As army camps become larger and more vast, soldiers and staff take an increasing amount of time to get to the camp - Especially if they do not drive.

In response to this, Lieutenant-Colonel Choy Yong Cong and his team came up with the idea of a shuttle bus service to reduce transportation time and provide convenience.

Choy shared how such an idea became a reality in a lengthy Facebook post on July 4:

Collaboration with Grab

The initial idea started awhile back when he was in Lim Chu Kang camp, he said.

Soldiers did not want to go out of camp whenever they had nights off because it was too inaccessible.

At that time, his Commanding Officer asked him to look into getting shuttle buses. However, the idea wasn't feasible as it was "ahead of its time."

When ride-sharing services entered the market, Choy decided to collaborate with Grab.

According to a Grab spokesperson, GrabShuttle Plus was launched "to complement Singapore’s public transportation network and improve connectivity to and from MRT stations."

They also shared that they worked with personnel from Kranji Camp III, analysed survey findings and combined it with their own transport data to launch the service.

Trial commenced July 3

The GrabShuttle Plus trial commenced on July 3 (last Tuesday) for those based in Kranji Camp III.

These buses pick up personnel from three different regions - Punggol/Sengkang/Hougang, Sembawang/Yishun and Jurong/Bukit Panjang/Bukit Batok - and begin with an earliest pick-up time of around 6am in the morning. In the evening services are provided for camp personnel to depart Kranji Camp at around 5.30pm as well.

But for those who would rather go to the nearest MRT station, there is also a shuttle bus service that runs between Yew Tee MRT Station and the camp.

It can cost anywhere between S$2 per trip to and from Yew Tee MRT station, and up to S$4 for the housing areas.

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This is a summary sheet of all the relevant details:

How does a booking work?

One can book a ride from anywhere within each of these stipulated regions.

The booking can be made immediately or up to three days in advance.

After making a booking, however, the app will direct the user to a designated pick-up point. This pick-up point is usually a bus stop which is a short walking distance away.

In his Facebook post, Choy included some screenshots of the app interface when booking a ride:

And like any other Grab ride, the user can track when their ride is arriving:

Still monitoring ridership rate

The camp is still monitoring the ridership rate.

If the trial services prove to be successful, the services may be expanded to include more timings and neighbourhoods.

According to a Grab spokesperson, "the response has so far been encouraging."

Those based in the camp have also noted that their travelling time has been "significantly reduced:"

"Soldiers and staff appreciate that they no longer have to make multiple transfers when commuting to and from camp, and that travelling time has significantly reduced. For example, a soldier travelling to Kranji Camp III from his home in Punggol could reduce overall travelling time by at least 50%, as compared to other modes of public transport...We continue to see numerous use cases for GrabShuttle Plus and look forward to helping move more people in larger groups and with greater efficiency."

Top photo from YC Choy's Facebook.