Controversial Marine Parade shuttle bus to cease operations in November after 16 months

The free shuttle bus service for residents of Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC and Mountbatten will cease operations after its current contract ends on Nov 20.

Announcing this in a Facebook post on Oct 13, the Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC and Mountbatten SMC said they decided not to extend the current contract beyond Nov 20 and will "redirect the resources in a more targeted manner".

This means the service, which began in July 2024 to improve transport connectivity for residents, will cease after about 16 months of operations.

The WeCare Shuttle Service plies seven routes for the residents of Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC's five wards - Marine Parade, Kembangan, Geylang Serai, Braddell Heights and MacPherson - and Mountbatten SMC during off-peak hours from 10am to 4pm on weekdays, excluding public holidays.

The service makes stops at markets, food centres and polyclinics, with routes planned based on residents' feedback.

The move to discontinue the shuttle comes after considering feedback received, as well as "other factors" in their latest review, said both constituencies.

They added: "We are mindful of how this may affect residents who are currently using the service. As such, we will soon be engaging affected residents and also share more about our next steps going forward."

Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC MP Tin Pei Ling told The Straits Times on Oct 13 that uneven ridership was observed across all six divisions, with some experiencing "pretty low ridership", while others recorded higher uptake.

From August to early October, around 1,500 residents used the shuttle.

Some of the feedback that the group received highlighted certain groups that needed more support, said Ms Tin. The constituencies, she said, had to make a very difficult decision to stop the service, so as to maximise the benefits that residents could get from the limited resources available.

She said they would be redirecting the resources to introduce a transport service that is "more targeted in scope". More details will be made known when ready, she added.

Ms Tin said that from Oct 14 to 17, volunteers will be on the ground - at bus stops and on the buses - to inform affected residents that the shuttle will stop operations in November.

Noting that there were some residents who found the service useful for last-mile connections between places in their community and their homes at off-peak hours, the Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC and Mountbatten SMC said they have been observing ridership patterns, while regularly soliciting feedback from residents. They include residents who enjoy using the service and those who have not tried it.

Within the first few weeks of the service's launch, about 1,000 residents were reported to have taken the shuttle service each week.

In July and August 2024, ST's checks found that many shuttle buses operating in the morning were fairly empty, with some running with only three passengers. Others had no passengers aboard.

More passengers were seen on certain routes in the afternoon.

In January, some routes were adjusted, and stops added.

In April, Manpower Minister and then Marine Parade GRC MP Tan See Leng said a few of the routes were being utilised by residents on a very regular basis.

Dr Tan, who became an MP for Chua Chu Kang GRC after the General Election in May, added that they had found them helpful in getting to polyclinics, wet markets and hawker centres, as well as town council and Housing Board offices.

The shuttle bus service costs about $1 million a year to operate, with the South East Community Development Council (CDC) having provided a one-off $200,000 seed grant to support the pilot scheme.

The remaining 80 per cent or so comes from donations raised by the CDC, and by the respective grassroots organisations, then Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth Alvin Tan told Parliament in August 2024.

Opposition MPs had questioned in Parliament the Government's approach to equity and fairness in the use of taxpayer-funded grants to run the service.

They had also asked why the MPs for the Marine Parade cluster were fronting the free shuttle, with their caricatures on one side of the buses.

Mr Tan had said featuring people and landmarks on the buses that are familiar to residents would help with identifying the vehicles. In addition to the drawings of the MPs' faces, the shuttle buses also bear images of landmarks in the area, such as the Wisma Geylang Serai community hub.