1. From 5 March 2010, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will extend the Mandatory Give Way to Buses Scheme to three bus bays along Upper Thomson Road. With this extension, the scheme will now be implemented at 44 bus-bays island wide.

2. Extending the Mandatory Give Way to Buses Scheme to more locations is in line with the Land Transport Master Plan's objectives to speed up bus travel. As buses are more efficient carriers, with a higher number of passengers per unit road space compared to other vehicles, it is necessary to give priority to buses so that more commuters can reach their destinations on time.

3. Results from our pilot scheme conducted earlier at 22 bus stops also showed that the scheme is effective in reducing the amount of time buses spend trying to exit from bus bays. This in turn has improved overall bus speeds. Buses are now able to exit the bus bays faster with a time reduction of up to 73% in some cases. Bus journey times have also improved by up to 7%.

4. The LTA will continue to review and identify more suitable locations so that the scheme can be extended to more locations to benefit more commuters.

5. Prior to implementation, signs will be put up along affected locations to remind motorists they need to give way to buses exiting bus bays.

How the Scheme Works

6. The Mandatory Give Way to Buses Scheme is similar conceptually to a zebra crossing, except that it is meant for buses.

7. When nearing a bus stop under this scheme, motorists will first see triangular give way markings on the road. These markings indicate that motorists approaching these bus stops need to slow down and watch in case buses are pulling out of the bus bay. Motorists come to a complete stop before the give way line and give way to buses exiting the bus bay at the location. Motorists may continue their journey once the bus has successfully exited the bus bay and no other buses are pulling out from the bus bay.

8. It will be a traffic offence if motorists do not give way to buses exiting from bus bays where the new road markings are drawn or if they stay in the yellow box marked 'Give Way to Buses'

9. The Mandatory Give Way to Buses Scheme is among several LTA initiatives to improve the speed and reliability of bus services under the Land Transport Master Plan announced in 2008. In December 2008, LTA completed the expansion of the bus lane scheme, increasing the coverage of full day bus lanes from 7.6km to 23km and normal bus lanes from 120km to 155km.

10. Please refer to Annex A for the locations of the new bus bays.