BSEP has brought relief to heavily used service 190

The introduction of new bus service 972 under the Government's ongoing Bus Service Enhancement Programme (BSEP) has brought relief to the heavily utilised SMRT route 190 since last November. The new service runs a similar route, from Bukit Panjang to Orchard Road, while SMRT has also added more buses to ply route 190 to reduce crowding during peak hours, reported The Straits Times.

On Wednesday morning, The Straits Times found that bus 190 arrived at intervals between one to three minutes in front of Blk 270 Bangkit Road in Bukit Panjang from 7:00am to 7:30am. The waiting time for service 972 ranged from two to 17 minutes during the same period.

In addition, SMRT has also placed four of its service ambassadors at the popular bus stop ahead of Blk 270 to help manage queues from 6:30am to 9:30am during weekdays. According to the English daily, there were about 50 commuters waiting at the bus stop when the paper visited yesterday. Clad in luminous yellow vests, these ambassadors are trainee bus drivers deployed to remind commuters to move to the rear and ensure safety of those who stand close to the doors.

Residents in Bukit Panjang rely on buses for their journeys - due to the lack of a MRT station in their neighbourhood. Residents are linked to Choa Chu Kang MRT via the LRT network while the new Bukit Panjang MRT station - under Stage 2 of the Downtown Line - will only commence operations in the first quarter of 2016.

Of the 12 SMRT buses originating from Bukit Panjang bus terminal, seven have already been improved under the $1.1 billion BSEP. The Government will pump in more than 1,000 buses under this plan to reduce crowding, have shorter peak-hour waiting times and higher capacity.