By reducing the frequency of bus service 167 to one trip every 30 minutes, the amount of subsidies required to run it has dropped from S$6.2 million to S$3.6 million per year, said Acting Minister for Transport Chee Hong Tat in a written parliamentary reply on Jan. 10, 2024.

Workers' Party (WP) Member of Parliament Gerald Giam asked about the rationale for reinstating service 167, its expected cost, and whether it offers grounds to reinstate other discontinued services.

Now operating at a reduced frequency

Bus service 167 was initially announced to be discontinued on Dec. 10, 2023, before the Land Transport Authority (LTA) made a U-turn and announced its reinstatement on Nov. 28, 2023.

Service 167's discontinuation, coupled with the shortening of bus services 162/162M and 75, was meant to optimise "limited bus resources in response to changing ridership patterns" following the opening of Thomson-East Coast Line Stage 3 (TEL3), Chee explained.

LTA decided to retain service 167 at a reduced frequency to give affected commuters time to adjust to the new travel arrangements.

"We proceeded with the changes to Services 162/162M and 75, as the ridership on these services had declined significantly after TEL3 started operations," said Chee.

LTA also made adjustments to increase the frequency of other alternatives, such as 121 and 980.

Savings

The aforementioned changes have resulted in a total annual cost saving of S$5.1 million, which is reallocated to "support new bus routes and feeder services for commuters from new housing estates in different parts of Singapore".

LTA will continue to monitor ridership on these amended services and make further adjustments where necessary.

For buses travelling along Bedok Reservoir Road following the opening of Downtown Line Stage 3 (DTL3), LTA shortened the routes for 22, 66 and 506 in December 2021 while providing commuters with "additional connectivity and capacity on other services such as 65 and 228".

According to Chee, most affected commuters have switched to using DTL3 since 2021.

Chee added that currently, during the weekday peak hour, service 228 buses are mostly only half-filled, with none hitting 75 per cent of the maximum capacity.

"As we expand our MRT network and introduce new bus routes and services to serve new housing estates, it is necessary for LTA to continue reviewing and adjusting existing bus services," Chee said.

"It is not financially sustainable for commuters and taxpayers if we only add new MRT and bus services over time, without reducing or shortening existing bus services when ridership patterns change."

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Top image via Behold Our Outstanding Buses Singapore/Facebook