Nine private bus operators bid for City Direct routes

To give commuters more options travelling in and out of the city, nine new bus services will commence next January. Nine private bus operators have bid for the new services, which will connect towns such as Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Bukit Batok, Eunos, Hougang, Jurong East, Sembawang, Seng Kang and West Coast to the city.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) called for tenders for the new routes earlier in June. Bus vendors can be awarded with the services individually or in packages, which means more than one operator may get the deal.

Speaking to The Straits Times, General Manager of Transter Travel, Lily Loh, revealed that her company has bid for the Jurong East and West Coast routes. The firm currently runs a route between Johor Baru and Resorts World Sentosa, and aims to extend its services to the west, specifically in Jurong where Genting Singapore has plans to open a hotel in 2015.

The firm is also among four other operators vying for the Jurong West City Direct service earlier this year.

The LTA said that currently five bus services are running direct between housing estates and the city, and have been well-received with frequent passenger loads of more than 70 percent.

For instance, transport operator SMRT has doubled the route frequency on service 850E in the morning rush hours to cope with growing demand. It has also added one morning trip to service 951E, which connects Woodlands to Shenton Way.

The local paper also reported that the LTA will soon call for tenders for private operators to run feeder services in housing estates.