We refer to senior transport correspondent Christopher Tan’s commentary “Cutting bus services: Public transport changes must lead to better service, not just cost efficiency” (Feb 22).

The Government will continue to provide convenient and affordable public transport. We regularly monitor travel patterns and feedback from commuters, and improve our network to meet changing needs.

Bus services are important for the first and last mile of many commutes. As we launch new rail lines, we have been enhancing or adding bus services to connect new estates to surrounding amenities and transport nodes. We have also added trips and higher-capacity buses to meet higher commuter traffic.

However, we cannot keep growing our bus services indefinitely. We have to spend public funds prudently, and also consider our manpower constraints in recruiting and retaining bus captains.

Hence, we have to review and optimise existing bus routes, in response to changing travel patterns, so that we can reallocate limited resources to benefit more commuters.

This often happens after new rail lines are launched. The demand for some trunk bus services that run parallel to the rail lines would decrease significantly, reflecting the preference of commuters to reduce their travel times by switching to the MRT.

It is incorrect for Mr Tan to compare median travel times on different modes, without considering distances travelled. Train-only journeys tend to cover longer distances, and it is therefore reasonable for the median travel time of train-only journeys to be longer than that for bus-only journeys, which include short journeys by feeder buses within a town.

Commuters can be assured that buses will continue to play an important role in Singapore’s public transport system, as we grow our MRT network.
 
Ng Wai Keong
Director, Public Transport Division
Ministry of Transport