Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap (Aljunied): Sir, at the Committee of Supply (COS) 2023, I spoke on behalf of my Kaki Bukit residents, requesting an enhancement of public bus services to improve connectivity to other parts of Bedok Town, particularly the convenience of elderly commuters. The Minister replied that no new routes were being introduced for such intra-town feeder services due to the trade-offs involved. Today, with the same purpose of enhancing the public service for my residents, I would like to request the extension of Bus Service 137 to one of the loops of Bedok South Street 3.
Sir, the current Bus Service 137 travels to and from Sims Place, the middle and Upper East Coast Terminal. The bus route covers Bedok North Avenue 1, Bedok North Avenue 2, Bedok North Street 3 of Kaki Bukit ward. Unfortunately, the route from Sims Place to Upper East Coast direction does not cover the loop of Bedok North Street 3, which has the bus stop number 84381 and 84391.
Sir, I have received many requests, especially from elderly residents for Bus Service 137 to be extended to the two bus stops mentioned earlier. Based on my estimation, this extension will only have an added time of between three to four minutes and added distance of about 500 to 600 metres.
The proposed extension will not only ease the plight of elderly residents who currently have to walk a distance to the nearest bus stop but will also lay the ground for the future residents who will occupy a potential future residential development at the former Bedok Town Secondary School.
The Minister for Transport (Mr Chee Hong Tat): LTA plans to introduce another 15 more bus services in 2025 across different towns, including Punggol, Bidadari, Yew Tee and Tampines.
As we deploy more buses, we will also give them priority on more roads to facilitate their movement and improve their reliability. LTA will add about 20 kilometres of new bus lanes this year, and more to follow in the coming years.
I would like to assure Mr Dennis Tan and Mr Faisal Manap that, as with all bus services, LTA will continue to monitor demand and ridership and introduce new services or enhancements where necessary, including in Hougang SMC and Aljunied GRC.
Ministry of Transport
5 March 2025
https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/#/sprs3topic?reportid=budget-2604
Office of the Leader of the Opposition 