972 saved from rerouting, 971E converted to peak hour only 971 and plies Petir Road to City/CBD
Source:
LTA Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/WeKeepYourWorldMoving
In the past week, we've been working on a set of mitigating measures to address the concerns of Bukit Panjang residents while balancing the need for financial prudence. The adjustments we’ll be introducing to mitigate the impact of the upcoming changes to Bus Services 171, 700 and 972 are:
Amend Service 971E to ply along Petir Road before entering BKE and PIE and convert it to a peak-hour trunk Service 971 with extended operating hours. This will provide a direct bus connection to town for residents along Petir Road during peak hours.
Introduce a modified Service 972M by redirecting a portion of the existing Service 972 buses to ply along Dunearn Road and Scotts Road. This will allow commuters at Dunearn and Bukit Timah Road to retain connectivity to Scotts Road and Newton MRT.
Increase the frequency of Service 973 during peak hours to enhance the connection to Hillview MRT.
We’ll also defer the changes to Services 171, 700 and 972 from 16 Aug to 30 Aug to give commuters and bus operators more time to adjust to the changes.
Read SMS Chee Hong Tat 徐芳达’s post below for more details.
Source:
https://www.facebook.com/hongtat.chee
My colleagues and I had a follow-up meeting with Grassroots Advisers
Liang Eng Hwa and Edward Chia Bing Hui 谢秉辉
to discuss the mitigation measures when we adjust Bus Services 171, 700 and 972. I thank Mr Liang, Mr Chia and their grassroots leaders for sharing the concerns of residents, and working with Ministry of Transport, Singapore and Land Transport Authority to find solutions to cushion the impact on commuters. We have agreed on the following measures:
a) To provide a direct bus connection to town for affected residents along Petir Rd during peak hours, we will amend existing Service 971E to ply along Petir Road before entering BKE and PIE. We will convert this from a peak-hour express service (971E) to a peak-hour trunk service (971) that calls at more stops. To serve more commuters, we will also extend the operating hours for Service 971 from 7.10 am to 7.50 am in the morning and 6.05 pm to 6.30 pm in the evening to 6.30 am to 8.30 am and 6.05 pm to 7.35 pm respectively. Existing Service 971E commuters will experience an increase in travel times, but their fares will drop by up to 60 cents per trip as they no longer need to pay express fares. They can also alight at more bus stops along the way. For residents staying along Petir Road, they will have the same travelling time and pay the same fares as the current Service 700.
b) We had intended to amend the route of Service 972 as part of the changes. In view of residents’ feedback, we have decided to reverse the decision. Instead, we will introduce a modified Service 972M by redirecting a portion of the existing Service 972 buses to ply along Dunearn Road and Scotts Road. This allows commuters at Dunearn and Bukit Timah Road to retain connectivity to Scotts Road and Newton MRT. Where necessary, we will add trips for Services 972 and 972M during peak hours to manage waiting times and crowding. Bukit Panjang commuters can take either Service 972 or 972M to town, there is also the additional option of Service 971 during peak hours. While this arrangement increases the headway between bus arrivals for both Services 972 and 972M, commuters can use the bus service app to plan your journeys and minimise waiting time at the bus stops. I seek everyone’s understanding that we need some give and take in such situations, to cater to different groups of commuters while ensuring prudent use of public funds.
c) Lastly, LTA will increase the frequency of Service 973 during peak hours to enhance the connection to Hillview MRT. We will monitor the situation after two months and assess if further adjustments are needed.
To provide sufficient time for bus operators to implement the above mitigation measures, we will defer the changes to Services 171, 700 and 972 from 16 Aug to 30 Aug 2020.
— Hong Tat