SINGAPORE - Forty-one bus services has been improved between January and March 2013 under the on-going Bus Service Enhancement Programme (BSEP). Commuters can expect less crowding and better bus frequencies.

Three more new bus services will also be introduced by June this year to increase connectivity. So far, 93 bus services have been improved with 143 new buses added on the road.

In the second quarter of 2013, three new bus services will be introduced to improve connectivity in areas like Bukit Merah, Novena, Telok Blangah, Toa Payoh and Woodlands.

New buses have been added to 41 bus services with heavy ridership during the morning and evening peak periods in the first quarter of 2013. This adds 460 more weekly bus trips.

An example is SBS Transit Service 354, which runs at an improved frequency of six to eight minutes during the morning peak, and six to 10 minutes during the evening peak periods. The service previously ran at a frequency of 9 to 18 minutes during the morning peak, and 10 to 14 minutes during the evening peak.

Service 925 operated by SMRT Buses now runs at higher frequency of five to 13 minutes during the morning peak period and 8 to 12 minutes during the evening peak period, as compared to six to 14 minutes in the morning, and eight to 16 minutes in the evening previously.

Public transport operators (PTOs) have also improved 26 bus services by deploying higher capacity buses and/or adding more bus trips along sectors that the buses experience consistent heavy ridership. The two operators have added a total of 480 weekly trips during peak hours for these 26 services.

Under the BSEP, the Government will partner the bus operators to ramp up bus capacity and current bus service levels. The Govt willprovide funding for 550 buses to reduce crowding and improve bus frequencies of existing basic bus services, and run about 40 new bus routes, of which eight are parallel services. The bulk of BSEP enhancements are expected to be completed by end 2014. Together with the 250 buses that the PTOs will add to their fleet at their own cost, these 800 new buses will amount to a 20 per cent increase in bus fleet by 2016.