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SINGAPORE : The largest air-conditioned bus interchange in Singapore opened its doors to passengers on Sunday.
Spanning four football fields, the interchange is also the first Integrated Public Transport Hub to be located in the West.
It is all systems go at the new Boon Lay bus interchange, located along Jurong West Central 3.
Integrated with nearby retail mall Jurong Point, commuters can now shop, dine and hop on a bus, all under one roof.
It takes about three minutes to walk from the furthest bus berth to the nearby Boon Lay MRT station.
Many commuters have welcomed the change, after using a temporary bus interchange for more than three years.
One commuter said: "It is much better than the last one, because it is air-conditioned, and it looks much nicer."
Another commented: "The new interchange is very nice, very big and very comfortable because (it is) air-conditioned."
A third noted: "(It is) easy to find and comfortable."
Spanning some 20,000 square metres, the bus interchange is said to be Singapore's busiest, with 30 bus services operating from its berths, and more than 100,000 people are expected to use the interchange every day.
So the operator has taken steps to ensure human traffic flows smoothly.
Ang Wei Neng, vice-president, West District, SBS Transit, said: "We have been preparing for the past few months, so we have chosen the date to open on a Sunday and a school holiday so that the crowd is not so intense.
"(In preparation for) normal weekdays, especially on January 4 when school reopens, we have more people deployed these few days to give out brochures, telling the customers and passengers where to find the buses and the different berths."
Bus services 179,179a and 199, which have heavy passenger volumes, will still operate at the temporary interchange for now. The services will be moved to the new facility by the first quarter of next year.
The new Boon Lay bus interchange is similar to the first three air-conditioned bus interchanges in Toa Payoh, Sengkang and Ang Mo Kio. All are equipped with automatic sliding doors for the convenience and safety of passengers.
Separately, the Land Transport Authority said six more Integrated Public Transport Hubs will be built over the next 10 years, with those at Serangoon and Clementi expected to be completed in 2011. - CNA/ms
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