Full-day bus lane scheme extended to five routes in city
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Full-day bus lane scheme extended to five routes in city centre
SINGAPORE : The full-day bus lane scheme will be extended to five routes in the city centre from April.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) says the move can save bus commuters several minutes of travelling time.
The new lanes are an extension of the full-day route introduced two years ago on Orchard Road.
About 6,800 summons were issued for using the bus lanes up to the end of last year. The new routes come into effect at the beginning of April.
LTA hopes the new regulations will help cut passenger travelling times by between two and five minutes.
An LTA study has shown that the roads are clogged by the dropping off of passengers on the roadside, and the loading and unloading of goods, forcing buses to move out of their lanes.
"The bus volumes here (at the city centre) are very high. More than 100 buses per hour," says Dr Chin Kian Keong, deputy group director of Roads at LTA.
The new routes are at:
- Eu Tong Street (from Outram Road to River Valley toward Kallang Road),
- Hill Street (from River Valley Road to Bras Basah Road),
- Victoria Street (from Bras Basah to Lavender Street),
- Bras Basah Road (from Prinsep Street to Beach Road), and
- Somerset Road and Penang Road (from Clemenceau Avenue to Orchard Turn).
And the immediate reactions from commuters?
"There will be fewer vehicles on that lane so the buses can travel faster," says one commuter.
But another disagrees: "I don't think there will be much difference because once on the road, the other cars will go on as per normal,"
"There will be certainly some inconvenience for motorists initially. But with this priority scheme for public transport, we hope car commuters will see the benefits of using public transport," says Dr Chin.
The LTA is leaving it to the bus companies to review their timetables and assess if the new lanes result in shorter travelling times.
The hope is that bus routes can become smoother, so that more buses can be added to cancel out overcrowding. -
i thought someone already started a thread on this .
