Boon Lay’s new bus interchange set to open

Source : Straits Times – 29 Jul 2009

WORK on the new air-conditioned Boon Lay bus interchange has been completed and it is expected to open during the year-end school holidays.

One of a new generation of transport hubs like the ones in Ang Mo Kio and Toa Payoh, the 32,000 sq m interchange will be linked to the Boon Lay MRT station and the Jurong Point 2 shopping centre.

About 150,000 commuters are expected to use it daily, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA).

Construction was completed recently and the LTA expects to hand over the interchange to SBS Transit next month, to train and familiarise its bus captains with the new facilities.

The interchange will open during the year-end school holidays to minimise any confusion, said an LTA spokesman.

The new interchange, which can hold up to 60 buses, has 31 boarding and alighting berths, said the LTA.

Commuters will be able to transfer between trains and buses in air-conditioned comfort as well as shop at the stores at the interchange.

The concourse of the interchange also leads directly to the first floor of the Jurong Point 2 shopping mall.

Currently, Boon Lay residents use a temporary bus interchange located next to the MRT station.

‘The temporary interchange now is quite hot and the road leading to it is also very congested as there are only two lanes. Hopefully, the new interchange will solve these problems,’ said Mr Joseph Foo, 58, chairman of the Pioneer Citizens Consultative Committee.

With the new interchange, commuters will no longer have to cut through the MRT station to get to Jurong Point.

Boon Lay resident Rachel Chew, 30, said: ‘I sometimes just take a cab from Jurong Point back home to avoid walking back to the interchange. When the new interchange opens, I will probably take my feeder bus more frequently.’

Businesses at Jurong Point are also hoping that the new bus interchange will bring in more customers.

‘We are looking forward to it. The crowds here are fairly okay, but I’m sure with the bus interchange opening, we will have more people walking in,’ said Ms Nina Koh, supervisor at shoe store BeetleBug.