Singapore's Land Transport

Three more FBDL from 28 Jul 2008

2008-07-26T15:48:00.002+08:00

LTA has confirmed what I suspected earlier -- that the extent of Full-Day Bus Lanes falls short of what they originally promised. With three new full-day bus lanes added to the road effective 28 Jul 2008 (refer to news release below), the full-day bus lanes total length tallied at 17km, which is still pretty far from the 23km they promised to have by July 2008.

In the latest two rounds of extension, merchants and shop owners along Chinatown and Little India seem to have concerns on whether the full-day bus lane will deter shoppers from patronising their shops, and operationally whether it'll have an impact on their loading and unloading of goods which is usually done along the main roads where full-day bus lanes are poised to be implemented. These are probably some of the concerns which could explain the delay in the proliferation of full-day bus lanes.

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Extension of Full-Day Bus Lanes to Three Locations

1. From 28 July 2008, the normal bus lanes on three stretches along Orchard Road, Orchard Boulevard and Serangoon Road will be converted to full-day bus lanes.

2. Currently, these three stretches of normal bus lanes operate only during peak hours on weekdays. The full-day bus lane scheme operates from 7.30am to 8pm on all weekdays and Saturdays, except public holidays.

3. The extension of the full-day bus lane scheme to these three stretches is in line with the Land Transport Master Plan to increase coverage of such bus lanes so as to make public transport a choice mode.

4. Surveys conducted showed that the two most important aspects of the bus journey for commuters are waiting time and travelling time. As buses are more efficient carriers of commuters, with a higher number of passengers per unit road space as compared to other vehicles such as cars, it is necessary to give priority to buses so that more commuters reach their destinations on time.

5. Prior to the implementation of full-day bus lanes at the three stretches, LTA has engaged and informed relevant parties affected by the changes, such as businesses, building owners as well as grassroots organisations, to receive feedback and suggestions.

6. With the three new stretches, the total length of full day bus lanes will be extended to 17 km.

7. Please refer to Annex A for the location of the three stretches of roads where the full-day bus lane scheme is extended to.

ANNEX A

Locations of New Full-Day Bus Lanes

Road Name

Start

End

Orchard Boulevard

Grange Road

Paterson Road

Orchard Road

Orange Grove Road

AnguiliaPark

Serangoon Road

Buffalo Road

Balestier Road

Source: LTA, 22 Jul 2008

More full day bus lanes from 2 June 2008

2008-05-15T21:15:00.003+08:00

As promised by the Minister for Transport in his Land Transport Review announcement in Jan 2008, full day bus lanes will be expanded to more locations in Jun 2008.

A map summary of the different implementation phases of the full day bus lanes is shown below. Please click on the link to view the expanded map which include more details. LTA's news release on the same subject is also appended below.

Interestingly there was no mention of the "trebling of full-day-bus-lanes from 7km to 23km" as mentioned in the Land Transport Review. Suspecting something is amiss, I did some measurement. The result? The expanded scheme to be implemented in Jun 2008 is at most 15km, which is no where near the promised trebling. Please correct me if I'm wrong. :)

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LTA Extends Bus Lane Scheme to Improve Travel
Experience for Bus Commuters

1. From 2 June 2008, full-day bus lanes will be extended to 11 new locations in the CBD, with the aim of ensuring that buses will be able to give commuters a faster and smoother journey with less interruption on the road.

2. Surveys conducted showed that the most important aspects of the bus journey for commuters are waiting time and travelling time. As buses are more efficient carriers of commuters, with a higher number of passengers per unit road space as compared to other vehicles such as cars, it is necessary to give priority to buses so that more commuters reach their destinations on time.

3. Since the implementation of the full-day bus lane scheme in Orchard Road in 2005 average bus speeds have improved, with non-peak bus speeds increasing by 10% on weekdays, and 23% on Saturdays.

