Commenting on Sembawang residents having to face the longest work commute in Singapore, SMU Assistant Professor of Strategy & Entrepreneurship (Education) Terence Fan said that Sembawang might benefit from more express buses. He suggested that if they cannot fill the buses, then adding trains would be even worse. Instead, starting with buses would be more sensible to see what the ridership is like. Asst Prof Fan posited that the fact that some Sembawang residents work around Seletar Airport where public transport connections are sparse could have also contributed to the high median commute time for the neighbourhood. Extending some express buses that originate from Yishun to start from Sembawang can be part of the solution. Given sufficient riders, dedicated express buses to Sembawang perhaps passing through Seletar may work too. Asst Prof Fan also suggested that with sufficient ridership, extending the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) to a new station in Sembawang could also help shorten commutes.
