More bus controllers to ensure better and smoother service

With all bus services here having to meet stricter service requirements in the second half of this year, bus operators SMRT and SBS Transit have been beefing up their number of bus controllers, who play a crucial role in maintaining bus intervals so that commuters experience more regular waiting times, reported The Straits Times. 

SBS Transit, which has a fleet of more than 3,000 buses and close to 260 bus services, currently has 70 service controllers.

Mr. Johnson Lim, SBS Vice President of the operations control centre, said there has been a 25 percent increase since 2013, and he expects the figure to hit about 100 in the next two years. A bigger team means that each controller looks after fewer services, he said. From a ratio of one controller to 15 services three years ago, it is now 1:10, and the goal is to cut this to 1:6.

SMRT, which runs 100 services and 1,400 buses, has 25 bus controllers, but plans to grow this to 60 in the next few years. The controllers each manage between seven and nine trunk services or 10 to 12 feeder routes.