4. Along the 5 stretches in the city at Eu Tong Sen Street, Somerset Road, Victoria Street, Hill Street and Bras Basah Road where full day bus lanes were implemented in 2007, we have seen improvement in bus speeds by as much as about 12%.

5. Feedback received from bus commuters and bus captains also show that they have experienced faster bus journeys on stretches with dedicated bus lanes.

6. The improved bus travelling speeds help make the bus commute a more attractive and pleasant option and encourages more commuters to take public transport.

7. The full-day bus lane scheme operates from 7.30am to 8pm on all weekdays and Saturdays, except public holidays.

8. Please refer to Annex A for the full list of roads that the full-day bus lane scheme is extended to.

On-board Bus Lane Enforcement Video Cameras

9. To ensure that the bus lane scheme remain effective in improving travel time for buses, LTA will be introducing the use of on-board bus lane enforcement cameras from 2 June onwards.

10. Ninety buses across 12 SBS Transit bus services that ply along routes with bus lanes will be fitted with video cameras which will be used to record bus lane infringements. The cameras will work in tandem with the current warden scheme and ensure that bus lanes remain clear during operating hours.

11. This system requires little intervention by the driver as the video is set to continuously monitor the road in front of the bus. The video camera also allows LTA officers to assess the circumstances more accurately if motorists are caught on video infringing bus lanes.

12. LTA will review the use of cameras and extend them to more bus services, if they prove to be effective in keeping the bus lanes clear for bus travel.

13. Motorists who infringe bus lanes are liable to a fine of $130. No demerit points will be imposed on the driver.

14. "To make public transport a competitive option to the car, we must continue to improve the travel experience of public transport commuters. We want to encourage more people to choose public transport as a travel mode during peak hours to reduce congestion on the roads. Thus, we hope motorists will appreciate and understand the rationale behind our measures and help us give priority to buses," said Mr Yam Ah Mee, Chief Executive, Land Transport Authority.
ANNEX A

Locations of New Full-Day Bus Lanes in the CBD from 2 June 2008

Road Name Start End

Collyer Quay Fullerton Rd Marina Blvd

Fullerton Rd Esplanade Dr Collyer Quay

Grange Rd Somerset Rd Devonshire Rd

Shenton Way Boon Tat St Maxwell Rd

Robinson Rd Maxwell Rd Finlayson Green

Bencoolen St Rochor Rd Bras Basah Rd

Hill St Stamford Rd River Valley Rd

New Bridge Rd River Valley Rd Upp Cross St

North Bridge Rd Rochor Rd Parliament Place

South Bridge Rd Circular Rd Cross St

Victoria St Rochor Rd Stamford Rd

Source: LTA, 15 May 2008

Real-time bus arrival information panels & Key bus services map: Part II

2008-03-30T23:43:00.002+08:00

More than half a year ago, LTA introduced two initiatives to enhance public transport information: Real-Time Bus Arrival Information Panels that show estimated bus arrival times, and Key Bus Services Map which shows key bus routes plying city area in pictorial form.

LTA will be installing 20 more Real-Time Bus Arrival Information Panels as "commuters feedback has been positive". This brings the total number of panels to 50. Out of the 20 new locations, 10 will be in the city mainly spread across Chinatown, Bugis and Orchard area, while the rest of the 10 will be equally distributed across the island. If you're eager to find out whether you'll get a chance to see them near your home, please refer to Annex A (link below).

One interesting improvement is that the bus arrival time panels will be upgraded to public transport arrival time panel by including train's arrival information. Two such pilot panels that will carry the arrival times of both bus and train will be put up at bus stops near Bugis MRT station and Chinatown MRT station.

Interestingly, the rational given for choosing these stations is "the bus stops at the stations have a high volume of commuter traffic". I fail to see how this can be rationale for selecting the stations: it is pointless to provide train arrival information to bus passengers if they do not need it, so why choose to conduct a pilot trial of the hybrid panels at bus stops just because they have high volume of commuter traffic? (If you have any slightest clue, do post it in the comment. Thanks.)

