Bus interchange upgrading

[deskoh91]

Originally Posted by y2koh

Joo Koon - Temporary Bus Terminus under development - Status?

site plans and layouts of the parking areas for Joo Koon Terminal was available with its tender back then. it was envisaged to open with the MRT station. no development was seen since then. coincidentally I was at Joo Koon yesterday just to while a little time away and noticed no signs of work.

right now, Boon Lay Interchange is overwhelmed by the amount of services (31) operating from it and parking issues are a daily affair. in fact, services 179 and 199 did not move in until half a year later. timetables were planned to avoid meal breaks at the interchange wherever possible. as much as LTA's policy is to offer 2 parking lots per service, nearly all our airconditioned PT hubs have excess lots to cater to the occassional overflow except Boon Lay. these are telltale signs that the new Boon Lay Interchange was never meant to operate at capacity until Joo Koon Terminal was shelved.

Originally Posted by mrtfreak

Thanks Selo. Marina South and Joo Koon seem to stick out like sore thumbs to me. That must be several years down I suppose, when they will become integrated hubs. Can't see Joo Koon having the demand to be a hub except during peak hours.

there is a fenced off rectangularish piece of land right beside the station. I believe LTA have shelved the plans for a temporary terminal after seeing the >$100 million bids, opting to develop the integrated hub directly with the development.

Joo Koon is likely to be the future hub serving the Jurong and Tuas Industrial districts. if Joo Koon Terminal was built according to plans, various industrial services would have shifted out of Boon Lay and gave Joo Koon some critical mass. at its current state, Joo Koon MRT dont see any sort of congestion even during peak hours.

its a good question why they are not tendering the site yet though. perhaps they are thinking of a good plan for that complex that will shift the migrant workers' traffic towards Joo Koon.

[y2koh]

In urban and transport planning viewpoint, it may be good to develop some sort of a transport hub with commercial complex at Joo Koon, together with some dormitories surrounding it. Policy planning wise, the government will try to avoid that, as it can potentially become a closed foreign worker community avoided by locals. More issues that foreign workers are not integrating well with the community will surface, and lack of interaction may also create less understanding between the communities, causing locals to stigmatize the foreign worker community and the area even more.

[Mith252]

Hmm, it is possible that the Joo Koon integrated hub may only happen in a few years time during the construction of the Tuas West extension.

[ddes]

With the Tuas Extension, why is an integrated transport hub at Joo Koon even necessary?

[mdzulkar9]

Originally Posted by ddes

With the Tuas Extension, why is an integrated transport hub at Joo Koon even necessary?

i think Joo Koon is a township within itself, with people working there etc.

but i still think the catchment for MRT there is tres horriblé.

[deskoh91]

while its bad to "segregate" foreign workers who take up jobs locals shun, its already happening right now even though all services currently share Boon Lay Interchange.

Joo Koon is better positioned to serve both the Jurong and Tuas Industrial Estates (no they are not nearly the same) since its closer to the middle of both. its good to branch out in all directions instead of from one end of it. whats more there is an empty piece of land to make it all happen.

even with the Tuas West Extension, the industrial estates are still nowhere near very accessible. a network of industrial services (most likely buses) will have to support them.

and Joo Koon is more like one of the districts of the Jurong Industrial Estate. there are workers dormitories scattered around the Jurong Industrial Estate (not so much towards Tuas), notably the Kian Teck area.

[Mith252]

Hmm, just a thought, but do you think some of the long-distance coaches would move to Tuas Interchange or Joo Koon interchange once the extension is complete?

[y2koh]

I would say Tuas Link will be a better choice for long distance coaches. Most people will have to travel by MRT to the coach terminal anyway, whether it'll be Joo Koon or Tuas Link.

[Mith252]

Hmm, you're quite right. Maybe, the interchange in Joo Koon would be for the Tuas and Joo Koon area while the Tuas Link is for the long distance coaches. Just my opinion....

[lauper]

They have just cordoned off the area where the Jurong East Temporary Interchange would be. Guess construction will start soon.

[Mith252]

Thanks for the update and welcome to the forum.

[BeNdYBuSLuver]

Originally Posted by lauper

They have just cordoned off the area where the Jurong East Temporary Interchange would be. Guess construction will start soon.

Any idea where could the Temporary Interchange be? Maybe I shall check it out soon someday

And welcome to the forum

[lauper]

Thanks. The temporary JE interchange will be just beside the MRT station ie opposite JE Cube.

[Mith252]

Oh, thanks for the info.

Anyway, does anyone know when Serangoon or Clementi bus interchange are opening?

[mrtfreak]

Not too sure about either. But Clementi's might be awhile more to go. Don't see any of those bus interchange name signs up as compared to Serangoon.

[aforl]

What about Tampines? With the DTL interchanging there in 6 years time, will there be a upgrading of the bus interchange in time to integrate with both MRT Lines better, with possible paid and unpaid links of the MRT Lines?

[Mith252]

So far, it seems unlikely since it wasn't highlighted by the Transport Minister for the integrated model.

[BeNdYBuSLuver]

Originally Posted by mrtfreak

Not too sure about either. But Clementi's might be awhile more to go. Don't see any of those bus interchange name signs up as compared to Serangoon.

Serangoon seems to be ready, maybe by next quarter...

As for clementi, well, i've no idea where's the exact entrance area to the interchange, is it inside Clementi Mall?

[mrtfreak]

For passengers to get to the bus interchange, the entrance is from Clementi mall, near the optical shop. Its also next to the escalators linking levels 1 and 3. For buses to access the interchange, the layout follows closely the old interchange with the entrance near to the junction between Avenue 3 and Commonwealth Avenue West. The exit for buses is opposite the Clementi schools.

I'm pretty sure Serangoon is ready for action. Will be nice to have the interchange out of that dingy carpark area into air-conditioned comfort. I wonder if that particular interchange will be the "deepest" being at B2 which trumps even Woodlands' B1 level.

[deskoh91]

agreed Clementi still has a little more to go. saw workers trying to put up the glass doors. think mrtfreak has pointed out the entrances to the interchange, an adjacent entrance is also built between the main entrance to the mall and McDonalds and is currently fenced up.