesday. A Land Transport Authority (LTA) spokesperson has said anti-congestion measures — such as the widening of roads, assigning of traffic marshals to manage traffic flow and installation of sensors at the interchange that interact with the traffic lights to control the flow of buses entering and exiting the interchange — had been implemented before the hub’s opening.

“However, some time is required for bus operations to familiarise with the new interchange and to allow (for) some fine-tuning during the start of operations,” the spokesperson added.

A check by TODAY last evening showed no signs of a let-up in the traffic situation, with a snaking queue of buses waiting to enter the interchange to drop passengers off.

Around 5.30pm, up to 16 buses were seen waiting in line along Bedok North Drive and about 10 buses were held up along the nearby Bedok North Avenue 1.

While many commuters voiced dissatisfaction, a 62-year-old retiree, Mrs C L Wong, said the bus drivers should be given time to familiarise themselves with the new interchange. “These are initial teething problems that people (have) to work around (and) get used to,” she added.