Proposed Express Bus Terminal at Lorong 1 Geylang

Mr Teo Siong Seng asked the Minister for Transport whether his Ministry will consider allocating the empty land parcel at Lorong 1 Geylang (near People's Association) to build an express bus terminal with ticketing facilities as the operators of express bus services plying between Singapore and Malaysia find that the existing location at Beach Road is insufficient to meet capacity and gives rise to severe traffic congestion.

Mr Lui Tuck Yew: Under the current licensing framework, inter-city bus operators are responsible for identifying suitable locations for passenger boarding and alighting activities, and making arrangements with the management committees of these premises for their use. Applications are then made by these bus operators to LTA for the necessary operating licence. LTA evaluates these applications based on various criteria, including traffic condition of the operating locations, vehicle condition and comfort of passengers, to be conveyed on board.

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This approach has served us well, allowing inter-city bus services to be provided from various locations to cater to different passenger groups. Today, there are about 56 inter-city bus operators providing 108 bus routes between Singapore and various states of West Malaysia. These services operate out of various locations across Singapore, including shopping centres and the integrated resorts.

In 2010, a joint study by URA, STB and LTA on the need for a centralised bus terminal for inter-city buses had assessed that the projected demand for inter-city bus services in the near to medium term did not merit the provision of a centralised inter-city bus terminal by the Government. The study also concluded that the existing decentralised approach where bus operators ride on existing infrastructure at various premises for their passenger boarding and alighting operations was sustainable, and able to support the projected growth in demand.

With regard to the traffic condition along Beach Road, LTA has ceased accepting any new applications for buses to stop at this location as the parking spaces at Golden Mile Complex and Golden Mile Tower are currently fully utilised by inter-city buses and tour buses to carry out passenger activities. To improve the traffic condition along Beach Road, LTA also recently embarked on a CCTV trial to enhance its enforcement efforts against illegal parking along Beach Road. The trial has shown positive results with improvements to the traffic flow.

LTA will continue to work with the other agencies to monitor the demand for inter-city bus services and, if necessary, review the need for a centralised bus terminal for inter-city buses. Should there be a need for such a bus terminal in the future, it should ideally be located nearer to either of our two land links to Malaysia, and be conveniently plugged into our MRT system so as to leverage on our extensive MRT network and minimise traffic loading on our local roads.