Impact of New BTO Flats in Yishun Area on Public Transport Loads

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah asked the Minister for Transport with many new BTO flats coming up in the Yishun area, what is the expected increase in commuters taking public transport in the next four years.

Mr Lui Tuck Yew: LTA takes HDB's staging plans for BTO projects into account when planning Singapore's land transport system. For the Yishun area, there is an expected 20% increase in completed public housing dwelling units from 2013 to 2016. We expect ridership on trains and buses to increase in tandem, and have put in place plans to enhance the capacity of public transport in the area.

For instance, we will increase rail capacity by 30% along the north-south corridor over the next few years, with 13 more trains entering service on the North-South and East-West Lines by 2014 and a further 28 trains by 2016. The signalling system for the North-South Line will also be upgraded by 2016, which will reduce waiting times between trains during peak periods to 100 seconds from 120 seconds today. The Thomson Line, starting from 2019, will significantly expand capacity further along the north-south corridor and connect commuters to five other MRT lines when fully opened. Where necessary, we will also introduce new bus services or re-route existing ones to ensure that bus capacity remains adequate.