Partnerships ensure operating standards

The bus network in Singapore aims to provide commuters a safe, reliable, convenient and comfortable service. This is made possible for 6,000 public buses by adopting high maintenance standards under a regulated and collaborative model.

Volvo Buses, which has supplied about 2,000 buses to the city, geared itself to meet the high operating standards of the Land Transport Authority. Uptime, which is key to operations, is ensured through Volvo’s service partner ComfortDelGro Engineering (CDGE), since July 2000.

CDGE has assembled about 1,800 bus bodies for Volvo, while SBS Transit, also part of ComfortDelGro’s group operates buses of Volvo as well as other makes. CDGE uses a predictive protocol to prevent bus breakdowns. The legally mandated life of a bus in Singapore is 17 years.

There is a periodic upgrade of buses, and a life cycle curve tracks a vehicle’s progress.

CDGE services include warranty repair support, accident repair, parts sales and component re-manufacturing for all four bus companies in Singapore, the CDGE Chief Executive Officer Ang Soo Hock said.

In Singapore, a Bus Contracting Model (BCM) was first introduced in 2014 by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to be more responsive to changes in ridership patterns and commuter needs. LTA owns all public buses and related infrastructure and retains fare revenues, while operators are paid to serve bus routes. Commercial vehicles in public transport go through two inspections a year and customer satisfaction is assessed through official surveys.

SMRT, another of Singapore’s four public transport operators, highlights reliability as being key to its service standards. “SMRT is committed to deliver a positive experience to commuters — one that is safe, reliable and comfortable,’ said Tan Kian Heong, President, SMRT Roads.

Reliability is measured by Excess Wait Time which is the commuter’s waiting time. The service is reliable if the bus arrivals at each stop become more regular and more evenly spaced, with less bunching.

As part of a planned transition, Mr. Tan Kian Heong said, “we will need to replace operator-owned buses that have reached end of life with new government-owned buses. As route packages get awarded, some of the buses operated by us may be transferred to other operators and vice-versa.”

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