I share my view on the problem with the current structure of bus services.
There are about 350 different services. This is too many. The ordinary passenger cannot remember the routes for these services.
A mobile phone app will be helpful, but only to those who know how to use the app. There are many people who does not know how to use the app, who do not have a mobile phone, or the battery has died.
On a busy roads, the bus stop can have more than 10 different services. A passenger may only wish to take the bus for a short distance down the road. But he does not know which service to take as some service may turn at a intersection before reaching that destination.
He has to ask the driver. But sometimes there is difficult in communication.
What is a better structure?
It is called the hub and spoke structure. Within each town, there will be not more than five feeder services that take passengers to one or two express stops and to the town center or MRT station.
The feeder services will also be to take passengers to other destinations within the town.
For travel to another town, the passenger will take the feeder service to an express stop, change to an express service to reach another town and change to a feeder service to the final destination.
The express service will travel along the expressway and will only stop at the express stops along the way.
This structure will reduce the travel time, as the express stops connect the towns and make a limited number of stops along the way.
There is a small number of feeder services in each town. They can be identified by A, B, C, D, E and will travel along certain routes within the town. Their routes can be easily shown in a town map.
This will be a more efficient structure. Do you agree?
Tan Kin Lian
There are about 350 different services. This is too many. The ordinary passenger cannot remember the routes for these services.
A mobile phone app will be helpful, but only to those who know how to use the app. There are many people who does not know how to use the app, who do not have a mobile phone, or the battery has died.
On a busy roads, the bus stop can have more than 10 different services. A passenger may only wish to take the bus for a short distance down the road. But he does not know which service to take as some service may turn at a intersection before reaching that destination.
He has to ask the driver. But sometimes there is difficult in communication.
What is a better structure?
It is called the hub and spoke structure. Within each town, there will be not more than five feeder services that take passengers to one or two express stops and to the town center or MRT station.
The feeder services will also be to take passengers to other destinations within the town.
For travel to another town, the passenger will take the feeder service to an express stop, change to an express service to reach another town and change to a feeder service to the final destination.
The express service will travel along the expressway and will only stop at the express stops along the way.
This structure will reduce the travel time, as the express stops connect the towns and make a limited number of stops along the way.
There is a small number of feeder services in each town. They can be identified by A, B, C, D, E and will travel along certain routes within the town. Their routes can be easily shown in a town map.
This will be a more efficient structure. Do you agree?
Tan Kin Lian
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