What is even more interesting to note is that at the Bugis bus stop, where one of the pilot hybrid panels will be installed, the arrival time of train is already easily viewable from the bus stop at a certain angle. Why conduct a pilot trial at such trivial location?

As I simply can't figure out the rationale behind, I came up with a possible wild explanation. Perhaps, they are suggesting that the bus stops near the MRT stations are crowded, perhaps to a point that is beyond what the bus stops can handle. So, in a bid to reduce the crowd at the bus stops, they are trying out such hybrid panels to entice passengers to switch to taking a train! This is similar to the MRT messages usually heard at busy stations during weekends or festive seasons , which goes like this: "The station is crowded. Please leave the station if you are not boarding the train. Thank you." (Sorry, no audio clip)

Coming back to the point of the rationale of selecting the location of hybrid panels pilot trial, I feel that a more likely rationale should be the bus stops have high volume of transfer passengers to train. The most ideal location that popped into my mind is the bus stop opposite Ang Mo Kio MRT station (bus stop code 54269) along Ang Mo Kio Ave 3. The reason is that the bus stop is one of the busiest, if not the busiest, in terms of passenger traffic, and it is also an important transfer point for many north-eastern residents who take a bus, alight at this stop, and then transfer to Ang Mo Kio MRT station. As the bus stop and the MRT station are a distant apart, placing such hybrid panels will allow the residents to pace themselves so as to catch the next train in time and not wait up to 7 mins or 12 mins during off-peak hours. This thinking is in line with the Ministry's of a "people-centred land transport system". I quote Yeo Ghim Lay's article which state that "Only then can Singapore claim to have the commuter-centric transport system it is working towards - one that, as Transport Minister Raymond Lim put it, has its fingers firmly on the pulse of the people."

The other initiative that also received a boost of proliferation is the Key Bus Services Map. This is essentially is a poor copycat of Spidermaps which was conceptualised by Transport for London (LTA's counterpart in London) -- this is confirmed by a recent interview that Ong Teck Chuan ( Deputy Director, Public Transport Promotion) gave to Straits Times Classified (of course he didn't admit to the poor copycat part).

If you have not had enough of the complicated map that is "designed primarily for tourists and infrequent public transport users", you can download a copy here. If you wish to own a nice huge print-out of the map, it comes free to those who purchase Singapore Tourist Pass, which is available for sale to tourists only (sorry locals!). Nevertheless, you can pick up a copy at Singapore Visitors Centre too.

