26 July 2006 – SBS Transit’s long-standing commitment towards good, safe and reliable service will stand us in good stead as we gear up for the introduction of the new Quality of Service (QoS) standards.

SBS Transit Executive Director, Mr Ong Boon Leong, said: “The new standards will act as a new goal post for us, spurring us to do even better than we have done before. This, at the end of the day, is a good thing - not just for us but for the industry as a whole.”

The new QoS, announced by the Public Transport Council (PTC) today, will cover six essential aspects of service: bus service reliability, loading, safety, provision of information, availability of bus services and integration with other modes of public transport.

To meet the new QoS standards, SBS Transit will be stepping up efforts in all areas of service. This will reinforce the efforts that have already been made in the past few years including the following:

1. Increasing the number of services

SBS Transit has, over the years, increased the total number of bus services to cater to commuters’ needs. Over the past 18 months alone, we have introduced 31 new services providing faster links and niche coverage making it a total of 218 bus services currently being operated. These new services allow passengers to connect directly to their destinations. For example, the Fast Forward services were introduced in January 2005 to enable commuters to get to their destinations faster. Fast Forward 97e, for example, plys the same route as its existing parent Service 97 but stops only at 17 out of the 34 bus stops that the parent service stops at during peak periods. As a result, commuters travelling on Fast Forward 97e can save up to 20% in travel time. The Chinatown services of CT8, CT18 and CT28 have provided many senior citizens with a very convenient way of travelling to Chinatown from their homes.

2. Bigger fleet

SBS Transit has continued to grow its bus fleet to meet the growing needs of commuters. We now have 2,511 buses plying the roads. Going forward, we intend to increase the number of buses we operate so as to improve the service frequency of our buses. Recently, we announced the roll-out of 150 air-conditioned, double-deck buses which are also low-floor and wheelchair-accessible. More such purchases will be made.

3. Campaigns to improve service timeliness

Oftentimes, traffic conditions make it difficult for our buses to meet their service schedules. One common occurrence is that motorists often do not give way to buses coming out of bus bays. This invariably results in delays for bus commuters. To try and alleviate this problem, SBS Transit, in partnership with the Land Transport Authority, launched a “Give Way To Buses” campaign in October 2005. We fitted our buses with special LED lamps, rear bus panel advertisements and ‘Give Way to Buses’ car decals. In addition, LTA installed 100 Give Way signs at bus stops to encourage motorist to practice this courteous act. Other campaigns are being planned.

We will continue to work with the authorities to implement even more traffic management schemes to enable our buses to move freely on the roads.

4. Revamped website to provide better information to commuters

In May 2006, SBS Transit relaunched our website (www.sbstransit.com.sg) to make it more commuter-friendly. A whole new range of e-services is now available to all our customers including:

• Downloadable credit-card sized timetables and computerised mapping to illustrate a service’s route
• Journey planner with estimated travel time based on either the cheapest or quickest way or one with least walking involved; and
• Emailing free service updates and promotions

5. Amendments to services following feedback from commuters

We constantly receive feedback from our commuters regarding our services. These include feedback on service frequency and routes. Where possible, we will amend our service offerings to cater to our passengers’ needs. For example, in December 2004 we amended Service 325 so that it enchanced the conmnectivity to Hougang Polyclinic. In June last year, we extended Service 131 to serve Bukit Purmei Avenue to enhance connectivity for residents there. All in, eight amendments to bus service routeings or schedules were made since the beginning of 2005.

With the introduction of the new QoS standards, we will continue to look at new ways to improve our services, subject to road conditions and constraints.

Said Mr Ong: “Our buses ply the roads 18 hours a day, seven days a week. Each day, our buses travel a total distance which is equivalent to going round the globe 14 times. Each bus stops an average of 200 m, either because there is a pedestrian crossing, a traffic light or a bus stop. Hence, it is not possible for them to always meet the schedules given the vagaries of the roads. An accident, a faulty traffic light and bad weather will greatly hamper our service delivery efforts. But we will try our best nonetheless to provide Singaporeans with a safe and reliable public transport.”