Better Connectivity, More Regular Arrivals and Greater Comfort
As of 31 March 2016, 800 Government-funded buses have been added. This is 80% of the 1,000 buses that will be added to the public bus network by 2017 under the Bus Service Enhancement Programme (BSEP).[1] Together with the Bus Service Reliability Framework (BSRF), which aims to improve the regularity of bus arrivals, commuters have experienced better connectivity, less crowded buses, more frequent and more regular bus arrivals.
Nine new bus services in 1Q2016 to enhance connectivity
2. In the first quarter of this year, residents in Aljunied, Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Clementi, Dover,Eunos, Marine Parade, Punggol and Yishun benefitted from the implementation of nine new bus services – SBS Transit Services 134, 150 and 382G/W, SMRT Service 805 and City Direct Services 666, 667, 668, 669 and 670. This brings the total number of new or amended services under the BSEP to 63. In addition, Service 308 serving Choa Chu Kang will be launched on 15 May. One new service will be introduced in mid-2016 to enhance connectivity in Bedok and Tampines. Details are currently being worked out and will be shared closer to the implementation date.
185 weekly trips added to reduce crowding and shorten wait times
3. To reduce crowding and shorten wait times, 15 additional buses were deployed to 13 existing services[2] in the first quarter of 2016. This added 185 weekly peak-hour bus trips.
4. SBS Transit and SMRT have also improved seven bus services[3] by deploying higher capacity buses and/or adding more bus trips along sectors that experience heavy ridership. This provided another 35 weekly peak-hour trips.
More regular wait times and less crowding under the Bus Service Reliability Framework (BSRF) trial
5. The third assessment period of the BSRF[4] trial (June 2015 to November 2015) covered 34 services. 27 out of the 34 services achieved Excess Wait Times[5] that were better than the baseline, i.e. the bus arrivals were more regularly spread out.
6. Overall both operators have sustained improvements in reliability since the implementation of the BSRF trial, through enhanced management of the bus fleet and the hiring of more service controllers. For this period of assessment, SBS Transit earned $12,440 per service per month for reliability improvements for 18 services. SMRT had earned $12,000 per service per month for improvements across seven services. Commuters benefitted as wait times were more regular and bus loads were spread more evenly.
Annex A: Enhancements to existing bus services (Jan - Mar 2016)
Annex B: Map of BSEP improvements
Annex C: Results of third BSRF assessment period (Jun – Nov 2015)
[1] Together with the buses injected by the public transport operators and the use of private bus operators to provide additional capacity through the City Direct Services and the Peak Period Short Services, the BSEP will expand the public bus fleet by about 35%.
[2] Services that have been improved under the BSEP in 1Q2016: SBS Transit Services 50, 118, 181, 240, 371, and SMRT Services 857, 858, 860, 920, 922, 963, 975, 983
[3] These seven services are: SBS Transit Services 16, 50, 65, 103, 249, and SMRT Services 180, 970
[4] The BSRF was introduced to 22 existing services in February 2014 to improve bus reliability by reducing the instances of bus bunching and prolonged wait times. It was subsequently expanded to include 23 more services, 12 of which were included in the third assessment period. Each bus service is measured against a unique baseline, derived from historical performance, across six-month assessment periods. Bus operators are rewarded with incentives if they improve service reliability, and penalised if there is deterioration in reliability.
[5] Excess Wait Time is the average additional wait time experienced by commuters at bus stops, compared to the scheduled wait time if the buses had arrived at regular intervals.
