Written Reply by Minister for Transport S Iswaran to Parliamentary Question on Plans To Improve Commuters' Satisfaction with Bus and MRT services

Mr Yip Hong Weng asked the Minister for Transport in view of the dip in satisfaction with public transport services last year compared to 2020, what are the plans by the Ministry to improve commuters’ satisfaction with bus and MRT services.

Reply by Minister for Transport S Iswaran:

1.     We are committed to providing safe, reliable and accessible public transport services. That is why we closely track a range of indicators to benchmark thequality of our public transport services.

2.     To give us a broader sense of commuter satisfaction trends, we look at a range of annual surveys conducted by various organisations. In that regard, while the Public Transport Customer Satisfaction Survey (PTCSS) indicated a decrease in satisfaction levels, the Singapore Management University's Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore for the Land Transport sector found that satisfaction with public transport in 2021 held steady compared to 2020. It is also noteworthy that in the PTCSS that showed a decrease, more than nine out of every 10 respondents were satisfied with our public transport system. Nevertheless, we take every survey result seriously, and study them to identify areas for improvement.

3.     In the case of the PTCSS, the survey coincided with the period of the Delta wave when bus service frequencies had to be adjusted due to a spike in COVID-19 cases within the community that affected our bus captain workforce. We recognise that these service adjustments may have caused inconveniences to commuters, but they were part of our ongoing work with public transport operators to refine and strengthen their contingency plans.

4.     Apart from customer satisfaction surveys, we also track performance indicators such as the Mean Kilometres Between Failure (MKBF) which is a key indicator of rail reliability. In this regard, we have continued to maintain world-class rail services, with our MRT system sustaining a MKBF above one million train kilometres since 2019.

5.     Ultimately, a first-class public transport system depends on the quality and commitment of our public transport workers, and protecting their welfare is a key priority. Hence, even at the height of the disruption to bus services during the Delta wave, we wanted to ensure that our bus captains had sufficient time for rest even if it meant longer waiting times for commuters. As the manpower manning situation improved, we also prioritised our bus captains for their booster shots while progressively restoring headways for bus services.

6.     Last, but not least, commuters can look forward to even more convenient and accessible public transport journeys in the coming decade as we significantly expand our rail network from 245 kilometres (km) today to 360 km in 2030. The progressive opening of the remaining stages of the Thomson-East Coast Line, Circle Line Stage 6, as well as the new Jurong Region Line and Cross Island Line, will shorten commuting times and bring us closer to achieving our goal of a resilient, inclusive and sustainable land transport system.