We refer to Mr Cai Mousheng’s letter, “Bus drivers should not stall for time on routes” (ZB, 26 February 2019).

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) introduced the Bus Service Reliability Framework (BSRF) in 2014 to improve the punctuality and reliability of bus services. Under BSRF, bus captains adjust their travelling speed to maintain regular intervals between buses, to minimise bus bunching and improve reliability. While speeding up under good traffic conditions may help commuters reach their destinations ahead of schedule, commuters who plan their trips using published schedule could end up missing the bus and have to wait longer.

Bus schedules and journey times are planned based on the characteristics of individual bus routes, such as commuters’ travel patterns and traffic conditions along the bus route. To ensure that bus services continue to meet the needs of commuters, bus operators regularly review and update bus schedules. For example, the schedule of Service 21 is currently being reviewed by its operator, SBS Transit Ltd.

LTA will continue to work with all the bus operators to ensure that bus schedules are kept updated and take into account prevailing ground conditions. We thank Mr Cai for the opportunity to clarify.

Yeo Teck Guan (Mr)
Senior Group Director, Public Transport
Land Transport Authority