Traffic. Jams. Suck.
In fact, the scenario of being jam-packed on public transport while traffic slows is pretty much an everyday thing.
But apparently in Yishun, things got taken to a whole new level when buses could barely even get into the new bus interchange during morning and evening peak hours.
First murders, now major traffic problems?
Yishun, you’re driving a hard bargain if I should ever visit any friends living there.
Peanut Butter And Traffic Jams
On the morning of 9 September, buses had trouble entering the new Yishun Integrated Transport Hub (ITH) and were delayed for over 30 minutes.
The long jam formed around 8 am, forcing several commuters to alight early and walk to the interchange instead.
To break it down simply, the new Yishun Interchange has 2 entrances, but most of the buses reportedly entered the interchange through only 1 of the gates causing congestion.
What’s worse, the interchange only has four alighting berths and eight boarding berths. This means that only a limited number of buses can offload their goods at any time.
The bus operator said that around 14 buses were delayed that morning, a number that naturally didn’t get better by the evening.
According to an article, a queue of 15 buses formed coming from Sembawang, while another queue of 10 came from Khatib’s direction.
Definitely a pretty bad look for the new interchange.
Responses From People
Of course, when something like this happens, we Singaporeans have several things to say about it.
Manufacturing supervisor Kelvin Chew, 45, told The Straits Times that he had never experienced a traffic jam along the road before.
“The buses waiting to turn right into the interchange couldn’t do so even though the traffic light was green, as the interchange was already full of buses.”
He also mentioned that since many of the buses were trying to switch lanes to get into the interchange, the zig-zag of traffic across the road made the jams worse.
Press F for not only the commuters but the drivers.
Associate Professor Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, an MP for Nee Soon GRC, had received multiple reports on the traffic situation from residents and grassroots leaders.
He has urged the Land Transport Authority (LTA) along with SMRT to look into the issue as soon as possible.
Professor Faishal also feels that the bus drivers also need time to familiarise themselves with the new layout.
LTA Responds
It’s reassuring that we at least got a quick response from them.
A spokesman from LTA mentioned that they were already working with bus operators to ensure smoother movements.
SMRT Roads president Tan Kian Heong said they are working closely with LTA to curb future problems.
The ITH has been chosen to remain open during school holidays when passenger counts are lower and traffic is lighter.
This is to help minimise inconvenience to commuters, with further measures to be taken if necessary.
It kind of blows that something that was supposed to help commuters ended up being a hindrance.
At the very least, this happens early enough that a situation can be found and implemented.
Here’s a simplified summary of the South Korea martial law that even a 5-year-old would understand:
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