New Punggol Coast bus interchange to open on Jun 29

SINGAPORE: The new Punggol Coast bus interchange, which is linked to the nearby MRT station and mall, is set to open on Jun 29, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on Tuesday (May 20).

The bus interchange, which will be operated by Go-Ahead Singapore, is located within Punggol Digital District.

The Punggol Coast MRT station started operations on Dec 10 last year, while the mall opened in March this year.

Bus services 34 and 117/M will be moved from the current Punggol bus interchange to this new interchange, with their routes extended to serve more Punggol residents, LTA said.

Service 34 will be extended to serve Punggol Central, Sumang Walk, Sumang Link and Punggol Way, while service 117/M will be extended to serve Punggol Place, Sentul Crescent and Sentul Walk.

“These extensions will improve connectivity within Punggol and provide residents with direct inter-town connectivity to destinations such as Changi Airport, Tampines and Yishun,” LTA said.

“New routes and further enhancements to bus services will be implemented progressively in tandem with the completion of new developments in Punggol.”

The Punggol Coast bus interchange will have commuter-friendly features such as a baby care room for parents, barrier-free access at all entrances and dedicated priority queue zones with seating at all boarding berths, LTA said.

There will also be a "commuter care room" for those who may require a "quiet and calming space".

There will also be dedicated facilities for staff, such as a canteen, staff toilets and a staff lounge.

MORE THAN 3,000 JOBS TO BE ADDED

Speaking to the media at Punggol Coast Bus Interchange on Tuesday, Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said more than 3,000 jobs will be added to the public transport industry’s rail and bus sectors over the next few years.

There will be about 2,000 job openings for the rail sector, and more than 1,000 for bus services.

“For rail, for example, you need rail technicians and engineers, but we also need people who are specialising in data analytics, cyber security and other areas,” Mr Chee said.

“Same for buses. We need bus captains, but we also need more bus technicians, engineers. And in particular, because we are going to shift towards more electric buses, so we also need to have more of our workforce able to support a larger proportion of our bus fleet being electrified.”

Mr Chee said that while the ministry is looking for new applicants and fresh graduates, it also welcomes mid-career entrants to apply for these upcoming jobs.

“There are also different incentives that we want our existing public transport workers to help us to recommend their friends who are interested to join us.”

“It’s (a) very meaningful area of work, and we hope that with this expansion in our rail and also bus services, more Singaporeans will be able to join us as public transport workers,” Mr Chee added.

Mr Chee was joined by MPs from Punggol Group Representation Constituency (GRC) - Senior Minister of State for Health and Digital Development and Information Janil Puthucheary, Minister of State for Home Affairs and Social and Family Development Sun Xueling, and Ms Yeo Wan Ling. 

When asked how a new workforce will be trained to operate electric buses, Mr Chee said the ministry has been partnering with institutes of higher learning to equip students with new skills and the requirements needed.

“But for some of the mid-career entrants and people who may have missed some of these courses while they were studying in school, there are programmes under our continuing education and training, skills future, to be able to support them, to acquire the skills needed to service and to maintain a bus fleet," he said, adding there will be "increasingly more and more of them with electric buses".