Linear bus stops - LTA's reply

I have recently written on my dissatisfaction with the way LTA chose to write one of their news release. You may read about my previous post here.

My discontentment arises from their attempt to glorify an afterthought (a-step-back) solution for the sake of publicity stunt, without clear explanation on the rationale to embark on those projects. As expected, news editors’ desks rain cats and dogs with letters of comments from public, and LTA responsed with a letter which was published in TODAY (attached below).

The response confirmed my initial suspicions that Jalan Eunos will be widened due to increased traffic volume, and bus bays are removed due to lack of road space. Both facts were missing from news release.

Ironically, LTA’s response states that it is important that the issue of linear bus stop be put in perspective, which the same could be said of their news release.

Pilot project in Jalan Eunos will allow LTA to study the impact of linear bus stops

Letter from NALEEZA EBRAHIM
Deputy Director, Media Relations
Land Transport Authority

I refer to the recent letters on bus bays versus linear bus stops. It is important to put this issue in perspective.

Most major cities such as Tokyo, London and Hong Kong, do not have bus bays (also called bus lay-bys) along main roads because they take up considerable space.

Similarly, in Singapore, only one third of the bus stops have bus bays as providing them requires additional land that is not always available. Bus bays are usually put in when there is enough road reserve.

With increasing vehicle usage, the trade off between widening roads and retaining bus bays will have to be studied in land-scarce Singapore. The pilot project in Jalan Eunos seeks to do this.

LTA is widening the road at Jalan Eunos because traffic growth there has led to increased congestion. In doing so, the existing bus bays will have to be removed. This presents LTA with the opportunity to conduct a one-year trial to study the impact of linear bus stops — and weigh the improvement in bus travel speed against the impact on other traffic.

In this case, by adding a lane to each side of the road, all road users will be better off. Putting in linear bus stops will improve the journey times for buses along this stretch of road and will ensure that buses share in the gains from this project.

Many who have given feedback have suggested keeping bus bays and making it mandatory for motorists to give way to buses exiting bus bays.

We agree that this is a possible solution for situations where bus bays are still feasible. So far, LTA has been working with the public transport operators over the last three years to encourage motorists to do this without mandating it as a rule.

We have placed "Give-way-to-buses-exiting" traffic signs at some bus stops with bus bays, and collaborated with the Traffic Police to include the message "Give way to buses exiting" in the Road Courtesy Campaign.

LTA is reviewing the progress of this programme to determine if more needs to be done, taking into account public feedback.

Source: TODAYonline (February 26, 2007)