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SINGAPORE: Bus commuters can expect a smoother ride with the implementation of the Mandatory Give Way To Buses Scheme.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) says the pilot scheme will be rolled out along three roads from 20 December.
Under the new scheme, some 23 bus stops along Ang Mo Kio Ave 8, Bukit Batok East Ave 3 and Toh Tuck Road will be affected.
LTA said these roads are often congested and buses have a hard time exiting from the bus bays.
In a study conducted earlier, LTA said buses spent about 10 per cent of travelling time trying to get out of bus bays.
To reduce travelling time for passengers, LTA said the scheme has to be introduced.
Dr Chin Kian Keong, LTA's chief engineer of transportation, said: "I think we'd like to widen all roads if that's the case. Unfortunately, that's not the case in Singapore. There's a limited amount of road space and it's because of this reason, because there's a limit to road space, we need to make sure that more people get to their destination faster and the way to do it is to give way to buses which carry much more people than cars. With that in place, more people should be able to get to their destinations faster."
Under the pilot initiative, special yellow boxes and triangular "give way to buses" markings will be painted in front of selected bus stops along the three roads.
Signs will be installed ahead of these bus stops to indicate to motorists to slow down and give way to buses exiting the bus bays.
LTA said motorists who flout the rule will be fined S$130.
Most commuters 938LIVE spoke to, welcomed the new move.
"Maybe, (it can) help us to save time," said a commuter.
But some motorists said the new scheme is unnecessary.
"It's not really necessary because there is already a bus lane there. So when (it's) peak period, no private vehicles are able to go into that lane, so the bus will not have problem (getting out of the buy bay). Outside the peak period, there are not many vehicles around, so actually there's no need for the rules," said a motorist.
LTA said it will assess the scheme after a three-month trial before deciding whether or not to extend it to more locations.
- 938LIVE.
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