LTA Extends Real-Time Bus Arrival Information Panels To More Bus Stops

Commuters Find Real-Time Bus Arrival Information and Key Bus Services Maps Useful
1. Commuters will be able to get real-time bus arrival information of both SBST and SMRT bus services at an additional 20 bus stops around Singapore by May 2008. This will help commuters better manage waiting time and transfers, and to make more informed travel decisions.
2. The LTA is extending this initiative as commuter feedback has been positive. In a survey to measure commuter receptivity to the first 30 real-time bus arrival information panels which were installed in July last year, 9 out of 10 respondents polled felt that the real-time bus arrival information panels were useful and important. More than 90% of the respondents hoped to have panels at more bus stops.
3. The additional panels will be installed from 31 March at bus stops with a high volume of commuter traffic (Please refer to Annex A for the full list of the 20 bus stops). Installation of the panels will be completed by end-May 2008. The panels will display the bus services that call at a particular bus stop, the arrival times of the next and subsequent buses for each bus service, and a symbol to indicate whether the bus is wheelchair-accessible.
4. In addition, to facilitate commuters making transfers between rail and buses, the panels at each of the bus stops located near the Bugis MRT station and the Chinatown NEL station will also display the arrival times of rail services at those stations. This additional rail information will be available from July 2008. Two panels carrying the same arrival times of bus and rail services at the bus stops near these stations will also be installed at the station entrances from July 2008. These two MRT stations were selected as the bus stops at the stations have a high volume of commuter traffic. The LTA will monitor commuters' feedback on the usefulness of this additional information before deciding on further roll out.
More Key Bus Services Maps in the Orchard Road and Chinatown Vicinities
5. LTA will also extend the Key Bus Services Maps to the Chinatown vicinity and to more areas at Orchard Road by the second half of this year. These include 35 bus stops along the main thoroughfares of Eu Tong Sen Street, New Bridge Road and South Bridge Road and five bus stops along Napier Road and Tomlinson Road (Please refer to Annex B for the list of the 40 bus stops).
6. LTA's survey showed that 8 out of 10 respondents found the Key Bus Services Maps useful. Nine out of 10 respondents also indicated that they would like to see the Key Bus Services Maps displayed at more bus stops in the Orchard Road vicinity, while 8 out of 10 respondents would like to see similar maps displayed at major bus stops at other key areas or attractions.
7. Launched in July 2007, the Key Bus Services Maps were first installed at 36 bus stops in the Orchard Road area. Designed primarily for tourists and infrequent public transport users, each map provides pictorial information on key bus services calling at the bus stop and the routes they cover. It also indicates the MRT stations along the routes, significant buildings and locales such as places of interests, tourist attractions and major shopping malls.
8. "As part of LTA's on-going efforts to enhance the public transport experience and to empower commuters to make informed decisions when using our public transport system, LTA will continue to explore other platforms on which such information can be disseminated. By working in partnership with commuters and other stakeholders, we can better achieve our aim of making public transport a choice mode for all," said Mr Yam Ah Mee, LTA's Chief Executive.
Source: LTA (28 March 2008)

New ERP gantries: Part II

2008-02-01T15:47:00.000+08:00

I noticed that lately there has been a spike in my readership, with the bulk of the readers visiting via search terms like "new erp gantries", "new erp charges" etc. As such, this post is dedicated to you who are searching for more information on the 16 new ERP gantries mentioned by Minister Raymond Lim in Land Transport Review Part 3.

The locations of the new ERP gantries are all summarised in the map below. For better viewing experience, I would strongly encourage you to click here for bigger map and better interactivity (yes, you can zoom in and out of the bigger map by using the scroll wheel). The pins denote the exact locations of the ERP gantries. The colour code of the pins is as follows:

Blue pins: Operates from 5 Nov 07 (implemented)
Red pins: Operates from 7 Apr 08
Green pins: Operates from 7 Jul 08
Purple pins: Operates from 3 Nov 08

In addition, the map also outlines the boundaries of the newly demarcated ERP cordon area Bugis-Marina Centre Cordon, which is a new area carved out from the existing CBD so that differential ERP rates can be applied to this area to better regulate through-traffic.

View Larger Map

If you are keen to read the full LTA's press release on the new ERP gantries, please read on (also available here).

Measures To Manage Road Usage

1. As announced by Mr Raymond Lim, the Minister for Transport, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will be making changes to the Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system to enhance its effectiveness in managing traffic congestion on the roads. With the changes, a total of 16 new ERP gantries will be activated this year, and this includes the 5 gantries which were announced in August 2007 last year but have not been activated.

2. The ERP changes will be phased in gradually, starting with the Central Business District (CBD) and Orchard Cordons in July 2008. This is to give time for motorists to adjust their travel plans and allow for the impact of the changes in the CBD and Orchard Cordon to work its way through the rest of the road network.

3. The enhancements to the ERP system, the implementation of new ERP gantries and how the new ERP criteria will take effect are outlined below.

