Bus Speeds

Mr Alex Yam asked the Minister for Transport (a) what is the progress on improving bus speeds from 16-19 kph in 2007 to a target speed of 20-25 kph by 2009 as stated in the LTA Long Term Master Plan; and (b) what is the current bus speed for trunk and feeder buses.

The Minister of State for Transport (Mrs Josephine Teo) (for the Minister for Transport): Mr Speaker, Sir, in the Land Transport Masterplan, we set an ambitious target to improve bus speeds from 16 kph-19 kph to a target of 20 kph-25 kph. These average bus speeds factor in the time taken for passenger boarding and alighting activities, to give an accurate reflection of the average speeds experienced by commuters over their bus journeys.

Since then, we have introduced a host of bus priority measures geared towards improving bus speed and reliability. In 2008, we extended the length of normal bus lanes island-wide from 120 km to 155 km, and more than trebled the length of full-day bus lanes from 7 km to 23 km. This has helped improve bus journey speeds along these heavily-used bus corridors by an average of 7%, and even up to 20% along some stretches. To help reduce the time taken for buses to pull out of bus bays, we also introduced the Mandatory Give-Way to Bus Scheme in 2008, and this has now been implemented at 202 bus stops across the island. The scheme has helped reduce the time taken by buses to exit bus bays by up to 73%.

However, despite these targeted improvements to bus speeds along specific routes, overall average bus speeds have decreased slightly from 19.1 km/h in 2007 to 17.8 km/h in 2011. We believe that one major factor that has likely contributed to the decrease in speeds is the increase in bus ridership, which has grown by 16% from 2.9 million per day in 2007 to 3.45 million per day in 2011. As more buses are introduced to cater to this increase, this would have caused buses to wait a longer time at bus stops to accommodate increased passenger boarding and alighting activities.

To help address this, the LTA recently announced the selection of 35 bus stops to be expanded to bus hubs by the end of 2013. This is to allow more buses to berth in the bus bays for simultaneous boarding and alighting activities. This will reduce the average time each bus needs to dwell at the bus stops and in turn improve bus speeds and the journey times for commuters.

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We will continue to monitor our bus speeds closely, and look out for opportunities to introduce more bus priority schemes where it makes sense to do so, bearing in mind the potential impact on other road users. We will also continue to explore other measures to improve bus speeds.

Mr Alex Yam: Sir, I thank the Minister of State for the comprehensive reply. I note that the bus speeds have reduced and Minister of State's explanation that this is due to the higher ridership. Two supplementary questions. One is: the Minister of State mentioned that some schemes are under study. Would the Minister of State be able to share with the House what some of these schemes may be? And, secondly, as a suggestion for the Ministry to consider that on longer and wider trunk routes, for the installation of bus stops along the central median which will reduce the need for left-turning vehicles to block the buses going ahead.

Mrs Josephine Teo: Mr Speaker, I thank the Member for his supplementary questions. One of the things that we think will help improve the bus speeds is to reduce the dwell times at the bus bays. If we consider the fact that when we introduce more buses into the system, apart from road congestion and making it easier for the buses to get through on the roads, we also have to consider the fact that people boarding and alighting contributes to the dwell time. And so for people who are already on the buses, it adds to their journey time. And that is one of the bottlenecks that we have to overcome. The identification of the 35 bus hubs, with expanded bus bays to allow more buses to stop at the same time, is a major effort that is ongoing. We have already started work since October 2011, and we are making good progress. It is an important part of our initiatives to try and improve bus speeds. So that is a priority project and we will focus on it to ensure that for those very busy bus stops, it will help reduce the dwell times. For those passengers who regularly use those bus stops, or whose bus services pass those bus stops, they will not be unduly held up. So that is important.

As to the Member's second question, if I understand correctly, he is talking about creating storage lanes? If I could seek a clarification from the Member on his suggestion?

Mr Alex Yam: Sir, if I may: this is one of the examples that have already been introduced. It is along Somerset stretch where the bus bay, instead of being on the left-most lane, has been relocated to the central median to avoid conflict with heavy traffic moving straight or turning left into the Clarke Quay area.

Mrs Josephine Teo: Yes, it is one of those measures that we will consider. I just want to point out that the areas or the roads where the central medians are wide enough for us to build a bus stop, are not that many in number. So, this is the main constraining factor. Where there is enough space and it makes sense to do so, yes, we will consider.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah (Nee Soon): Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to ask the Minister of State, besides the speed issue, I think there is also the issue of the drivers' familiarity with the routes. I would like to ask for the Minister of State's comment on the recent few reported cases of drivers taking the wrong route. I understood from my residents that it happened to those bus routes that serve Yishun South residents. What measures have been taken or will be taken so that such incidences can be reduced?

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Mrs Josephine Teo: Sir, I think the Member's question is relevant. As we expand the bus fleet, we do have to hire more bus captains. It is not an easy thing to do because the work conditions of a bus captain are quite demanding. So quite apart from finding people with the correct driving skills, we also need people who have the right service aptitudes. And of course, the ability to be familiar with the bus routes, adds additional layer of complexity.

Part of the problem has been contributed by the fact that we sometimes need to deploy drivers to the bus routes that they are not used to driving. That is because there are occasions where there are services that need to be improved very quickly, and we need to pump in the buses, and so the drivers have to be re-deployed. One of the measures with which we can deal with this, is to allow more of the bus captains to be cross-trained on different routes so that each driver perhaps being just familiar with his own route that he drives on a regular basis, is also familiar with several other routes. This measure obviously takes time to implement because there are so many drivers and, apart from their usual duties, we have got to find the capacity for them to be extracted from their regular service in order to go for the training.

But I want to assure the Member that it is something that is taken seriously. We want to have more flexibility to be able to cross deploy the bus captains when it is necessary to do so, so that they can be more responsive to emerging needs in bus services. This is something that has to be done quite properly.