PUBLIC BUS SERVICES (Improvements)

Dr Lee Tsao Yuan asked the Minister for Communications, in the light of the Prime Minister's 1995 New Year Message on the provision of the ``best possible transport system'', what improvements to the public bus services are being considered by his Ministry (i) to reduce waiting time by increased frequency and regularity of bus services; (ii) to provide more direct and less circuitous routes, e.g., feeder services to MRT stations; and (iii) to promote better driving on the part of some bus drivers and more courteous service from them, bearing in mind the need for bus companies to balance profitability with quality service to the public.

The Minister for Communications (Mr Mah Bow Tan): Mr Speaker, Sir, public bus services are provided by private operators, who agree to offer a good service at reasonable fares to commuters, in return for reasonable returns for their shareholders.

A comprehensive set of bus service standards was drawn up by the Public Transport Council in November last year to serve as the basis for the Council, bus operators and commuters to agree on what constitutes a good service at current fare levels. These standards cover the key areas which are of concern to bus commuters, including the planning and design of bus routes, service efficiency, hours of operation and service information.

Take, for example, the standards on service headways. These standards require 85% of all trunk services to be operated at not more than 12 minutes during peak hours, and not more than 15 minutes during off-peak hours. The other 15% of services, which are usually the extremely low demand services to remote areas, are allowed to operate at longer headways, up to 20 or even 30 minutes. If commuters want a higher standard of service, for example, 100% of bus services to be operated at not more than 10 minutes headway, then they can mandate the Council to raise the standard accordingly. In return, they must be prepared to pay higher bus fares to support the higher operating costs incurred.

The bus service standards refer to "headways", which measure the intervals at which operators despatch buses from the terminals. Arrival times at bus stops are difficult to control, especially when roads are congested during peak hours or inclement weather or when accidents occur. To smoothen the way for buses on our roads, my Ministry is working with PWD to expand the network of bus lanes, and to introduce other bus priority measures, for example, priority for buses to turn at traffic junctions. Bus operators are also encouraged to look into other ways to improve control over bus schedules, to improve reliability of bus services and to provide better information to commuters waiting at bus stops, including information on the expected arrival times of buses.

The bus service standards also address the issue of directness of bus routes. Long, circuitous bus routings are discouraged. Bus links to the MRT are encouraged. The standards also require that at least 95% of all point-to-point journeys do not require more than one transfer. This excludes feeder-to-trunk transfers.

The current bus service is largely in compliance with the bus service standards set by the Council. In those areas where they do not meet the standards, the bus operators have been given six months from November last year to comply. The PTC and ROV will conduct regular surveys and audits to monitor the service level.

Lastly, good driving and courteous service are qualitative elements of a total bus service package which cannot be addressed by the bus service standards. Over the years, the bus operators have developed a comprehensive and extensive training, monitoring, and education programme, as well as disciplinary and incentive measures to promote good driving and courteous service. I will ask the PTC to ensure that they continue to accord top priority to these two important aspects of customer service.

Dr Lee Tsao Yuan (Nominated Member): Sir, while I agree with the Minister that much has been done to improve the quality of bus transport in Singapore, I was wondering whether the Minister would consider the following: first, that there will be more effective monitoring mechanisms; second, that these monitoring mechanisms actually be made public; third, that there will be some channels of feedback from the public to, for example, the Public Transport Council, so that if there are any areas, in terms of frequency, or waiting times, and of bus services, etc, the public could actually feed these back to the Public Transport Council, so that the public is aware that these measures are being listened to by the Public Transport Council and the Government.

Mr Mah Bow Tan: Sir, the question of a monitoring system goes part and parcel with the bus service standards that have been set up. I think the setting up of bus service standards is a very important first step to further improving the bus services. Because with these standards, operators now are put on notice that these are the standards that they have to adhere to. At the same time, commuters also know that if operators do not meet these standards, they have a way to seek redress. Therefore, it is very important for the PTC and ROV to be able to monitor whether bus services on the ground actually do meet these standards. So the monitoring system will be set up. It will be made public. There will be regular reports on the state of bus services which will be reported on by the PTC.

On the question of feedback, yes, the complaints from commuters on bus services which do not meet these standards will be actively taken up by the PTC, ROV, and, of course, the bus operators themselves. Because, do not forget, it is most effective if commuters can communicate their unhappiness, if service standards are not met, directly with the operators. Because then you short-circuit the process and you do not have to go through the regulator. But, yes, there are sufficient channels and, if necessary, we will widen the channels of feedback in order for bus commuters to be able to seek redress on these standards.

Dr Lee Tsao Yuan: Sir, I thank the Minister that he is considering the possibility of a better feedback mechanism. Could I please suggest that, because of the fact that actually 35% of working people, according to the 1990 Census, use public bus only in Singapore, which means that public bus transport is very important, and that most of these are lower-income people who may not be very used to giving written feedback to public bus companies, there could be a hotline that could be established? For example, is it possible that CASE could be one avenue in which consumers - these are really consumers - could make available their complaints? Could there be a hotline, for example, established by the Public Transport Council?

Mr Mah Bow Tan: Sir, I would ask the Public Transport Council to consider the Member's suggestion. But may I assure her that there is no shortage of feedback on the adequacy or otherwise of bus services through many, many channels, including Members of this House.

Mr Low Thia Khiang (Hougang): Mr Speaker, Sir, the Minister mentioned just now about reasonable returns for bus companies. What is a reasonable return which the Minister thinks it should be for bus companies, bearing in mind that public bus transport is a public service?

Mr Mah Bow Tan: Sir, there is no hard-and-fast rule to what constitutes a reasonable return on service. But let me put it this way. The bus companies must make sufficient money in order to cater for re-investment into their service to buy new buses, to invest in new equipment, and so on. They must also make sufficient money to pay their shareholders a reasonable rate of return. Up to now, I think it is public knowledge how much money they make and how much dividends they declare to their shareholders and I think the Member, if he checks, will find that dividends declared so far are not excessive compared to other companies and compared to bus companies in other countries as well.