LTA takes U-turn on ending bus service 167

Service to run at 30-minute intervals from Dec I7 after petition by over 760 people

- Kok Yufeng

SINGAPORE - From Dec 17, bus service 167, which plies a route between Sembawang and Bukit Merah via Upper Thomson and the Orchard area, will operate at 30-minute intervals, after the Land Transport Authority (LTA) reversed its decision to stop the service.

This came after objections from commuters who bemoaned the loss of a direct bus route connecting northern Singapore to the city and the inconvenience of having to make multiple transfers.

LTA said on Nov 28 it had decided to retain service 167 for now, citing the need to allow more time for commuters to adjust and try new routes.

The U-turn came less than two weeks after it said on Nov 17 that service 167 would cease from Dec 10 as part of a slew of changes to bus routes running parallel to segments of the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL).

LTA said then the changes were being made as ridership for some bus services, including 167, had fallen by 30 per cent to 40 per cent.

At the same time, average weekday ridership on the TEL climbed from 60,000 in October 2022 to 160,000 in February, then 177,000 in October.

Discontinuing 167 and making other adjustments to bus services were deemed the most optimal ways to reallocate finite resources, given the sustained reduction in demand and availability of other alternatives, LTA added.

It earlier reduced 167’s frequency when it observed lower demand after the opening of the third stage of the TEL in November 2022. At present, the bus service operates at a frequency of between 11 and 20 minutes.