SINGAPORE: The one-year free shuttle bus service pilot for Marine Parade cluster residents was designed in consultation with the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and not decided “in a vacuum”, said Member of Parliament for MacPherson SMC Tin Pei Ling.
“For the bus shuttle service, we have been consulting LTA for the routes and all, and so it’s not in a vacuum that we worked out this shuttle bus service,” said Ms Tin, whose constituency is among those which the shuttle service runs through.
She was responding to questions from CNA on why new bus routes were not added to the Marine parade area in place of the free shuttle bus service.
Residents living in Marine Parade GRC, MacPherson SMC and Mountbatten SMC will from Jul 8 have access to the new free shuttle bus service that will ply seven routes within these areas and bring them to amenities like polyclinics, hawker centres and MRT stations.
Ms Tin said that changes in the public transport system to address these needs may take more careful planning.
“Our public transport network is complex, and so sometimes to add new stops, it may require careful study and planning, but while the needs are there, what we are able to do is to address some of these gaps,” she said.
The free shuttle bus service can quickly address the needs of residents and is also “flexible” in adapting to new concerns.
“We want to make sure we have flexibility and that we are able to do the necessary adjustments and decide on the next steps later on,” said Ms Tin.
The initiative was announced on Jun 30 by the South East Community Development Council (CDC) and the People’s Association (PA).
Ms Tin also noted that the bus shuttle service is funded through CDC resources.
CNA previously reported that the service will take up 5 per cent to 6 per cent of the CDC’s spending.
“Each district will have different needs and people within each district and its different clusters will also have different needs they have to find the resources for,” she said.
