Update on Rollout of Bus Service Enhancement Programme

Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked the Minister for Transport (a) if he can give an update on the progress of the Bus Service Enhancement Programme (BSEP); and (b) whether the Ministry has plans to (i) accelerate BSEP and (ii) improve bus reliability by shortening long bus routes.

Mdm Speaker, since the launch of the Bus Service Enhancement Programme (BSEP) a year ago, in 2012, a total of about 250 new buses have been added to the industry fleet under the Bus Service Enhancement Programme (BSEP). This is out of the 550 buses that the Government had committed to. On top of these 550 buses, the operators themselves will add in another 250. But here, I am talking about the 550 buses and we have, over the past one year, added about 250 of these buses. By the end of this year, more than half of the 550 buses committed by the Government will be on our roads. Fourteen new bus routes have been introduced and 111 of the existing bus services have been improved.

The feedback that I am getting from the ground on the BSEP is positive. Many people are asking whether and when they can have the BSEP buses and new routes in their constituencies. Therefore, we have been discussing with the public transport operators on how we can accelerate this programme and I intend to implement the introduction of the bulk of the 550 buses by the end of 2014, instead of 2016.

Mr Gan has also suggested the shortening of bus routes to improve bus reliability. This is, indeed, a very good suggestion and an important one, as empirical data tell us that longer trunk routes are far less reliable than shorter routes. Therefore, we will continue to optimise the bus routes to improve the reliability of our buses when suitable opportunities arise, such as the opening of new rail lines or new integrated transport hubs.

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