LTA and bus operators to review management of free bus services operated during LEF disruptions

SINGAPORE – Singapore’s four public bus operators and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) are jointly reviewing their management of the free bridge services and regular bus services they operate in response to recent major rail disruptions on the East-West Line (EWL).

“After each incident, we call for a review to draw out lessons learned and what we need to do in order to strengthen our incident management (plans),” said Amos Ang, LTA director of bus regulation.

He said this during an interview at LTA’s Hampshire Road headquarters on Oct 2, which was also attended by representatives of public bus operators SBS Transit, Tower Transit Singapore, SMRT Buses and Go-Ahead Singapore.

Operators provided free scheduled and transition bus services for passengers affected by the six-day disruption, which was one of the worst in the 37-year history of Singapore’s MRT system.

Between September 25 and 30, there were no train services between Jurong East and Buona Vista MRT stations, after a train caused extensive damage to tracks and trackside equipment. Around 2.6 million passengers were affected before train services resumed on October 1.

Free transition buses transported passengers between Jurong East and Buona Vista, while free regular bus services plyed the stretch between Boon Lay and Queenstown stations.

SMRT, which operates the LEF, will foot the bill for the bus services. He said he was calculating the cost of this measure.

Mr Ang and Mr John Tan, head of bus engineering and support at SMRT Buses, acknowledged the confusion and frustration felt by passengers who had to navigate winding queues to bridge between buses during the first two days of disruption.

They said authorities and bus operators adjusted their plans after September 25 to reduce congestion, including by introducing better queue management measures.

Mr Ang added that LTA also chairs a daily meeting to “take lessons from the day and improve for the next day”.

In the event of a disruption to the MRT, the rail operator – SMRT in this case – alerts LTA and bus operators, who in turn will activate free bus services for affected passengers.

Bus operators will then begin redeploying on-duty bus captains and recalling others from their days off.