Controversy over Bus 700 withdrawal and Bus 171 & 972 amendment

Transport planning is an unenviable task of balancing the needs of commuters with the efficient use of resources. While unprofitable and underutilized bus routes have been curtained in the past, the recent move to withdraw Services 700/700A and make amendments to Service 171 and 972 has struck discord with residents of Bukit Panjang, with members of the public calling for a stop to these arrangements.

Since 2009, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) had took on the role of being a centralised bus planning agency; a role which it only strengthened in 2016 with the advent of the Bus Contracting Model, when it also dictated service levels. In its own words, the LTA’s role as a centralised bus planning agency ‘allows it greater flexibility to respond to changes in bus service levels’.

This article is split into two pages Page 1 covers the amendment and public response, and Page 2 covers our opinions, weighing the advantages and disadvantages of the route withdrawals and amendments.

The amendment

As announced on 3 August 2020, Bus Service 700/700A would be withdrawn, and Service 972 would be amended to cover lost sectors of Service 700 between Whitley Road and Scotts Road. In addition, Service 171 would be shortened to loop at Bukit Panjang, removing its Bukit Panjang – Marina Centre sector.

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Bukit Panjang town has long relied on bus services to connect residents to and from the City, with full-day bus connections such as Service 190 (Choa Chu Kang – Kampong Bahru), Service 700/700A (Bukit Panjang Temporary Bus Park – Shenton Way / Temasek Avenue), and 972 (Bukit Panjang – Orchard Road) with express sectors via the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) and Pan-Island Expressway (PIE).

It is understood that these amendments were planned to take place in 2015 or 2016, in tandem with or shortly after the opening of the Downtown Line (DTL) Stage 2.

Public Reactions

These amendments were first announced in a press release by SMRT on Monday, 3 August 2020, two weeks ahead of the bus service withdrawal. Public reactions to these bus route withdrawals were overwhelmingly negative, as seen from reactions to its Facebook post. Most discontent was directed to the withdrawal of Service 700/700A over the amendments to Service 171 and 972.

Several Bukit Panjang residents wrote in to their Member of Parliament (MP) regarding their feedback for these route changes shortly after. Responses from MP for Bukit Panjang Mr Liang Eng Hwa, as well as MP for Holland-Bukit Timah Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui were shared on their respective Facebook pages within 24 hours of the press release for the bus service changes. They expressed their disappointment towards LTA for pushing ahead with these amendments, a fairly rare occurrence.

Minister of Transport’s Response

Netizen Khairul Haziq shared a response he received from Minister of Transport Ong Ye Kung regarding the controversy on Facebook, in which the changes were necessary to prevent the Downtown Line and Bus Services to be “over capacity and under used, costing millions every year”.

Authorities’ Statements

LTA responded to the ‘public concern’ over the controversy the next day on Tuesday, 4 August 2020, justifying the decision to withdraw Service 700 / 700A as well as shortening Service 171.

LTA highlighted that ridership fell over 30% and 50% respectively for Bus Services 171 & 700/700A respectively in 2016 after the Downtown Line Phase 2 opened in December 2015.

With LTA collecting fare revenue and paying operators a service fee to operate bus services as part of the Bus Contracting Model, these services have been subsidised through public funds due to low ridership. In its statement, LTA revealed that the subsidy to maintain Service 700 comes up to $5 million a year. The subsidy could be justified if the bus service is the “only transport option in the area”. However, with the Downtown Line as an alternative transport option, adjustments to the bus services in the area had to be done to “exercise prudence in the use of public funds”.

A follow-up post by Chee Hong Tat, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Transport

In the post, Chee highlights that the subsidy to maintain Service 171 and 700/700A comes up to $14 million a year. This implies that Service 171 is subsidized to the tune of S$9 million a year. He adds that LTA had been engaging the local grassroots advisers on this matter since 2016.

In addition, it was disclosed that the Downtown Line is subsidized $60 million a year, for the stretch between Bukit Panjang and the city. However, rail lines are financed under the New Rail Financing Framework and will not be a subject of focus in this article.

In Summary

• The LTA has outlined financial prudence as its primary consideration for the withdrawal of Service 700/700A
  • Service 171 subsidized by $9 million a year
  • Service 700/700A subsidized by $5 million a year
• Ridership of Service 171, 700 declined after the opening of the Downtown Line Stage 2
  • Service 171 declined by 30%
  • Service 700/700A declined by 50%
• Alternative public transport routes exist for all affected sectors

Continued on Page 2:

• Our thoughts on each route amendment
• Advantages and Disadvantages of each move