We appreciate Ms Tricia Kat Sze Yoong's feedback ("Bus service 53 not serving Pasir Ris residents well"; Forum Online, July 20).

Service 53 departs from Bishan Interchange every six to 11 minutes during the morning peak period.

The journey from Bishan to Changi Airport typically takes 85 minutes, while the journey from Pasir Ris to Changi Airport takes about 36 minutes on average in the morning.

However, journey times can vary as they are dependent on traffic conditions from day to day.

From time to time, we receive suggestions to reduce the length of the route. While shortening or splitting the route could improve the regularity of the service, we would need to balance this with the reduced catchment and the loss of direct connectivity for commuters using the service.

In addition, we need to take into consideration the availability of bus interchanges to accommodate the shortened/split routes.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has been working with SBS Transit to increase the capacity of Service 53. Three buses were added as part of the Bus Service Enhancement Programme (BSEP), increasing capacity by 14 per cent.

This has brought the utilisation rate of the service to within 85 per cent, which is typical of bus services in the BSEP.

However, there will be some variance in crowding on a day-to-day basis, with higher utilisation on some days.

We will continue to monitor the service and make adjustments.

Helen Lim (Ms)
Director, Media Relations
Land Transport Authority