Speech by Minister for Transport Mr Jeffrey Siow on Enhanced Bus Connectivity at Tengah Mid-Autumn Festival

1.          Good evening, everybody. Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

a.          Happy to be here tonight to celebrate this festival with all our residents in Tengah.

b.          Thank Dr Choo Peiling for hosting this event.

c.          Every time I make a speech on the podium, you know I have some good news to share.

Supporting New Towns

2.          But before I get to the good news, let’s look back at the progress we have made in Tengah.

3.          One year ago, when Peiling and I started serving in Tengah, we had about 12,000 residents.

a.          Today, we have about 28,000 residents, more than double.

b.          More people are still moving in every day.

c.          In another two years, Tengah will have 57,000 residents – double again.

4.          We are a new town now, and as a new town, we know what the priorities are

a.          Compared to a year ago, there are many more facilities and amenities now – supermarkets, coffeeshops, neighbourhood shops and other things.

i.          Parc Point opened a few months ago

ii.          Tengah Polyclinic – best in Singapore because the waiting time is the shortest!

iii.          Every month in Tengah, there is something new happening.

b.          Many of you are young parents.

i.          In Tengah, we now have 11 preschools with infant care, and 4 more preschools coming.

ii.          Primary schools are also being built – Pioneer Primary, and soon Kranji Primary, and later on ACS Primary.

iii.          And we all know: Tengah has the best playgrounds in Singapore!

c.          Here in Tengah, we are very focused on families

i.          At the National Day Rally, Prime Minister Wong announced our SG Child Support Package

(1)          Lower preschool fees; we cut the preschool fees by more than half

(2)          More financial support, every year for each child from 1 to 16 years old.

(3)          Most importantly, for the mothers and fathers, more childcare leave!

ii.          When I go on house visits, residents tell me they are especially happy with this.

iii.          Our commitment is clear: if you choose to raise a family in Singapore, we will support you.

5.          All of you here are “pioneer residents” of Tengah. The first ever residents of Tengah Town. No one will be able to take that away from you.

a.          You will see Tengah grow, develop and mature.

b.          Your children will grow up here, and grow up well. They will form their memories here, many of them will be here carrying lanterns and will remember this for the rest of their lives.

6.          Of course, one key priority of a new town is transport.

a.          When we started in May last year, only 4 bus services were operating in Tengah.

b.          Today, we have 11 bus services – including new ones like:      

i.          City Direct Service 674, which directly connects to the CBD during peak hours.

ii.          Service 831, that brings residents to Parc Point, Tengah Polyclinic and Pioneer Primary

iii.          And Services 97 and 97e, going to Jurong East, Labrador Park and the city, cutting up to 10 minutes from each trip.

c.          Some of these services are peak hour only, as a start.

i.          The reason is because we started with a limited number of buses and drivers. I wanted to prioritise having more connections to more places first, instead of putting all the buses into one single full-day service.

ii.          If there is more demand for off-peak hours services, we will slowly expand these services to include off-peak services over time.

d.          Another reason is because Bukit Batok Road is the only trunk road.

i.          There is another road currently being built between Choa Chu Kang and Tengah.

ii.          When that road is ready, we will have a chance to reconfigure the bus network, and add more bus services without congesting the roads.

Improving Journeys Today

7.          The Government is investing close to $1 billion to enhance bus services across our island.

a.          Under the Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme, we have introduced 37 new or extended bus services nationwide, and enhanced another 76 existing services, by adding capacity, improving frequencies or expanding their coverage.

b.          These improvements have benefited more than 300,000 commuters every day.

c.          The Government is also funding higher starting salaries and sign-on bonuses for bus captains, so we can attract more Singaporeans, and continue to expand our bus networks.

8.          And we are doing more! I am happy to announce that we will introduce three new bus services under the next phase of the Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme.

a.          First, we are introducing a new Service 968 in Woodlands. This will support the opening of the RTS Link station to Johor Bahru, which will open soon.

b.          Second, we will introduce a new Service 873, which will connect Tengah to Bukit Gombak MRT, then on to Hillview, Hume, with a direct link to St Anthony’s Primary.

c.          Finally, and best of all, we will introduce a new Service 874, which will connect Tengah directly to Chua Chu Kang!

i.          Many residents have been asking for this service.

ii.          I understand because many of the residents have moved here from Chua Chu Kang. Your parents are still there; some of your children also go to school there.

iii.          Going back and forth means changing buses two or three times now. With 874, there will just be one bus! 

iv.          874 will pass through the Chua Chu Kang town centre, Concord Primary School, Bukit Panjang Government High, Chua Chu Kang Primary, Sunshine Place and of course, Brickland.

v.          My constituency straddles both Chua Chu Kang and Tengah, so I am really glad to bring you this new bus service. I hope LTA doesn’t forget to invite me to take the bus when it starts!

9.          Apart from new bus services, we will also enhance the existing City Direct Service 674 and Service 861. I know these are very popular services that residents here take; they are crowded in the mornings, so we will add more buses and trips, so you will have more frequent and less crowded rides.

10.          Can I ask the ladies and gentlemen to thank the Land Transport Authority and the bus operators for their support. 

Jurong Region Line

11.          I have one more piece of news.

a.          Earlier this year, I shared that the Jurong Region Line would be delayed.

i.          I know many of you are looking forward to the new MRT Line. So am I.

ii.          Because once you are on the MRT network, transportation is very quick, you can get to any part of Singapore.

iii.          But unfortunately, due to construction complexities, we have to delay the opening.

12.          Stage 1 of the Jurong Region Line will open in two years’ time – around the middle of 2028.

a.          So in the meantime, from second half of 2027, we will introduce what we will call JRL buses.

b.          JRL buses are shuttle buses that will broadly follow the route of the Jurong Region Line, taking you to key station locations.

i.          So commuters will enjoy the JRL’s connectivity, on the original timeline – first by bus, later by train when the JRL is up and running.

ii.          When these services start, they will be a game changer for transport connectivity for the West, and with the rest of Singapore.

iii.          Watch out for the details from LTA soon.

Conclusion

13.          I hope all of you are happy with our announcements today.

a.           Peiling and I, together with our grassroots leaders and volunteers are working very hard to bring improvements every day, every month, every year to Tengah.

b.         Tengah is a new town. It will take perhaps several years for everything to become like a mature town. But you have our word that we will do our best to make Tengah the best HDB estate in Singapore to live in.

14.          Thank you very much.