Reply: Route 178 runs between Melville to Mme Azor and 6 buses are licensed to operate along this route. The problems encountered by commuters along this route were previously raised in PQ B/560 in June 2025. As I highlighted in the reply to that Parliamentary Question, the road infrastructure along the route was quite narrow and it only allows smaller buses up to 42 seaters to be operated along the route. This is a major impediment preventing the redeployment of buses, from other routes (where most of the buses are 60-seaters) to route 178. The Ministry had a meeting with Village Councillors and some residents of Melville on 20 June 2025. The TBS Ltd and other operators in the north were requested to explore the possibility to have additional buses to supplement the service along that route. None of the operators has buses of the required size. According to information received from the NLTA, out of the six buses licensed for the route, five are providing a regular service. One bus has been off the road since December 2024. Its replacement is expected by November 2025. The NTC has deployed a shuttle service between Mme Azor and Goodlands to relieve the transport situation to some extent.

141 Following the extension of the bus service along route 178 from Belmont to Poudre d’Or on 13 July 2024 (over a distance of 6 kms), the running time of buses has increased along the route causing the frequency of operation to be longer and impacting adversely on the problem of residents of Melville. The NLTA is envisaging the licensing of two additional buses along route 178. POLICE STATION COMPOUNDS – ABANDONED/UNUSED/SEIZED VEHICLES – ENVISAGED MEASURES