Bus Connectivity in Yishun

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah asked the Minister for Transport (a) what plans does LTA have to improve the bus connectivity for residents of Yishun with Khatib MRT station, neighbourhood schools and Khoo Teck Puat Hospital; and (b) with more Build-To-Order flats coming up in Yishun, whether there are plans to improve the transport services to cope with the expected increase in demand.

Mr Lui Tuck Yew: The Land Transport Authority (LTA) works closely with the relevant land-use planning agencies, such as the Housing Development Board and the Urban Redevelopment Authority, as well as the Public Transport Operators (PTOs), to put in place the necessary transport infrastructure and services in a timely manner to support projected population growth and future land use plans.

Today, Yishun Town is well served by the North-South Line and a comprehensive network of bus services. Notwithstanding this, LTA has been working with the operators to continuously improve public transport services to keep pace with ridership growth and changing travel needs. For example, LTA has been working closely together with the bus operators as part of the quarterly bus service review process to enhance bus service levels and ease crowding along sectors that consistently experience heavy ridership. Specific to Yishun Town, a total of eight bus services have been improved since this review process began in June 2010, with the addition of more weekly bus trips and the deployment of higher capacity buses. More recent examples since April 2011 include the deployment of more buses on Services 804 and 806 that directly connect the recently completed new HDB development Jadespring@Yishun with Yishun MRT station. In particular, one bus has been added to Service 804 during the morning and evening peak periods, while five buses have been progressively added to Service 806 since late 2010. From the feedback that LTA has gathered, we understand that these additional buses have helped to reduce waiting time and crowding experienced by commuters, especially during the peak periods.

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Aside from ensuring that bus capacity along existing routes is sufficient, LTA has also embarked on efforts to enhance the connectivity of the bus network in Yishun Town. Service 811 was amended in October 2011 to provide another option for Nee Soon South residents to access Khatib MRT station. Two other bus routes, Services 853 and 858, were also amended in the past two years to provide better connection to the Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, previously served only by Service 812.

We should be mindful that it is not possible to link all places with direct bus services. Transfers are necessary in our hub-and-spoke transport model. Nonetheless, LTA will continue to review the connectivity of Yishun Town and take into consideration community feedback where feasible. There will be more opportunities to introduce more bus routes when the new developments are progressively completed, especially with growing developments in south-eastern Yishun that we acknowledge should be well linked to Khatib MRT station.

As the Member may be aware, LTA is in the midst of putting in place a programme, by sometime early this year, to partner the bus operators in ramping up bus capacity to reduce crowding and waiting time for commuters. As part of this review, LTA will also continue to work closely with the relevant land-use planning agencies and local communities to monitor the new areas of growth within Yishun Town, and enhance public transport services to serve new developments and expected increases in demand.