SMRT axes Premium bus service 597 November 8, 2009
Posted by hafizbam in Premium Bus, Route Amendment, SMRT.Tags: premium bus service, shenton way, SMRT, toa payoh
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When Premium 597 was launched, I laughed. It looked more like a desperate attempt by SMRT to break into the Toa Payoh market than anything else. SBS Transit was already, and still is, running Premium 535 which sensibly serves most parts of the estate that matters.
And so I am definitely not surprised to see it walking into history in a couple of days.
SMRT Premium 597 will make its swansong journey from Toa Payoh to Shenton Way this Friday, 13th November 2009. A wicked choice of date 
To view the press release, click here.
Premium bus service 586 returns… in Yishun! October 25, 2009
Posted by hafizbam in Bus, Express Coach, Premium Bus, Private operators, Something New.Tags: Bus Hub Services, premium bus service, private bus operator, shenton way, springleaf, yishun
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SBS Transit is now no longer the only bus operator providing premium bus services in Yishun town. Private bus operator Bus Hub Services Pte Ltd has been running a new route from the estate to the CBD on weekday mornings, soon after gaining approval from the Public Transport Council (PTC) in April 2009.
In true Bus Hub style, the service has been dubbed the Yishun Express and interestingly, officially numbered 586. Some Bukit Panjang residents may recall seeing a bus service with the same number running in their estate some months back. That was the SMRT Buses version of 586, which got scrapped due to low demand (and why wouldn’t it, paying 4 bucks to get to Jurong East just isn’t worth it!). So if this reborn 586 does succeed, it would definitely be a snub at SMRT, especially so when the service is running in their traditional operating territory!
Just like its two other premium bus services 562 and 576, Yishun Express 586 targets the residents of private housing who are more likely to work in a downtown office as compared to the typical HDB dweller. Along the way however, it does serve a bit of the Yishun HDB crowd missed out by SBS Transit’s 558 and 559.
The route starts at Canberra Drive serving residents of Yishun Sapphire and Yishun Emerald, calling at the bus stops outside the Darul Makmur Mosque and Yishun Community Library soon after. From there it proceeds to pick up passengers from the Lilydale, Shaughnessy and Orchid Park condominiums before heading to Sembawang and Upper Thomson Roads to fetch those residing in Springside and Springleaf estates. From there, the bus cruises along the expressways down to City Hall, Shenton Way and ending at the stop opposite Hong Lim Complex along Upper Cross Street.
If demand from SMRT’s 587* is anything to go by, this service should have a ready pool of customers, especially so when its coverage in the city area is much greater than the simple Shenton Way-only offerings. Again, this can only happen if the targeted crowd knows about Yishun Express’ very existence since private operators rarely display their bus service information at bus stops. *(SMRT’s 587 is also a premium route targeting those from the LaCasa, Rosewood, Casablanca and Woodgrove private housing, serving pockets of HDB residents along the way.)
And yes, the total journey time for Yishun Express end-to-end is only an hour at most as stated in their website. A flat fare of $4 per trip is payable, though regular commuters can save up by purchasing the monthly booking at $80. And for a limited time only, Bus Hub is offering an introductory monthly booking discounted fare of only $70.
More information can be found in Bus Hub’s website.
Additional trip for SMRT Premium 531 October 4, 2009
Posted by hafizbam in Premium Bus, SMRT.Tags: bedok, Premium Bus, shenton way, simei, SMRT 531, Suntec City, upper east coast
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Yet another additional trip for Premium 531 in the mornings from 5 October 2009.
Singapore’s most successful premium bus service to date – SMRT’s route 531 – is set to gain yet another trip during the weekday morning peak period. Six buses will now start their trips from Simei Road between 0745 and 0810 hours at a frequency of 4 to 8 minutes, ferrying commuters to their offices in Suntec City and Shenton Way.
While demand has certainly been good (and maybe even increasing) in the mornings, the two return trips in the evenings will see no change. Then again, Premium 531 is still one of only a handful of premium bus services here to even have evening return journeys.
Click here for the press release.
