Inflexibility In Bus Route Planning

I was travelling on this Service 74e (SBS 1943)  this morning as I had not wanted to take the non-air con Service 74 in front on this hot Friday morning. Besides that, it is usually faster than the normal Service 74 as it skips some stops and I can catch up with my bus captain friend, Mr. Lim Tong Tai, who drives this particular shift this week.

However, little did I expect that the bus to be caught in the jam due to an accident at the bus stop after AMK Hub. I was expecting the bus to change its route  as it does not stop at the next stop at Ang Mo Kio Ave 6. To my surprise, I was informed by the bus captain that the bus cannot take the alternative route as the Operations Command Centre will ring the bus captain up using the GPS system and give the driver a stern warning.

I wonder what is the purpose of having 74e in the first place, as E in this case means Express and what's more, we are paying double of a normal Service 74 bus. If the bus captain must follow a designated express route, what is the purpose of stating on the website that "Along the non-stop express sectors, the services may operate on a different route to avoid traffic congestion. However, the bus stops called and fare staging would remain the same."

For the benefit of the commuters and the fustrated bus captain, I am writing in a suggestion letter with the hope that the service standards of public transport in Singapore improves.

I just feel that the goal to have a world class transport system is a laughing stock now, given what I have been writing on my blog recently and the recent press reports about our bus services.

Below is the full text of the comment that I just left on their feedback page.

I was travelling on this Service 74E today. As there was an accident at Citycab, there was a heavy traffic jam that stretched all the way back to AMK Hub.

I asked the bus captain why he was not able to use an alternative route that I suggested, since Service 74E does not stop at the bus stop after Blk 304 Ang Mo Kio Ave 6. The bus captain replied that they are not allowed by the Operations Command Centre to do that.

I was very surprised to hear that as it is stated in your website that "Along the non-stop express sectors, the services may operate on a different route to avoid traffic congestion. However, the bus stops called and fare staging would remain the same." If there is a designated Service 74E express route, this shows the inflexibility in route planning of your route masters and managers. I wonder if it is worth paying the $1.60, which is 2 times more than a normal Service 74 fare to get to my destination.

Having commuted on Service 74 since my school days at Ngee Ann Polytechnic, I know that the Service has several bottleneck sectors and Service 74E has addressed most of them, except for one, the sometimes horrendous jam at Ang Mo Kio Ave 6, when travelling towards Marymount Road.

My suggested alternative route for this sector of the Service is to continue to the end of Ang Mo Kio Ave 3, turn left at Ang Mo Kio Ave 1 before turning right at the junction between Ang Mo Kio Ave 8 and Marymount Road. In this way, the bus can avoid being stuck in the jam for about an hour like the normal Service 74, and commuters would find the extra money paid for the Service well spent.

I do hope the route masters and route manager of Bukit Batok depot can look into the matter on an urgent basis.

I hope to receive a favourable reply on this matter soon.