The free service will ply the roads from 10am to 4pm on weekdays, excluding public holidays
Starting July 8, residents in Marine Parade cluster – Marine Parade, MacPherson and Mountbatten – will have free shuttle bus service during off-peak hours to take them to essential amenities in the area.
The free bus service, which was launched on June 30, will be available from 10am to 4pm on weekdays (excluding public holidays) during the one-year pilot. Each of the seven wards in the constituencies will be served by one shuttle bus, which can seat 22 passengers and will arrive at intervals of about one hour – the time it takes for the buses to complete their route. The bus service is designed to enhance accessibility and connectivity for residents, especially the elderly, giving them direct access to essential amenities such as polyclinics, markets, hawker centres, MRT stations and heartland businesses.
"The Marine Parade cluster, like the rest of Singapore, has an ageing population," said Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong, who is also MP for the Joo Chiat ward of Marine Parade GRC. "While the overall connectivity to the island is efficient, some residents found it harder to close the distance to the key amenities. Hence, we planned the routes with convenience for these residents in mind."
Marine Parade shuttle bus service costs about $1m a year to run, funded largely by donations
A free shuttle bus service for residents in Marine Parade GRC, MacPherson and Mountbatten costs about $1 million a year to operate, with the South East Community Development Council (CDC) providing a one-off $200,000 seed grant to support the pilot scheme. The remaining 80 per cent or so comes from donations raised by the CDC, and by the respective grassroots organisations, Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth Alvin Tan told Parliament on Aug 7.
“Essentially, the Government matches donations raised by the CDCs with grants, which the CDCs can use to support ground-up initiatives,” Mr Tan said in response to questions from opposition MPs about the cost of the shuttle service and how it is being funded. The total cost of the one-year shuttle bus trial, which started on July 8, works out to about $150,000 per division for each route. The South East CDC grant amounts to about $2,400 per division each month, he added. The five CDCs here were established in 1997 under the People’s Association Act, which comes under the purview of the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth. Mr Tan said the seven shuttle bus routes in the Marine Parade cluster are operated by seven buses that ply the roads during non-peak hours from 10am to 4pm on weekdays, excluding public holidays.
To date, more than 10,000 Marine Parade cluster residents have registered for the shuttle, with more than 40 per cent of them being seniors aged 65 and above. Over the past three weeks, about 1,000 residents have taken the shuttle service each week. Mr Tan said it is too early to assess if the service is effective. Beyond utilisation, the financial sustainability of the shuttle is a critical factor, he added. “As the CDC grant was provided on a once-off basis, the Marine Parade town cluster grassroots organisations will have to eventually raise funds to cover the entire cost of operations, or refine its financing model for greater sustainability,” said Mr Tan.
Residents in Marine Parade GRC, Mountbatten, MacPherson to get free shuttle bus service
Good news for residents living in Marine Parade GRC, MacPherson and Mountbatten! Starting next week (8 July), a free shuttle bus service will ply seven routes within these areas, linking up popular community nodes such as polyclinics, hawker centres and MRT stations. The shuttle bus service is a welcomed addition towards addressing the first and last-mile problem for many.
And as a dedicated service for Marine Parade cluster residents, these bus rides provide another common space to make meaningful connections and build new friendships. Naturally, MPs for Marine Parade GRC, MacPherson SMC and Mountbatten SMC have been thrilled to share the news with their residents. The launch of the shuttle buses has been an effort of love, driven by a desire from our MPs to make their constituency a little more accessible to an increasingly ageing population. “The stops were carefully planned and selected to provide more seamless connectivity,” said MP Tin Pei Ling (MacPherson SMC).
This pilot initiative would not have been possible if not for the confluence of two things. Engaged citizens who provided feedback and a Party with its ear on the ground, ready to make things happen. “I have gathered from chit-chat sessions with residents some of the challenges they face in reaching essential services like polyclinics, markets and the food centre. We recognise the need to bring convenience to you, and hence, this new shuttle bus service will do exactly that,” said Dr Tan See Leng, Minister for Manpower, Second Minister for Trade and Industry and MP for Marine Parade GRC.
Tin Pei Ling 陈佩玲 30 June at 04:12
Introducing the new & free shuttle bus service that will make accessing the CC, Polyclinic and other amenities easier for MacPherson and Marine Parade cluster residents!
Watch to find out more! Start registering today
“Who’s paying for the services?” — WP’s Yee Jenn Jong raises questions about free shuttle service at Marine Parade
Former Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Yee Jenn Jong asked questions about a new initiative at Marine Parade cluster, the free shuttle bus service for residents starting next Monday (July 8). The initiative talked about in videos posted online by Marine Parade GRC MPs Tan See Leng, Edwin Tong, and Seah Kian Peng, as well as MacPherson SMC MP Tin Pei Ling, is said to be a response to feedback from residents and is aimed at helping them get to venues such as polyclinics and grocery stores easier, especially perhaps for senior citizens.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday (July 2), Mr Yee, who belongs to the opposition Workers’ Party, called the initiative “interesting” but wondered what it would mean for Singapore’s public transport and transport funding policies. “Singaporeans have often been told there is NO free lunch. Someone pays. Who is paying for the services? PA and CDC? Or the MPs (whose images are on the buses),” Furthermore, Mr Yee addressed the issue of gaps in connectivity, which has been mentioned as the rationale for the initiative. If there are such gaps, he asked if solutions should not come under the funding for public transport.
The same need to bridge connectivity gaps exists in other areas in Singapore, as the ex-NCMP pointed out, asking whether a similar push would also be made at Limbang, Ang Mo Kio, or other neighbourhoods. Mr Yee also asked that if the initiative is indeed under the purview of the People’s Association (PA) and the Community Development Council (CDC), “are they in the best position to sustain the operations, even if they had tendered out to a private bus company to run”? He pointed out that “There is no economics of scale compared to that of public transport companies,” with drivers who sometimes get sick and buses needing maintenance. “Why restrict to only Marine Parade residents for free usage, if indeed it is paid from the national funds? Do the PA and CDC need more manpower for their own internal operations for this? Good as the intent may be, is it sustainable?”
