Way to go,Now lets wait for 167,172,180,184,189,851,854 & 857 turn..And hope SMRT order more A95 to supplement other existing DD svc
SMB3556D - 960
Guess Joo Koon also not much help either..A bigger and proper Taman Jurong Terminal perhaps?Another reason that svc getting too many BSEP fleet added..Even for feeders many buses are being added like no tommorow just to fulfil the timings!
Actually 179/179A has no BSEP slots. BSEP has never played a role in improving NTU services. 179 is still pretty ok but for 199, I would consider it as one of the not so well operated services by SBST. You should see Sunday - So many people go back to NTU halls at night and yet that service runs on 2 DDs ONLY, But Ok thats besides the point.
If 179A is modified to terminate outside, it will certainly reduce peak hour jams outside the interchange. Cos if you notice, 179A is the service that spends the longest time at the alighting point due to it not having any stops btw NTU and Boon Lay. The distance from interchange-MRT and the busstop-MRT is more or less the same. Yeah Joo Koon can't help there. Joo Koon could take over and extend Service 241 though. Joo Koon - JW St 91/92 - Pioneer - Boon Lay (Loop outside interchange). With 179A and 241 out of there, it should be more managable already. Anw, Joo Koon will take out some of the JIS also mah.
241 from Joo Koon to BoonLay is too far for a feeder..
Originally posted by randomguy10:Actually 179/179A has no BSEP slots. BSEP has never played a role in improving NTU services. 179 is still pretty ok but for 199, I would consider it as one of the not so well operated services by SBST. You should see Sunday - So many people go back to NTU halls at night and yet that service runs on 2 DDs ONLY, But Ok thats besides the point.
If 179A is modified to terminate outside, it will certainly reduce peak hour jams outside the interchange. Cos if you notice, 179A is the service that spends the longest time at the alighting point due to it not having any stops btw NTU and Boon Lay. The distance from interchange-MRT and the busstop-MRT is more or less the same. Yeah Joo Koon can't help there. Joo Koon could take over and extend Service 241 though. Joo Koon - JW St 91/92 - Pioneer - Boon Lay (Loop outside interchange). With 179A and 241 out of there, it should be more managable already. Anw, Joo Koon will take out some of the JIS also mah.
199 used to be majority single decker fleet wen ma brother study there. now has more double decker than single decker. so there improvment.
Originally posted by proudtobeme:199 used to be majority single decker fleet wen ma brother study there. now has more double decker than single decker. so there improvment.
the only single decks are like SBS6695G and SBS8902X?? haha!!
SMRT confirm sv 857 will get DD within the next 3 months
For 199, its more about the frequency than the high capacity buses. At non-peak hours, DD bus appears but at intervals of 20-25mins. At nights, it is common to see SD cameo on this service (commonly 8064, 8956, 8990) and the bus is mostly full also. On Sunday evenings 2 DDs ply the entire route only (the double deck is fully seated with some standees). I believe this service deserves better frequency
YES 857 definitely needs DDs!! The loading is very high especially on weekends. Last time used to have Bendy slots for Saturday/Sunday/Pub Hol but recently it has more or less disappeared. I also dunno why. Alot of people (including me) recently choose not to take 857 cos the bus is too full. For me I also opt for 70/70M because its less crowded to go to Marina Sq area but travel time is longer...
Originally posted by randomguy10:For 199, its more about the frequency than the high capacity buses. At non-peak hours, DD bus appears but at intervals of 20-25mins. At nights, it is common to see SD cameo on this service (commonly 8064, 8956, 8990) and the bus is mostly full also. On Sunday evenings 2 DDs ply the entire route only (the double deck is fully seated with some standees). I believe this service deserves better frequency
The frequency is not 20-25 mins but around 12-15 mins during off-peak hours. there are still some classes that leave in the off-peak also and the buses have decent loading of 55-60 pax in off-peak as well. Yes in the night, frequency is very poor and most loading is for HDBs along Jalan Bahar. I think at this point, frequency of 172 might be better than 199.
But I agree that 199 needs a higher frequency even in peak/non-peak hours. 8 buses is not enough. Current peak hour frequency is 07-08 mins and it should be something like 05-06 mins. 199 should have fleet of 10 buses - it would be good if BSEP gives 2 SLBP WEG to 199.
There are occassions when at SADM, people were not able to board 199 already and hence there were requests for 179 to stop at SADM. Actually travel time of 199 from SADM < 179 given 179 does full loop before getting out.
Originally posted by lemon1974:SMRT confirm sv 857 will get DD within the next 3 months
Oh yes! Have been waiting for ages for this. One more to the list of horribly managed services under SMRT.
Originally posted by BusAnalayzer:The frequency is not 20-25 mins but around 12-15 mins during off-peak hours. there are still some classes that leave in the off-peak also and the buses have decent loading of 55-60 pax in off-peak as well. Yes in the night, frequency is very poor and most loading is for HDBs along Jalan Bahar. I think at this point, frequency of 172 might be better than 199.
But I agree that 199 needs a higher frequency even in peak/non-peak hours. 8 buses is not enough. Current peak hour frequency is 07-08 mins and it should be something like 05-06 mins. 199 should have fleet of 10 buses - it would be good if BSEP gives 2 SLBP WEG to 199.
There are occassions when at SADM, people were not able to board 199 already and hence there were requests for 179 to stop at SADM. Actually travel time of 199 from SADM < 179 given 179 does full loop before getting out.
if i didnt remember wrongly, its 16-18 mins during off peak..though i waited for 30 mins before for 199 at around 1pm..
