Starting from April 2007, full-day bus lanes will be in operation at Eu Tong Sen Street, Hill Street, Victoria Street, Bras Basah Road, and Somerset Road.

These lanes will effectively become the exclusive domain of buses from 7.30am - 8pm on weekdays and Saturdays.

This was announced on Monday by Transport minister Raymond Lim at the opening of the new Fort Canning Tunnel.

Currently, full-day bus lanes are only found along Orchard Road, which was a pilot trial started in October 2005. Coupled with the ERP scheme, LTA found that average bus speeds increased by up to 23 per cent.

Along with facilitating the introduction of premium bus services to 'users who are willing to pay a higher fare to have a superior level of service', LTA hopes that the full-day bus lane scheme will improve the overall experience for commuters.

Evening operating hours for regular bus lanes will also be shifted back to 5pm - 8pm, from the current hours of 4.30pm - 7pm.

Morning operating times will remain at the same, i.e. 7.30 - 9.30am on weekdays & Saturdays, and 11.30am - 2pm on Saturdays.