TRANSPORTATION

TRANSPORTATION AT BRUNEI

WATER TAXI

• The last form of public transportation in Brunei is the water taxi, which mainly takes citizens and tourists around Kampong Ayer or to and from Temburong.
• With around 290km of navigable waterways in the Sultanate and a total of 273 boats operating, the water transport offers a range of low volume demand-responsive services across Brunei.
• Water taxi services are well-established and have a record of limited accidents, however there have been complaints of inconsistency and low in number of water taxis.
• As part of the reforms, there will be more water taxis and water buses operating from various locations including piers and jetties at Muara, Central BSB and Bangor, as well as new locations such as Brunei Airport.
• The boat designs will also be improved, along with operations and maintenance in accordance to modern standards.
• The master plan will centralise the improvements to water transport around actual and perceived safety, accessibility, customer-focus, sustainability and integration with other public transport modes.

TAXI FRANCHISE

• Taxis only play a minor role in public transportation with only 48 privately owned taxis operating in the sultanate.
• Taxis in Brunei provide a non-metered service that satisfies the relatively low demand for premium door-to-door transport services, but fall short in terms of overall service information, customer protection and integration with the wider public transport network.
• The white paper also mentioned that the current number of only 48 licenses taxis, which is significantly below international comparator, will be increased up to a fleet of 400 vehicles allocated based on population by district and phased over a number of years.
• It added that a further fleet expansion may be viable depending on the population growth by 2035.
• Not only will the numbers be improved but the quality of vehicles and equipment will also be raised with the installation of taxi lights, taxi meters, CCTVs, radios, air conditioning and emissions standards, combined with strong enforcement of vehicle age limits.
• The white paper further stated that with the improvement of taxis, there would also need to be a regulatory and enforcement action against unlicensed, uninsured and illegal taxis.

PUBLIC BUSES

• The multi-coloured bus system, formerly known as the “purple bus”, consists of six routes around the Brunei-Muara district and is run by five private operators using a fleet of 105 buses, while three more bus routes operate in Belait district.
• There are also currently three inter-district bus services linking the Bandar Seri Begawan bus terminal with Seria, Lamunin and Tutong town, with no bus services operating in Brunei’s substantial hinterland and in Temburong district.
• Currently, the most popular bus service in the country is the free shuttle bus that takes passengers from Masjid Jame’ ‘Asr Hassanil Bolkiah pick up and drop off point to Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Hospital.
• According to a previous report this year, the number of passengers had risen from 12,000 to 60,000 over the years, including 3,500 daily average number of outpatients and visitors recorded by the hospital.
• In the master plan and white paper, the bus system will face the most changes and improvements with a new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system planned, as buses constitute as the main means of public transport in Brunei.
• The new BRT system will incorporate four lines across the Brunei-Muara district with a total of 48km of bus lanes, and a frequency of four minutes between each bus.