To those who criticise the extension of Service 181 into Tengah:
The U-turn at the Pan Island Expressway (PIE) is honestly a minor issue when compared with other manoeuvres that bus drivers perform regularly, such as reversing out of an end-on berth. A U-turn simply requires a few full turns of the steering wheel, after which the bus is already travelling in the opposite direction.
The connection between Tengah and Jurong West (Gek Poh) is also likely to be only the first of several bus links between the two towns. In the future, there will almost certainly be additional connections from Tengah to areas such as Jurong West Avenue 1 and Boon Lay, and potentially even Taman Jurong and Nanyang.
Since Tengah already has bus links to Bukit Batok and Jurong East, it is only natural that it should also have direct connections to neighbouring towns such as Jurong West and Choa Chu Kang.
Personally, I believe that Service 181 could be extended even further once Tengah Boulevard is eventually connected to Choa Chu Kang. Even after the current extension, the route length of around 8 km in each direction remains relatively short for a trunk service. In theory, the route could be extended by as much as another 8 km. To put this into perspective, the distance from Tengah Bus Interchange to Choa Chu Kang Bus Interchange is roughly 3 km, while the distance from Boon Lay Bus Interchange to Joo Koon Bus Interchange is about 4 km.
For these reasons, I believe the criticism of the 181 extension into Tengah is unnecessary. There is nothing inherently problematic about the extension. In fact, it is likely that more bus routes linking Jurong West and Tengah will be introduced in the future, and Service 181 itself may still have room for further expansion beyond the current extension.
Why did the Poster say it will be on Trial for 6 months but it did not say on the timeline that it will be discontinued then re-introduced after the trial?
To those who criticise the extension of Service 181 into Tengah:
The U-turn at the Pan Island Expressway (PIE) is honestly a minor issue when compared with other manoeuvres that bus drivers perform regularly, such as reversing out of an end-on berth. A U-turn simply requires a few full turns of the steering wheel, after which the bus is already travelling in the opposite direction.
The connection between Tengah and Jurong West (Gek Poh) is also likely to be only the first of several bus links between the two towns. In the future, there will almost certainly be additional connections from Tengah to areas such as Jurong West Avenue 1 and Boon Lay, and potentially even Taman Jurong and Nanyang.
Since Tengah already has bus links to Bukit Batok and Jurong East, it is only natural that it should also have direct connections to neighbouring towns such as Jurong West and Choa Chu Kang.
Personally, I believe that Service 181 could be extended even further once Tengah Boulevard is eventually connected to Choa Chu Kang. Even after the current extension, the route length of around 8 km in each direction remains relatively short for a trunk service. In theory, the route could be extended by as much as another 8 km. To put this into perspective, the distance from Tengah Bus Interchange to Choa Chu Kang Bus Interchange is roughly 3 km, while the distance from Boon Lay Bus Interchange to Joo Koon Bus Interchange is about 4 km.
For these reasons, I believe the criticism of the 181 extension into Tengah is unnecessary. There is nothing inherently problematic about the extension. In fact, it is likely that more bus routes linking Jurong West and Tengah will be introduced in the future, and Service 181 itself may still have room for further expansion beyond the current extension.
I am very excited to ride the bus 181 into Tengah, because this would be SMRT’s first bus route in Tengah.
Why did the Poster say it will be on Trial for 6 months but it did not say on the timeline that it will be discontinued then re-introduced after the trial?