When the much anticipated integrated transport hub in Yishun opened on Sunday (8 September), commuters were expected a smoother journey for their morning commute. Unfortunately for them, on Monday morning they were instead faced with a massive traffic jam as multiple lanes of busses were caught in a bottleneck trying to enter the new hub.
One Twitter user shared a short video clip of the jam that stretched on for what looked like several hundred metres.
Opening of the new Yishun Bus Interchange causes jam. pic.twitter.com/prX61MmiS7
— shark (@syakirsbna) September 8, 2019
RIGHTTTTTT some trash organisation skills. This morning the opposite side of the bus interchange was jammed from Yishun mrt all the way to Khatib
— jas 🦋 (@jsgojo) September 9, 2019
The traffic light timing outside yishun inter is too fast honestly. Currently causing a whole line of buses waiting to turn in.
— khye (@khaaairul_anuar) September 9, 2019
There were also many tweets from irate commuters and passers-by who were shocked at the state of the traffic jam which caused bad delays during morning rush hour:
MY BUS IS CRAWLING TO WORK IN YISHUN HALP IM GONNA BE LATE BRO
— Careful whispering (@_duhmichelle) September 9, 2019
The interchange doesn’t seem to be able to handle such capacities in terms of number of buses. Seems too small
— AC (@Hulab0y) September 9, 2019
The new Yishun bus interchange is a horrible mess with a bad layout and movement flow.
— joanne. (@joannerock) September 9, 2019
New Yishun bus interchange is pretty but hella ineffective. Now have to add a lot of extra time to travel. Knn
— ✨iyah riah✨ (@IyahRiah) September 9, 2019
One user even declared the Yishun interchange to be the worst in Singapore:
https://twitter.com/rtjk123/status/1171028636809355267
The Yishun ITH – 10th transport hub in Singapore – connects to the Yishun MRT station via an underpass and is integrated with Northpoint City shopping centre. It is fully ‘barrier-free’, according to the Land Transport Authority (LTA). In the run-up to the opening, the hub was touted as being commuter-friendly and having inclusive facilities.
The interchange boasts dedicated boarding points and wheelchair-friendly graduated kerb edges. There are also priority zones with seats, a nursing room, and barrier-free toilets to cater for the elderly, less mobile and families with young children.
There are also ‘Heart Zones’ for commuters who require assistance to indicate their needs as well as a room set aside for special needs commuters who need a quiet and calming space. For those who cycle to the hub, there are close to 600 bicycle parking lots in the vicinity of the interchange.
When it was announced, the LTA said that Yishun ITH would be built in accordance with the Building Construction Authority’s Green Mark Gold Plus standard, which features things like LED lighting and a water-cooled air-conditioning system.
Most importantly, though, is that the Yishun ITH, managed by SMRT Buses Limited, was announced as part of the LTA’s plan to improve Singapore’s public transport system to ease congestion. Back in 2011, Transport Minister Raymond Lim said that one of the efforts being made was making the integration between the rail and bus networks more seamless by building more integrated transport hubs over the next few years, including this one in Yishun.
Turns out the Yishun ITH still has some kinks to work out.
