SINGAPORE — Residents reacted with impatience and, to a lesser extent, acceptance to news that they may have to wait up to six more years to use Hume MRT station on the Downtown Line.

Following Senior Minister of State for Transport Janil Puthucheary’s announcement that Hume station — between Beauty World and Hillview stations — would open by 2025, TODAY polled 20 residents at bus stops along Upper Bukit Timah Road and Hume Avenue this week.

Seventeen of them felt a wait of up to six years was too long, while three felt such a timeline was justifiable.

The Member of Parliament for the area, Ms Low Yen Ling of Chua Chu Kang Group Representation Constituency, said last week that residents heading to the city centre via Beauty World MRT station were often subjected to an extended wait because most buses plying Upper Bukit Timah Road were full by the time they reached Bukit Gombak.

Not opening Hume station, Ms Low said, “effectively leaves residents out” of the latest Land Transport Master Plan, which aims to build “20-minute towns” where journeys to the nearest neighbourhood centre can be completed in 20 minutes.

The plan also includes a “45-minute city” goal, where nine in 10 peak-hour journeys can be completed in 45 minutes by 2040.

Dr Puthucheary said new developments in Upper Bukit Timah and the Hume Avenue area now justify “sufficient ridership” for Hume MRT station.

New non-residential developments include the development of the Rail Corridor and the upcoming transformation of the former Bukit Timah Fire Station into a “gateway node” for surrounding nature and heritage attractions, he noted.

“Six years is way too long. I might not even live to enjoy the facility,” lamented Mdm Alice Wong, 65, a Hume Park 1 condominium resident of 18 years.

“It is so troublesome to commute by bus,” she said in Mandarin. “If it’s ready, why leave it empty?”

Attractions in the area include heritage site Old Ford Factory, the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and Bukit Batok Nature Park, she noted.

Commuters that Hume station will serve include residents of condominiums Hume Park 1, Hume Park 2, Symphony Heights and Parc Palais, which are opposite Bukit Timah Nature Reserve.

The Rail Mall, which consists of eateries and shops, is about a five-minute walk away.

Undergraduate Nicole Phua, who has lived at Hume Park 2 condominium since she was four, also wished Hume station would open as soon as possible.

The wait is “annoying” as the infrastructure already exists, said Ms Phua, 21.

Some residents drew parallels with Buangkok and Woodleigh stations, which opened years after the North East MRT line began operations. They argued that the authorities should handle things differently this time around.

The North East Line opened in 2003, but Buangkok station opened in 2006 and Woodleigh in 2011 due to insufficient ridership initially.

While logical to open a station when it will be used by more commuters, six years is "still too long a wait", said expatriate and Hillington Green resident Shanaz Hassan, 42.

Fellow Hillington Green resident Herman Thong, however, was among the minority who felt that delaying the station’s opening is justified.

His father tried to run a restaurant at the old Bukit Timah Fire Station but it failed due to “low human traffic”, said Mr Thong, 20.

Agreeing, full-time national serviceman Rodolfo Barcelli, 20, said: “It’s better to do it well than to rush things.”