This Saturday, Serangoon will see a buzz of excitement, as its very own indoor bus interchange finally opens.
(The old Serangoon bus interchange in 2006. Image
courtesy of mailer_diablo.)
The new Serangoon bus interchange took some $18.8 million and two years to complete, and will see commuters making a seamless air-conditioned transition between bus and train rides. Currently, those transferring from the open-air bus interchange to Serangoon MRT have to take a five-minute walk along a partly unsheltered path. With this interchange, residents from neighbouring estates will also have a more comfortable commute to Serangoon MRT station, which connects the Circle and North-East train lines.
The new Serangoon interchange will house eight bus services in its span of 7,000 sq m. These services will enter and leave the new interchange via Serangoon Avenue 2.
It is also the fifth integrated transport hub constructed by the Land Transport Authority (LTA), preceded by the ones in Ang Mo Kio, Boon Lay, Sengkang and Toa Payoh. Three more such hubs – in Hougang Central, Yishun and Bukit Panjang – are slated to follow.
The Serangoon bus interchange flaunts new facilities that improve accessibility, including graduated kerb edges and dedicated boarding point for wheelchair-bound travellers. It will be located at Basement 2 of Nex Shopping Mall, which coincidentally also saw the construction of a new sheltered bridge linking it to nearby multi-storey carpark at Block 264 at Serangoon Avenue 3.
Speaking to The Straits Times, a spokesperson from LTA said, “The bus interchange will give commuters easy and direct access to the MRT station and Nex, and make it easier for them to run errands or grab a bite before continuing on their journeys.” Public transport operator SBS Transit added that besides benefiting public transport users, the interchange would also help ease traffic congestion plaguing Serangoon Central, where the current interchange is found.
Indeed, Serangoon resident and civil servant Jaffrey Lim expressed his hope that the new interchange will improve traffic conditions. The 30-year old said, “I have to be extremely careful whenever I drive through Serangoon Central to get home in the evening because there are many buses, taxis and other cars. Maybe the road will be less crowded when the new interchange opens.”
However, not everyone was as keen on the new developments. Laments housewife T. Soranam, 60, “The new interchange is more convenient because it lets people shop and then board the bus straightaway, but bus fares have also gone up.”
Meanwhile, LTA has revealed that the site on which the old interchange sits would go back to the Housing Development Board (HDB). HDB could not be reached for comments.
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Related Categories: Daily Property News and Updates, Serangoon, Non-Residential
Tags: Bus Interchange, Indoor Bus Interchange, Land Transport Authority, LTA, MRT, NEX, Serangoon, Serangoon Avenue 2, Serangoon Bus, Serangoon Central, Serangoon MRT Station
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