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Apr 2, 2010
HUB-AND-SPOKE BUS SYSTEM
Is it too early?
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I READ with concern about the plan to split long-distance bus routes ('Govt to review long bus routes'; Monday).
The urban rail network here is not ready for a hub-and-spoke bus system to provide optimal transport for peak-hour commuters. Transfers that add time and cost to travellers are not a viable alternative to long-distance bus services with unreliable punctuality.
With the wide use of ez-link cards, there is a vast amount of data that can be tapped each day to show the number of transfers by commuters, their travel times, as well as their origins and final destinations during peak hours.
This data could indicate where there is great potential demand for express shuttles during peak hours to enable these transfer commuters to reach their destinations quickly - making such peak-hour direct services economically sustainable.
Some of such services are already in place today, but these are limited and provided only by large private companies or industrial estates to their employees.
A major obstacle is the lack of visibility on where such direct services are in demand.
The Government should make public the transfer data from ez-link use so entrepreneurs - be they large or small transport operators - can offer such services.
As different bus operators operate buses of different sizes, they can tailor their supply to meet appropriate demand levels in different areas.
This would provide a much more flexible and responsive transport system that would benefit commuters without demanding huge investment which only large companies can afford (and who in turn, pass on the cost to consumers).
Government intervention in the public transport system should improve the experience of travellers, saving them time and money.
Chen Junyi
HUB-AND-SPOKE BUS SYSTEM
Is it too early?
<!-- by line --><!-- end by line -->
<!-- end left side bar --><!-- story content : start -->
I READ with concern about the plan to split long-distance bus routes ('Govt to review long bus routes'; Monday).
The urban rail network here is not ready for a hub-and-spoke bus system to provide optimal transport for peak-hour commuters. Transfers that add time and cost to travellers are not a viable alternative to long-distance bus services with unreliable punctuality.
With the wide use of ez-link cards, there is a vast amount of data that can be tapped each day to show the number of transfers by commuters, their travel times, as well as their origins and final destinations during peak hours.
This data could indicate where there is great potential demand for express shuttles during peak hours to enable these transfer commuters to reach their destinations quickly - making such peak-hour direct services economically sustainable.
Some of such services are already in place today, but these are limited and provided only by large private companies or industrial estates to their employees.
A major obstacle is the lack of visibility on where such direct services are in demand.
The Government should make public the transfer data from ez-link use so entrepreneurs - be they large or small transport operators - can offer such services.
As different bus operators operate buses of different sizes, they can tailor their supply to meet appropriate demand levels in different areas.
This would provide a much more flexible and responsive transport system that would benefit commuters without demanding huge investment which only large companies can afford (and who in turn, pass on the cost to consumers).
Government intervention in the public transport system should improve the experience of travellers, saving them time and money.
Chen Junyi