Eight in 10 commuters are satisfied with the public transport in Singapore.

A Public Transport Customer Satisfaction Survey 2006 conducted by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) also showed that a majority of them (94 per cent) werre more satisfied with the MRT services, than the bus services (77 per cent) - not surprising, given the former is a dedicated travel system.

The commuters ranked safety and security of the public transport services, accessibility of bus stops, interchanges and MRT stations as among the highest of the 10 service attributes surveyed. They also were generally happy with the travel time, y, with 8 in 10 respondents giving it the thumbs up.

However, some commuters were not as happy with the waiting time (68 per cent satisfied) and the "fare and level of service" (76 per cent satisfied).

A regular bus commuter, Miss Eugenia Goh, 18, said: "The bus can take very long to arrive, and there is no indication of how long it will take, unlike travelling services overseas."

On service information, Miss Goh added: "The detailed bus route posters that have been been introduced should be put up at every stop so that commuters will not have a problem finding out which direction to take the bus from."

This is the first time that the LTA has conducted such a survey for all mass public transport services. The survey will be carried out annually to measure if Singapore's public transport system measures up to commuters' expectations.

In addressing the concerns of commuters regarding waiting time and reliability of bus services, the LTA plans to work with the bus operators and take measures, such as giving buses greater priority on the road. The Public Transport Council is also introducing a more stringent Quality of Service Standards for basic bus services.