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SINGAPORE - A free shuttle bus service for residents in Marine Parade GRC, MacPherson and Mountbatten costs about $1 million a year to operate, with the South East Community Development Council (CDC) providing 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, Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth Alvin Tan told Parliament on Aug 7. “Essentially, the Government matches donations raised by the CDCs with grants, which the CDCs can use to support ground-up initiatives,” Mr Tan said in response to questions from opposition MPs about the cost of the shuttle service and how it is being funded. The total cost of works out to about $150,000 per division for each route. The South East CDC grant amounts to about $2,400 per division each month, he added. The five CDCs here were established in 1997 under the People’s Association Act, which comes under the purview of the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth. Mr Tan said the seven shuttle bus routes in the Marine Parade cluster are operated by seven buses that ply the roads during non-peak hours from 10am to 4pm on weekdays, excluding public holidays. To date, more than 10,000 Marine Parade cluster residents have registered for the shuttle, with more than 40 per cent of them being seniors aged 65 and above. Over the past three weeks, about 1,000 residents have taken the shuttle service each week. Mr Tan said it is too early to assess if the service is effective. Beyond utilisation, the financial sustainability of the shuttle is a critical factor, he added. “As the CDC grant was provided on a once-off basis, the Marine Parade town cluster grassroots organisations will have to eventually raise funds to cover the entire cost of operations, or refine its financing model for greater sustainability,” said Mr Tan. Progress Singapore Party Non-Constituency MPs Hazel Poa and Leong Mun Wai had asked whether funding could be made available to other constituencies, and if resources could be provided to launch free shuttle services in other areas. Mr Tan said: “Many previous attempts at trying out local shuttle services have been discontinued because of low utilisation or financial challenges. Hence, there are still many aspects of the service to validate and refine through the pilot. “The other CDCs will study the experiences and findings from this pilot first, before considering starting similar initiatives.” Explaining how the MPs for the Marine Parade cluster had decided on the need for such a service, Mr Tan said several factors were considered. He said these constituencies have a high proportion of residents who are seniors, and a significant part of the Marine Parade cluster comprises older estates with narrow roads, making it difficult for large public buses to serve these areas. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) was consulted to ensure the shuttle service would not affect public bus operations when using bus stops, he said. Mr Tan added that while LTA and the Transport Ministry plan public transport services, this does not preclude localised efforts, such as private shuttles by condominiums, to address specific needs. Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh noted the unhappiness caused by bus rationalisation exercises in recent years, including the decision to withdraw bus service 167, which was later reversed. In contrast, the new shuttle bus service was announced about a week after seven MRT stations opened along the eastern stretch of the Thomson-East Coast Line, he noted. “Does the Minister of State not agree that the introduction of the Marine Parade cluster bus service will make it far more challenging for the Government to undertake future bus service rationalisation exercises?” the Workers’ Party (WP) chief asked. Mr Singh also wondered if the Marine Parade shuttle service opens the door for LTA to introduce similar services elsewhere through the public transport system. “If not, what does the launch of the Marine Parade cluster bus service say about the Government’s approach to equity and fairness in the use of taxpayer-funded grants?” he asked. In response, Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said the Marine Parade shuttle is a community initiative that is separate from the public transport network. Mr Chee said the suggestion of using shuttle buses for public transport “does not fit well”, as drivers would still need to be hired and passenger capacity may be insufficient He also said the rationalisation of bus routes running parallel to MRT lines will continue, and these savings can then be used to fund new public bus services. But doing this alone would be inadequate “because we have more demand than what we can rationalise”, noted Mr Chee. This was why the authorities announced a on July 30. Separately, WP MP Gerald Giam (Aljunied GRC) asked why the MPs for the Marine Parade cluster are fronting the free shuttle, noting that their caricatures are on one side of the buses. Replying, Mr Tan said the caricatures and drawings of Marine Parade landmarks are meant to make it easier for residents to identify the buses. At the end of the 90 minutes allotted for question time, Mr Singh rose to ask for an extension of 15 to 20 minutes for more questions on the issue to be aired. Deputy Speaker of Parliament Christopher de Souza turned down the request, noting that the House had already exceeded question time by five minutes.