Bus arrival time predictions unavailable as LTA resets system to fix inaccurate timings

SINGAPORE – The expected time of arrival system for buses underwent a reset from 8pm on Jan 21, following inaccurate bus timings and long wait times being displayed to commuters, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA).

As a result, bus arrival time predictions will not be available during the reboot, regardless of whether these are viewed at a bus stop display or through an application. The authority added that it will provide an update when the system is operational again.

The system will still be unavailable on the morning of Jan 22, The Straits Times understands.

The problems were due to a technical issue, LTA said in a statement, adding that an intermittent transmission problem with the on-board systems on some buses resulted in missing bus arrival predictions for a “small proportion of buses”.

It added that bus operations are not affected, and all services will continue to operate at their usual frequencies, even when the system is being rebooted.

The system generates estimates of when buses will arrive at each stop, based on information relayed by equipment on board buses.

These estimates are disseminated on various platforms, such as electronic passenger information displays at bus stops and interchanges, the MyTransport.SG app, and other third-party applications through LTA DataMall.

Commuters can access the SimplyGo website or visit the respective public transport operators’ websites for information on the planned frequencies of bus services.

LTA first detected the issue on Jan 10. More inaccuracies were detected over the course of the week, it added.

One affected passenger was Mr Jerald Tan, who ended up being 20 minutes late for work on the morning of Jan 21. The 28-year-old, who works in finance, said his bus timing app informed him that his bus to work would arrive in 12 minutes.

But after walking to the bus stop located about five minutes from his home in Ang Mo Kio, the display board showed the bus was 15 minutes away.

Another bus, meanwhile, was estimated to arrive in eight minutes but came about a minute later, said Mr Tan.

A 25-year-old commuter, who wanted to be known only as Ms Syafiqah, was also affected.

The executive left her home in Pasir Ris on the evening of Jan 20 for a dinner appointment, but saw on her bus timing app that the next bus would arrive in about 30 minutes.

Unaware of the glitches at the time, she decided to use a bicycle from HelloRide – a bike-sharing firm – to get to the MRT station.

She thought that if she had waited for the bus, she would not have made it to her appointment in time.

The inaccurate timings did not disappoint Ms Alissa Lean, however.

The 25-year-old said her bus to work had been due to arrive in five minutes, with her app showing that it was a single-decker.

The same bus service – albeit a double-decker – arrived in two minutes, which was a pleasant surprise, said the analyst.

LTA apologised for the inconvenience the technical issue caused, adding that its engineers and the system contractors are working with bus operators to resolve it.

At about 5pm on Jan 21, checks by ST using LTA’s MyTransport.SG app showed that the inaccurate bus timings did not affect every service at a particular bus stop.

For example, at the stop opposite Block 1004 in Braddell Road, the estimated arrival times for all bus services except 93 matched those listed on the respective operators’ websites.

Service 93 was shown on the app as arriving in nearly 40 minutes, but the website listed arrival times of between 11 and 15 minutes.

Subsequent bus timings were unavailable.

ST has contacted LTA for more information on the affected bus services, and whether the problem was localised to certain parts of Singapore.