About 760 more govt-funded buses added to public bus fleet

SOME 760 government-funded buses have been added to Singapore's public bus network as at Dec 31, allowing for better connectivity, reduced crowding and shortened waiting time for commuters.

Part of the Bus Service Enhancement Programme (BSEP), this figure will go up to 1,000 by 2017, the Land Transport Authority said on Thursday in a joint release with SBS Transit and SMRT Corp.

In the last quarter of 2015, seven new bus services were introduced and two existing bus services extended. More new routes in Eunos, Marine Parade and Yishun will be introduced by March.

Some 80 weekly peak-hour bus trips were also added during this period to ease crowding.

Started in September 2012, BSEP is expected to expand the public bus fleet by about 35 per cent through buses injected by public transport operators and the use of private bus operators to provide extra capacity through the City Direct Services and the Peak Period Short Services.