New bus program to boost routes by 15%

8 out of the new 40 routes will connect major HDB towns to the city area.

As announced by the Minister for Transport, LTA will partner the bus operators, SBS Transit Ltd and SMRT Buses Ltd, to roll out the Bus Services Enhancement Programme (BSEP) from the third quarter of 2012.

Here's more from LTA:

While the focus in the initial years will be to improve bus service levels for existing bus services, commuters can also expect better connectivity in the bus network with around 40 new bus routes introduced progressively over the next 5 years. This is a 15% increase, up from the 261 basic bus routes today.

Out of the 40 new bus routes, about 8 will be parallel bus routes that connect major HDB towns to the city area, making use of the expressways. Six of the eight parallel bus routes will connect from Choa Chu Kang, Jurong, Sengkang, Tampines, Woodlands and Yishun. The remaining two routes are still being worked out and will be announced when ready.

The new parallel bus routes will be progressively introduced from the third quarter of 2012 to provide more options to commuters using stretches of the existing rail lines that experience persistent high ridership, while the ongoing rail enhancement measures are being implemented. LTA will monitor the performance of these parallel bus services closely and make adjustments where required. Details of these routes will be provided when ready.

More buses will also be added to improve bus connectivity at the local level. LTA is presently studying the implementation of the new routes in detail. We recognise that different communities have different needs for bus services, and will therefore carefully assess and prioritise the different needs to deliver maximum benefit to commuters from the resources available. LTA will work closely with community leaders on this in the next few months.