Enhancements to the ERP System

4. The ERP system has essentially remained unchanged since its introduction in 1998. As traffic volumes today are far different from a decade ago, enhancements are necessary to ensure the ERP system’s effectiveness. As part of the Land Transport Review, the LTA has studied and reviewed the matter carefully, and will be implementing the following changes to enhance the ERP system from July 2008:

a. Use the 85th Percentile Speed Measurement Method
The current threshold speeds (45 km/h on expressways and 20 km/h on arterial roads) were set 10 years ago. Today, the threshold speeds are close to the point where traffic flow can deteriorate rapidly into the unstable zone where ‘stop-start’ conditions become common. In order to create a buffer, LTA will use a more representative method of measuring actual traffic conditions for ERP rate reviews, with speeds determined using the 85th percentile speed measurement method, instead of using average speeds as is done currently. The 85th percentile speed measurement method is also an international traffic engineering practice for assessing traffic conditions. With the revised speed measurement method, motorists will be assured of smooth travel on ERP-priced roads at least 85% of the time;

b. Increase the Initial ERP Charge and Rate Increment
Motorists today are less sensitive to the rate structure which has remained unchanged since 1998. For ERP charges to remain effective in influencing motorists’ behaviour, LTA will raise the incremental ERP charge from $0.50 to $1. In addition, the ERP base charge, which is the starting charge for a new ERP gantry point, will be increased from the current $1 to $2. These changes will improve the effectiveness of the ERP system, so that each time ERP rates are adjusted, motorists who still choose to drive on these roads would see a visible improvement in traffic flows.

c. Manage Congestion in the City Area
To address the congestion in the city area, LTA will introduce the Singapore River Line, comprising 5 new ERP gantries that run roughly along the Singapore River to discourage through traffic from using the city for outbound trips, and Saturday traffic.

New ERP Gantries

5. LTA has been monitoring traffic conditions closely on the roads, and has assessed that 16 new ERP gantries are necessary to help manage congestion at the identified locations. The LTA will phase in the implementation of the 16 gantries as shown below.

April 2008 – Operation of 5 gantries that were announced in Aug 2007
6. In August 2007, LTA had announced that ERP gantries would be installed at 5 locations, namely (i) Upper Bukit Timah Road ; (ii) Toa Payoh Lorong 6; (iii) Upper Boon Keng Road; (iv) Geylang Bahru Road ; and (v) Kallang Bahru Road . These gantries would be activated only when traffic speeds fall below the optimal speed range. LTA has been monitoring the traffic conditions at these 5 locations closely, and has established that traffic speeds on all 5 roads have fallen below the optimal speed threshold based on the current speed criteria [1].

7. Therefore, LTA will be activating these gantries from 7 April 2008. The operating hours of these 5 gantries will be from 7.30am to 9.30am. Please refer to Annex A for the location and ERP rates of these gantries.

July 2008 – Operation of 5 new gantries along the Singapore River in the CBD
8. The five gantries on the Singapore River Line will run roughly along the Singapore River from Clemenceau Ave to Fullerton Road, separating the commercial and shopping areas such as the Suntec area from the office-based areas such as Shenton Way/Robinson Road . These 5 gantries serve to reduce through traffic from using the city area for outbound trips in the evening, similar in concept to the Orchard Cordon where ERP was implemented to reduce through-traffic which would otherwise use Orchard Road to get to other areas. Traffic speeds on these roads are below the optimal speed range, based on the revised criteria.

9. To better manage the speeds within the Orchard and CBD
cordons, the ERP operation hours for the CBD will start from 7am to 8pm on weekdays. The ERP for Orchard Cordon will start from 10am to 8pm on weekdays.

10. The 5 gantries on the Singapore River Line will come into operation on 7 July 2008, and will operate from 5pm to 8pm on weekdays. Two of the new gantries – namely Eu Tong Sen Street and Fullerton Road (towards Esplanade Drive ) – will operate on Saturday from 10am to 8pm. The rate increase of $1 will be applied if the traffic conditions closer to July warrant it for each of the half-hour time slots.
11. Please refer to Annex B for the locations of these gantries.

12. On Saturdays, the gantries at Eu Tong Sen Street and Fullerton Road (towards Suntec City), together with th the existing CBD gantries north of the Singapore River Line, will help to demarcate the Bugis-Marina Centre Cordon as traffic conditions within this cordon have deteriorated below the optimal speed threshold. The Bugis-Marina Centre Cordon and the existing Orchard Cordon will operate during the same hours on Saturdays and will help in in managing g traffic in the City area on Saturdays. [Please refer to Annex C for the location of the different cordons.]

