Bus service 167 will continue running — a reversal of a previous decision made by the Land Transport Authority to cancel the service — but at 30-minute intervals.

The service previously ran at intervals of 11 to 20 minutes, according to the bus service's e-guide.

Initially cancelled due to declining ridership

On Nov. 17, LTA announced the termination of operations for service 167 due to declining ridership attributed to the new Thomson-East Coast Line.

On Nov. 28, LTA announced that they will reverse this decision, taking into account commuters who require additional time to adapt and find new routes.

Other than the cessation of service 167, LTA had also previously announced that the route of service 75 would be shortened while services 162 and 162M would be combined.

Petition to reinstate services 75 and 167

Following LTA's announcement on Nov. 17, a disgruntled commuter filed a petition on Change.org calling for the agency to reinstate services 75 and 167.

Saying that the changes to the two services were "deeply personal" to him, the Tanjong Pagar resident explained that the services were "lifelines for many residents", from people going to work and elderly folks going for health check-ups.

"The discontinuation and shortening of the routes served by these two services will cause significant inconvenience and distress among the residents," he said.

754 people have signed the petition as of Nov. 28, 2023.

One person who signed the petition shared similar sentiments with the original petitioner, saying that many residents living along the bus route, such as at the Pinnacle@Duxton, Everton Park and Cantonment Close, especially seniors, will be inconvenienced by having to switch buses or rely solely on MRT.

Another claimed that mothers with kids prefer bus services as the Outram Park MRT and Maxwell MRT are "not stroller-friendly".

The lack of shelters on the MRT in case of rain was another concern raised.

Looked at availability of alternative services: LTA

In the latest announcement, LTA shared that they had looked at the availability of alternative services.

This includes the TEL, which offers a faster travel option for many commuters after accounting for waiting times and time taken for transfers.

"Since the opening of TEL, we have seen more commuters shifting their travel to the MRT, while ridership for parallel bus services has dropped significantly," LTA said.

Changes to existing bus services

Changes to existing bus services were implemented to address segments of routes with higher demand or unique connectivity, LTA said.

For instance, the frequency of service 980, which serves a similar sector between Sembawang and Novena as service 167, would be increased.

Service 859 will be amended to ply Canberra Link and Sembawang Road in place of service 167, while service 121 will be amended to link Cantonment Road with Outram Park MRT in place of service 75.

Adjustments start on Dec. 17

To accommodate commuters needing more time to adjust and try out the new travel routes, LTA said that they "will retain service 167 for now and operate it at 30-minute intervals throughout the day".

Amendments to services 121 and 859 will proceed, and the frequency of service 980 will also be increased as planned.

The date for adjusting all bus routes has also been shifted from Dec. 10 to Dec. 17.

The announcement of the reinstatement was met with varied comments.

In the comments section of LTA's Facebook post, some commended LTA for listening to feedback, saying that it is better to have the commuters' feedback first rather than ceasing operations immediately.

There were also requests for more to be done regarding services 75 and 162/M.

One suggested reinstating services 162/M to Thomson Road and the CBD area, expressing concern about the inconvenience of having to "change buses two to three times from Ang Mo Kio" otherwise.

Will reallocate finite resources as required: LTA

Despite its decision to continue operations of service 167, LTA emphasised the need to allocate finite resources judiciously.

They acknowledged that preserving direct bus connections for every journey might not be feasible as new transport options like TEL emerge and Singaporeans move into new estates and workplaces.

The TEL is Singapore's sixth MRT line and will connect the eastern and northern parts of Singapore once it is fully completed in 2025.

"LTA will continue to review our bus network and reallocate our finite resources as required, so that we can serve the travelling needs of commuters from all parts of Singapore."

Top photo from Behold Our Outstanding Buses Singapore/Facebook