Many of 199 buses during peak came from 243W (3113P, 3115J, 3120T, 3129U), and most DDs are on split duties...AM/PM peak the headway is very good, sometimes even as close as 2 mins per bus until bunching occurs...but due to jam at Boon Lay Int, buses may be delayed, which explains occasional 10 mins wait during peak.
If i am not wrong, there are only 3 buses running during off peak (SBS8902X on fixed slot 1A/?P, SBS6695G also on AP slot, and last bus usually is a DD. SBS3069J, SBS3070D, SBS7402D are confirmed split shift buses, im not sure about SBS3243Y, SBS3244U and SBS9548D, though i know only one is AP bus). In the afternoon, just before PM peak, buses will usually be packed, which will cause problems to those boarding from SADM, Hall 9, and Hall 11.
During off peak, 172 frequency is definitely better than 199. Therefore, we see many pax alighting at Sheng Siong stop even though they can take 199.
I would think 199 will need more AP buses rather than split shift buses..
Yeah, which kinda explains why I see 199 as poorly operated. I stay in Hall 10. I gotta take bus to school everyday and since I got bus concession, I can opt to take Campus Red Loop or 199 (whichever comes first). During off peak afternoon, even though the indicated frequency on the boards is 12-16mins, the real frequency is 19-25mins. There is decent load even at these hours.
At night, even though the load in the HDB areas might not be as good, there are alot of foreign students who take 199 from Opp LWN Library Busstop (Blk 2) to Sheng siong which I understand has some hostels behind. So if its a SD, the bus gets full and residents from Hall 9 and Hall 11 busstops cannot board. Also there are many hall residents taking 199 from JP to NTU.
To what I noticed, SBS8902X and SBS6695G operates at night. The double deck recently has been SBS9548D or SBS3243Y. Anyway these are the only 4 buses that are commonly seen on 199 so I believe the rest do splits? SBS3069J, SBS3070D and SBS7402D I only see during peak hours leh. SBS7402D will bunch up with SBS6695G (Citaro is very bad choice for this service - should use KUB instead) and sometimes SBS3070D with SBS3243Y
179A could be faster than 199 from SADM though. One bus captain on 179A once told me that one loop including break is 38minutes. Even I also supported 179 stopping at SADM. Because at night if i miss 199, taking 179 and walking to hall 10 from SADM can be about 10minutes faster than waiting another 20+ mins for next 199.
For 857, I really dont know why SMRT never thought about deploying bendys even in the past. Loading so high, still full fleet SD. Maybe they didnt have enough bendys to go around? Atleast the frequency improved when 857 became WAB. But now got DD, just use DD! upper deck on this service will surely be well utilised.
199 currently running with 5 B9TLs,2 K230UBs and a Citaro..What they can do is to run the 4 normal shift buses with 3 DDs and a SD while 1 running SD on TQ shift..3 split is 2 DDs and the SD..96 no problem running with 4 DDs & 6 SDs
Originally posted by carbikebus:199 currently running with 5 B9TLs,2 K230UBs and a Citaro..What they can do is to run the 4 normal shift buses with 3 DDs and a SD while 1 running SD on TQ shift..3 split is 2 DDs and the SD..96 no problem running with 4 DDs & 6 SDs
No... 199 has 6 DDs, 2 SDs... 5 WEGs, 1 VO3x, 1 KUB, 1 Citaro + 3 crossover WEGs during peak hours.
Originally posted by randomguy10:Yeah, which kinda explains why I see 199 as poorly operated. I stay in Hall 10. I gotta take bus to school everyday and since I got bus concession, I can opt to take Campus Red Loop or 199 (whichever comes first). During off peak afternoon, even though the indicated frequency on the boards is 12-16mins, the real frequency is 19-25mins. There is decent load even at these hours.
At night, even though the load in the HDB areas might not be as good, there are alot of foreign students who take 199 from Opp LWN Library Busstop (Blk 2) to Sheng siong which I understand has some hostels behind. So if its a SD, the bus gets full and residents from Hall 9 and Hall 11 busstops cannot board. Also there are many hall residents taking 199 from JP to NTU.
To what I noticed, SBS8902X and SBS6695G operates at night. The double deck recently has been SBS9548D or SBS3243Y. Anyway these are the only 4 buses that are commonly seen on 199 so I believe the rest do splits? SBS3069J, SBS3070D and SBS7402D I only see during peak hours leh. SBS7402D will bunch up with SBS6695G (Citaro is very bad choice for this service - should use KUB instead) and sometimes SBS3070D with SBS3243Y
Yes that's why I am proposing that 199 gets perm fleet of 10 buses not including crossovers. BSEP SLBP can add 2 WEGs to this service. 5 buses can operate on A/P including 1 BSEP slot.
Originally posted by randomguy10:For 857, I really dont know why SMRT never thought about deploying bendys even in the past. Loading so high, still full fleet SD. Maybe they didnt have enough bendys to go around? Atleast the frequency improved when 857 became WAB. But now got DD, just use DD! upper deck on this service will surely be well utilised.
That's because they do not have many bendys to play with. It is not just 857 that is badly managed. Even many other services deserve much more bendies. The # DDs ordered is also not enough. Need to order more to really start the SD --> High capacity bus conversion.
199 still manageable leh..same like 95/96 case
Originally posted by carbikebus:199 still manageable leh..same like 95/96 case
199 should get 2 BSEP WEG
96 should get 2 SD --> DD conversion
95 should get 1 BSEP WEG
95/96 off peak loadings justified for majority SDs la bro..What they need is just crossover DDs to maximise effiency not just quantity.51,74 & 147 is the one desperately need full DDs given their route length and loading patterns
Worked at NUS and i only see 96 being fully packed at peak hour only. Off peak, DD are kinda empty and SD are fully seated