Penalties and Service Expectations of Bus Operators Following Roll-out of Bus Service Reliability Framework

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for Transport with regard to the Bus Service Reliability Framework what are (i) the total incentives paid out to operators; (ii) the total penalties imposed on operators; and (iii) the key measures that operators have employed which have been successful in reducing Excess Waiting Time (EWT).

Mr Lui Tuck Yew: The Bus Service Reliability Framework was introduced to make waiting times more predictable for commuters through better managing the headways between buses while they are on the road. To provide time for the bus operators to build up their capabilities, incentives were not paid out and penalties did not apply from February to May 2014.

During that time, bus operators had recruited and trained more service controllers to monitor and regulate en-route bus service performance. Bus captains were trained to work with service controllers more closely to regulate bus speeds. Operators also enhanced their bus management systems so that they can more easily identify and monitor buses with irregular headways.

The results have been encouraging, with fewer instances of bus-bunching and reduced excess wait times for 12 out of 15 bus services in the trial.