Majority of bus services meet standards in reliability scheme

Going by preliminary results collected over the past six months, most of the bus services under a scheme that rewards and penalises bus operators for service reliability have met standards.

Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew announced that 20 out of the 22 bus services under the Bus Service Reliability Framework (BSRF) were able to meet the service standards set for reducing commuters' waiting time, and will be rewarded.

However, the Land Transport Authority did not reveal which were the bus services that failed to meet the mark.

Of the 22 services under trial, 10 of them are SMRT buses, comprising bus services 176, 184, 188, 189, 302, 853, 858, 901, 911 and 962. The remaining are services operated by SBS Transit, namely 3, 17, 39, 51, 52, 154, 228, 241, 242, 292, 325 and 354.

Depending on the size of the operator's bus fleet, incentives can range from $2,000 to $6,000, while penalties range between $1,300 and $4,000. These incentives and penalties took effect from June, and will be paid out or imposed in January next year.