Intelligent COMmuter – ICOM.sg October 3, 2009
Posted by hafizbam in Miscellaneous, Premium Bus, Something New.Tags: Icom, Intelligent Commuter, Premium Bus, private bus
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Intelligent COMmuter - icom.sg
Largely unknown until reported in The Straits Times not too long ago is a special kind of bus service provision in the form of Intelligent Commuter or Icom. It is basically an online platform created for those looking for a faster and more comfortable commute. All you have to do is to register yourself at the website http://www.intelligentcommuter.com and submit a request for the route(s) that you want. Once a sufficient number of commuters have indicated interest in a particular route, Icom works with a private bus operator to offer it.
And all this without having to go through any form of permit approval from the Public Transport Council (PTC) since it is considered a privately arranged contract bus service.
Started by Mr Lim Chun Yong, 31, an environmental engineering PhD student at Nanyang Technological University and currently Icom’s director for business development, the site has already seen about 300 commuters signed up. Together with his brother Lawrence, they have tied up with private bus operator Sunny Lim, 47, to run a route between Yew Tee and Biopolis in the morning, with passengers paying a monthly fee of $70 to get to work.
Not bad considering that Icom tries its best to design the route such that no one needs to walk more than 100 metres to get to his pick-up point - an attractive offering that sets itself apart from the more than 70 premium bus services already in the market. And of course, there’s a seat guaranteed for everyone since a fixed group of commuters takes the bus daily.
For the effort, Icom will take a 5 to 10 percent cut of the fares, with the bus operator taking the rest. More routes are in the pipeline, such as to the underserved Changi Business Park. The company is also planning to work with more bus operators for future routes, which would be quite an achievement considering that just two years ago, the Lims had trouble getting even one of the ten bus operators they approached to run a Punggol – one-north route which had garnered enough potential commuters.
Icom’s efforts is definitely offering commuters with more choices and is in line with the government’s push to get the masses to utilise the expanding public transport network. The best thing about Icom has got to be its ability to carve out a niche for itself in Singapore’s tightly regulated public bus service market and in the process, showcasing to the two transport giants SMRT and SBS Transit that there are still lots of gaps to fill and a whole lot of work to be done in meeting the public’s constantly changing travel needs.
SBS Transit CityShopper services to be withdrawn July 25, 2009
Posted by hafizbam in Premium Bus, SBS Transit, Transport Events.Tags: Sengkang, Orchard Road, Suntec City, SBS Transit, Premium Bus, simei, City Shopper, withdrawal, tampines, punggol
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One of the earlier routes to go was service 576 from Tampines.
The inevitable is finally going to happen.
What started out as a set of eight premium bus services catering to HDB heartlanders going into the Orchard Road and Suntec City shopping districts, initially dwindled to just four, then three, and from next week, zero.
While the idea behind these routes was brilliant, what failed them was their very nature running as premium bus services. While the rides into town may be faster and more comfortable since seats are guaranteed, the fares (at $3.10 onwards) are simply too much for the typical HDB resident to part with. Especially so when the feeder bus-train combination is still very much cheaper even though slightly slower for some.
Should these routes be reclassified as basic-plus Express services, demand and patronage would definitely get an instant boost.
Services 578, 579 and 581 from Sengkang, Tampines/Simei and Punggol respectively, will be dong their final runs this Sunday 26 July 2009.
Quiet end for private premium bus services May 25, 2009
Posted by hafizbam in Premium Bus.Tags: Premium Bus, private bus operator
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As sudden as they had started, some premium bus services (PBS) run by a number of private bus operators had been discontinued owing to insufficient demand.
Examples include Tong Tar’s service 582 from Jurong East to NTU and Premier Rent-A-Car’s 568 from Orchard Road to Queenstown.
The trend does not come at a surprise, given that some operators have just been taking advantage of this PBS scheme to run normal trunk bus services – only at a much higher price. This, of course, fell out of favour with commuters, especially so given the availability of alternative modes of cheaper transport, as well as the level of comfort provided onboard the buses (small private operators tend to run older buses).
However, there are also routes that have turned out to be a success thanks to the ability of the private operators in serving certain areas with niche demand, with the most successful being routes running from less well-served private housing estates direct to town. Bus Hub for instance, operates two of such services – from Seletar and Yio Chu Kang – even offering monthly fare packages which are more value for money.
Regardless, activity in the premium bus market seemed to have cooled down in recent months, suggesting possible saturation by the many premium services already running the roads today.
