Public learn about service enhancements at Bukit Batok Interchange introduced by SMRT Buses

SMRT Buses has successfully wrapped up a two-day community outreach from Friday to Saturday (14 to 15 November 2014) which drew several thousand visitors to its display of buses and bus operations technology at Bukit Batok Interchange.

The event, titled “Journey with Us @ Bukit Batok Interchange” was the first in a series of SMRT Buses service enhancement programmes organised in collaboration with grassroots to strengthen community engagement and to promote professional career opportunities in the Bus industry.

SMRT Buses will leverage on the success of the recent event at Bukit Batok to roll out similar events at other locations across Singapore in the coming year.

This morning, SMRT launched a new bus service 990 which will serve commuters between Bukit Batok and Jurong East. Madam Halimah Yacob, Speaker of Parliament and Member of Parliament for Jurong GRC, graced the occasion as guest-of-honour this morning and took a bus ride to see firsthand the route taken by Service 990 which her grassroots leaders helped plan in partnership with SMRT and the Land Transport Authority.

Addressing residents at the event, Madam Halimah said: “SMRT Service 990 is the 32^nd service to be introduced under the Bus Service Enhancement Program. The bus route was designed based on the feedback from the residents, through the grassroots organisation and made possible through working in close collaboration with SMRT and LTA. With the introduction of this new SMRT bus service 990, the residents of Bukit Batok will be better connected to Jurong East, providing them easier access to popular malls like IMM, Westgate and JCube and the upcoming Ng Teng Fong General Hospital and the Jurong Community Hospital.”

She added: “SMRT Buses has taken the initiative to organize this meaningful Community Engagement and Career Fair in conjunction with the launch of bus service 990. This not only provides job opportunities to our residents, it also showcases the service enhancements initiatives at the Bukit Batok Interchange to better serve our residents.”

At the event, Bukit View and Bukit Batok Secondary Schools adopted Bukit Batok Interchange as part of the first “Adopt-an-Interchange” initiative. As part of this initiative, performing arts groups from both schools will bring some cheer and life to the interchange as they perform for the commuters throughout 2015. Other students will also serve the community as Service Ambassadors. They will demonstrate and guide commuters to the use of the new Interactive Panels.

Mr Tan Kian Heong, Vice President, SMRT Buses, said: “We are heartened by the warm response from Bukit Batok residents to the service improvements we are introducing at Bukit Batok Interchange which will provide commuters with useful information to enhance their traveling experience. The transformational effort by SMRT Buses will result in progressive introduction of more such service enhancements, not just in Bukit Batok but across the network served by SMRT Buses. We are excited at the slew of improvements in the pipeline that will drive service to a new level.”