PTC to allow more premium bus services for niche market

• SMRT Buses

  22 Jan 07, 16:37

  PTC to allow more premium bus services for niche market
  
  SINGAPORE: Bus commuters will soon have more premium services to choose from.
  
  The Public Transport Council (PTC) has revised the premium bus service scheme to allow more operators to come on board.
  
  Chairman Gerard Ee said that the PTC hopes the scheme will complement the basic public transport services and provide more choices for commuters.
  
  The revised scheme will take effect from next month.
  
  Under it, the PTC may grant more licences to operators that offer premium bus services.
  
  This is to cater to commuters who are prepared to pay more for a superior level of bus service, such as a more direct and comfortable journey.
  
  According to the PTC, a recent bus passenger satisfaction survey showed that one in five of the respondents who took buses indicated a preference for better service at higher fares.
  
  Feedback from the bus operators was also taken into account in the review process.
  
  COE-exempted buses (that is omnibuses or school buses) may be used to operate premium bus services.
  
  Premium bus services have to meet the following requirements:
  
  (a) operates only with air-conditioned buses;
  
  (b) All passengers must have a seat; and
  
  (c) Fares are at least 1.5 times the equivalent fare of basic public transport services.
  
  - CNA/ir
• chickenlittle2

  22 Jan 07, 23:13

  Originally posted by SMRT Buses:
  [b]PTC to allow more premium bus services for niche market
  
  SINGAPORE: Bus commuters will soon have more premium services to choose from.
  
  The Public Transport Council (PTC) has revised the premium bus service scheme to allow more operators to come on board.
  
  Chairman Gerard Ee said that the PTC hopes the scheme will complement the basic public transport services and provide more choices for commuters.
  
  The revised scheme will take effect from next month.
  
  Under it, the PTC may grant more licences to operators that offer premium bus services.
  
  This is to cater to commuters who are prepared to pay more for a superior level of bus service, such as a more direct and comfortable journey.
  
  According to the PTC, a recent bus passenger satisfaction survey showed that one in five of the respondents who took buses indicated a preference for better service at higher fares.
  
  Feedback from the bus operators was also taken into account in the review process.
  
  COE-exempted buses (that is omnibuses or school buses) may be used to operate premium bus services.
  
  Premium bus services have to meet the following requirements:
  
  (a) operates only with air-conditioned buses;
  
  (b) All passengers must have a seat; and
  
  (c) Fares are at least 1.5 times the equivalent fare of basic public transport services.
  
  - CNA/ir [/b]

  I thought Service 502 is a premium service? Everyone is standing!!
• ngjy22

  22 Jan 07, 23:26

  I think Express 502 can be downgraded to Service 502, DDs may be needed for 502. FFW 97e is really express, but for 502, dont know nv experience b/f.
• off_service

  23 Jan 07, 12:17

  I think the "everybody must have a seat" clause only apply to private operators.
• autumncs

  23 Jan 07, 17:52

  Originally posted by chickenlittle2:

  I thought Service 502 is a premium service? Everyone is standing!!

  518 is also equally bad. Although 518 is split into 518A and 518B, the buses are still crowded. (Sometimes it's impossible to board 518 at Suntec.)
  
  I tried 30e too. The amount of time saved is tiny because of the traffic jams along ECP during peak hours. I feel that 30e should skip the bus stop at Dunman Rd so that it can go directly from Geylang Rd to Guillemard Rd without making a big detour via Tanjong Katong Rd, Dunman Rd and Guillemard Camp Rd...
• carbikebus

  24 Jan 07, 03:20

  Soon there will be more chaos at certain bus stops & bus lanes,Private buses which on premium services are well known for their kiasuism attitudes
• 105090

  24 Jan 07, 13:42

  so far of the FFW and Express, which service really really is fast and saves time? their fares are 50% extra..:10e 14e 30e 74e 89e 97e 151e 174e 196e 502 506 518
  
  FFW.. i dun know.. 74e managed to be late by 15 mins and was only 1 min faster than normal route.. ok.. at least still "fast"
  
  10e, 14e 196e? they uses nicoll highway, but most buses also zip pass nicoll highway...
• eX.A.K.R.

  24 Jan 07, 21:19

  I took 174e before from Orchard Road to Boon Lay, and the bus was quite badly held up by jams around the Bukit Timah area, and towards the end of the journey, the bus driver (a lady) told me that we should have reached the interchange by 7:00 PM (I took the 6:17 PM bus from Orchard Station) (earlier on, when I asked her when we will reach Boon Lay, she gave me a time of 7:10 PM as she factored in the delays, as I could later find out); we reached at about 7:08 PM. She went on to have s small rant about how this all cause much headaches and troubles for her, like having to queue at the depot, etc.
  
  However, 174e still did shave some time off my journey - I have tried using the normal 174 to get from Orchard to Boon Lay before too, and it took more than an hour to reach Boon Lay.