We refer to Mr Vincent Ong Kok Lam’s letter ‘Why change an efficient bus service?’ on ST Online, on 10 Jan.

Unlike Public Bus Services, Premium Bus Services (PBS) are niche services which are run by private bus operators. They, not LTA, plan the services’ route and decide on the fares to be charged, based on market and commercial considerations.

For PBS 585, after SBS Transit Ltd indicated its intention to withdraw the service, LTA spent a few months seeking the interest of other private bus operators to take over the service. Only Commute Solutions Group Pte Ltd applied, and LTA gave its approval to operate the service from 3 January 2017.

We thank Mr Ong for his feedback.
 

Helen Lim (Ms)
Group Director, Corporate Communications Group
Land Transport Authority