Parking Facilities for Commercial Tour Buses

Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap asked the Minister for Transport (a) how many complaints has LTA received over the last five years regarding the shortage of parking facilities for commercial tour buses at designated places of interest in Singapore; (b) what are the efforts made to ensure that there are sufficient parking facilities for commercial tour buses at these designated places of interests; and (c) whether the cases of Malaysian buses flouting regulations by entering Singapore to ferry tourists to Malaysia have been increasing.

Mr Lui Tuck Yew: From time to time, agencies, such as LTA, STB and URA, do receive feedback about shortage of coach parking spaces in areas of tourism interest, such as the Kampong Glam Conservation Area, the Chinatown Conservation Area and the Merlion Park. For such places, where it is feasible and there is available state land, the Government has implemented temporary roadside and surface coach parks.

However, it is not always possible to have such coach parking facilities in the immediate vicinity of the attraction. To further assist travel agencies, tourist guides and their coach drivers, STB has issued an advisory to inform them of all the coach parking locations and drop-off/pick-up points for popular tourist spots and retailers in central Singapore.

For new tourist attractions, LTA has been working closely with the developers to ensure that sufficient coach parking lots are provided within their premises.

There has been only one case of a Malaysia-registered bus caught entering Singapore to ferry tourists to Malaysia in 2013, and none in the prior two years.