Financial penalties to be imposed on 3rd-party vendor for bus arrival timing disruption: Jeffrey Siow

Financial penalties will be imposed on the third-party vendor responsible for the bus arrival timing disruption, said Acting Minister for Transport Jeffrey Siow on Mar. 3.

In a written reply to parliamentary questions by Sengkang GRC Member of Parliament (MP) He Ting Ru, Siow also confirmed that the Expected Time of Arrival (ETA) system was fully restored on Feb. 12.

She had asked about the prolonged inaccuracies in bus arrival timings, which were first detected on Jan. 10, 2026.

Penalties to be imposed in accordance with service level agreement

She had asked whether there were service-level agreement breaches and if penalties had been imposed.

She also asked whether an update could be provided on when the Bus Fleet and Management System upgrade, which started in 2024, would be completed.

Siow replied that penalties would be imposed in line with the service level agreement.

He explained that fully restoring the ETA system required physical works to be carried out on a "significant proportion" of the bus fleet, as well as verification of the system's accuracy against actual bus arrival records.

"During this period, performance of the system fluctuated as the proportion of rectified buses deployed for service each day varied," he highlighted.

Siow added that the Land Transport Authority (LTA) had provided regular progress updates until all buses were rectified and the system was fully restored on Feb. 12.

He also confirmed that the upgrade to the Bus Fleet Management System is slated for completion by 2027.

Top photos via Land Transport Authority – We Keep Your World Moving & Mothership