Three more FBDL from 28 Jul 2008

LTA has confirmed what I suspected earlier -- that the extent of Full-Day Bus Lanes falls short of what they originally promised. With three new full-day bus lanes added to the road effective 28 Jul 2008 (refer to news release below), the full-day bus lanes total length tallied at 17km, which is still pretty far from the 23km they promised to have by July 2008.

In the latest two rounds of extension, merchants and shop owners along Chinatown and Little India seem to have concerns on whether the full-day bus lane will deter shoppers from patronising their shops, and operationally whether it'll have an impact on their loading and unloading of goods which is usually done along the main roads where full-day bus lanes are poised to be implemented. These are probably some of the concerns which could explain the delay in the proliferation of full-day bus lanes.


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Extension of Full-Day Bus Lanes to Three Locations

1. From 28 July 2008, the normal bus lanes on three stretches along Orchard Road, Orchard Boulevard and Serangoon Road will be converted to full-day bus lanes.

2. Currently, these three stretches of normal bus lanes operate only during peak hours on weekdays. The full-day bus lane scheme operates from 7.30am to 8pm on all weekdays and Saturdays, except public holidays.

3. The extension of the full-day bus lane scheme to these three stretches is in line with the Land Transport Master Plan to increase coverage of such bus lanes so as to make public transport a choice mode.

4. Surveys conducted showed that the two most important aspects of the bus journey for commuters are waiting time and travelling time. As buses are more efficient carriers of commuters, with a higher number of passengers per unit road space as compared to other vehicles such as cars, it is necessary to give priority to buses so that more commuters reach their destinations on time.

5. Prior to the implementation of full-day bus lanes at the three stretches, LTA has engaged and informed relevant parties affected by the changes, such as businesses, building owners as well as grassroots organisations, to receive feedback and suggestions.

6. With the three new stretches, the total length of full day bus lanes will be extended to 17 km.

7. Please refer to Annex A for the location of the three stretches of roads where the full-day bus lane scheme is extended to.

ANNEX A Locations of New Full-Day Bus Lanes Road Name Start End Orchard Boulevard Grange Road Paterson Road Orchard Road Orange Grove Road AnguiliaPark Serangoon Road Buffalo Road Balestier Road

Source: LTA, 22 Jul 2008