Singapore’s largest transport hub opens in Bedok

SINGAPORE – A revamped Bedok bus interchange, now air-conditioned and linked to a shopping mall, opened today (30 Nov).

The Bedok Integrated Transport Hub is Singapore’s largest interchange, and joins the ranks of six other similar hubs in Toa Payoh, Sengkang, Ang Mo Kio, Boon Lay, Serangoon and Clementi. About 30 bus services operate from Bedok - twice that of a typical interchange.

Speaking at the opening, Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew said integrated transport hubs are one of several initiatives to improve travel experience for bus commuters.

Another is expanding the bus fleet to provide more services, shorten the waiting times and reduce crowding levels, Mr Lui said. This is done through the Bus Service Enhancement Programme (BSEP), which aims to add 1,000 buses to expand Singapore’s bus fleet by 2017.

Mr Lui said more than half of the 1,000 buses have already been added and 33 new bus services introduced.

“With the BSEP, waiting times for commuters have been shortened by three to seven minutes on the more popular services. We were also able to reduce the number of bus services that were persistently crowded during peak hours by 60 per cent,” he said. “We will continue to do more in the coming years to add more buses and raise service levels.” CHANNEL NEWSASIA