I REFER to the recent letters and articles which discussed the extension of the bus-lane scheme.

Bus lanes, which facilitate the movement of buses, help to optimise overall usage of our scarce road space. A bus, on average, carries about 80 passengers compared to 1.5 people in a car. Bus lanes allow buses freer flow and hence higher speeds, thereby enabling our road infrastructure to serve more road users. As noted by some readers, many commuters have benefited from the improvement in bus speeds and reliability of bus arrivals. For example, bus speeds have increased by 10 to 12 per cent along the stretch of North and South Bridge roads, and Grange Road, where bus lanes have been implemented.

Notwithstanding this, we are also mindful of the impact that bus lanes have on other road users and stakeholders. Before implementing bus lanes, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) takes into account traffic demand on the road concerned, satisfies itself there are sufficient bus services to warrant bus lanes and ensures the road is wide enough to support bus lanes.

We also engage the community to understand and address issues beforehand. On several occasions, we have modified the initial scheme proactively to take local concerns into account. For example, bus-lane plans along Geylang Road, New Bridge Road and North Bridge Road were modified before implementation to minimise impact on loading and unloading activities.

After implementation, we continue to monitor the situation closely and to make adjustments where necessary. For example, we extended the dotted section along certain stretches of the bus lane in Simei Avenue after motorists highlighted difficulties filtering into Simei Avenue 3. Our observations so far show that traffic speeds in the remaining lanes, after bus lanes have been implemented, remain acceptable during peak hours.

Ultimately, LTA seeks to balance the needs of different groups of road users within the constraints of our limited road space. The extension of the bus-lane scheme is one measure supporting this objective. We appreciate the public's understanding and continued support for these efforts.

Geoffrey Lim

Deputy Director Media Relations
Land Transport Authority

This article was first published in The Straits Times on Dec 8, 2008.

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