Free bus rides on us: Singapore train operators

SMRT and SBS Transit will shoulder all fares when passengers are forced to take the bus due to disruptions.

There will be designated bus stops that will ferry commuters at no charge when trains are unavailable, according to a release from the Land Transport Authority.

The emergency bus scheme was conceived to prevent a similar incident last December when service disruptions inconvenienced many train riders. The fallout from the snafu eventually led to the resignation of the SMRT chief executive.

"Since the 15 and 17 December 2011 service disruptions, LTA has worked closely with both operators, SBS Transit and SMRT, to improve incident management measures. As a result of this close collaboration, both operators have agreed to the arrangement to offer commuters free use of all bus services calling at designated bus stops and interchanges in close proximity to the stations, in the event of an extended MRT service disruption. This will allow affected commuters to quickly resume their journey on available bus services at the affected stations instead of waiting for the activation of free bus bridging service to the next MRT stations. Both operators have agreed that fares on these free bus services will be borne by the operator of the disrupted MRT line," said LTA.

"Apart from the provision of free bus services, LTA has also worked with the operators on other measures to improve the commuter experience, in case of a service disruption. Announcements on free bus services and bus bridging services will be made at affected stations, to guide commuters towards bus bridging points. More signage will be set up within stations to guide commuters to designated bus stops and interchanges. More information panels will also be introduced at stations and designated bus bridging points, so commuters are apprised of bus bridging routes. Overall, this will provide commuters with informed choices for the necessary transport connections they need to make during train service disruptions and minimise the impact of these disruptions to affected commuters," it said.

“Following the MRT disruptions in December 2011, LTA has worked very closely with the two public transport operators, to look into how we can make more improvements to the service recovery process. We are pleased that the two operators have worked out better bus bridging arrangements for affected commuters by offering free bus services at designated bus stops and interchanges in the event of an MRT disruption," said Mr Colin Lim, LTA's Group Director for Vehicle and Transit Licensing.

“We are currently using Twitter and Traffic Watch to inform commuters in the event of a service disruption, so that they can make necessary alternative travel arrangements and avoid heading to the affected area. This latest initiative to offer free bus services at designated boarding points will provide commuters quick alternative transportation to continue with their journey,” said Mr Khoo Hean Siang, SMRT’s Executive Vice President, Trains.

"We are looking at introducing rail disruption alerts on our iris smartphone apps. We are also actively exploring the possibility of using an SMS notification service for those without smartphones. Through these efforts, we hope to keep our affected passengers informed and to minimise the inconvenience caused to them during a service disruption," said Mr Gan Juay Kiat, SBS Transit CEO.