November 2008 – Operation of 6 new gantries on arterial roads and expressways
13. Based on the new ERP criteria (i.e. 85th percentile speed measurement method), traffic speeds at 6 locations on arterial roads and expressways have fallen below the optimal speed range, and ERP is needed to manage the congestion that is building up at these areas. The new gantries will operate from 3 November 2008 onwards, and they are as shown below. Please refer to Annex D for the location of the 6 new gantries.

a. 3 new gantries on roads along the Outer Cordon in the morning. LTA will be installing new gantries at the following 3 locations along the Outer Cordon to address the congestion on these roads, namely (i) Commonwealth Avenue; (ii) Jalan Bukit Merah; and (iii) Alexandra Road.

b. 2 new gantries on expressways in the morning. One gantry is along AYE (westbound), near Alexandra Road, and the other is along PIE (westbound), near Eunos.

c. New gantry on Serangoon Road in the evening. To address the congestion on Serangoon Road during the evening peak hours, LTA will be installing a gantry there.

14. The operation hours and ERP rates at each of the 6 gantries above will be determined and announced closer to their implementation in November 2008. [Please refer to Annex E for a map showing the location of the Outer Cordon.]

Implementation of New ERP Criteria and Rates on Existing ERP Gantries
15. LTA will be phasing in the implementation of the new ERP criteria and new ERP rates on existing ERP gantries to allow time for motorists to adjust their travel plans. The new criteria will first be applied to the CBD and Orchard Cordon in July 2008 before being extended to other roads progressively. This will also allow for the impact of changes in the city area to work its way through the rest of the road network. If the new ERP rates in the CBD and Orchard Cordon result in fewer motorists driving on the roads leading to the city, ERP rates need not be adjusted if speeds do not fall below the threshold speed.

16. The following is the schedule for the application of the new ERP criteria (i.e. 85th percentile speed measurement method and ERP rate increment of $1) on existing ERP gantries:
July 2008 – to be implemented on gantries in CBD and Orchard Cordon (on weekdays) and Orchard and Marina Centre Cordon (on Saturdays).
November 2008 – to be implemented on gantries on roads within and up to the Outer Cordon. Map showing the location of the Outer Cordon is given in Annex E.
February 2009 – to be implemented on all gantries islandwide
17. Before the new ERP criteria is applied to the respective areas, LTA will continue with using the existing ERP criteria in the quarterly ERP rate reviews.
Conclusion

18. The main aim of the ERP changes is to keep our roads smooth flowing and ensure a high quality urban environment. We are putting a lot of effort into making public transport a viable alternative to driving and we hope that more motorists will give it a try.” said Mr Yam Ah Mee, LTA Chief Executive.

[1] Using the average speed measurement method
Source: LTA, 30 Jan 2008

Land Transport Review Part 3: Private transport (car)

2008-01-30T13:54:00.000+08:00

The final installment of the three-part series announcement on the Land Transport Review is revealed. While the first two parts focused on public transport, the third part of the Land Transport Review touched on private transport, a.k.a. cars.

For those who are looking for earth-shattering announcement similar to those on buses and trains, you'll be disappointed. Other than some interesting quote that the US supposedly spent so much time in traffic jam that those time can filled 65 million iPod Nanos [though he didn't qualify whether those are 4GB or 8GB iPod Nanos]), the prescription to cure the illness of wasting too much time on the road due to traffic jam are just common pills that we are all familiar with: slower road expansion plan, curb car usage with more ERP coverage and higher ERP rates, while at the same time balancing those increase with lower car ownership cost, coupled with improvement in public transport. All these are reinforcement of Government has been trying to do, that is to increase car ownership but discourage peak hour travel by dangling carrot (creating a more attractive public transport) and leashing the stick (more ERP gantries and more expensive ERP rates).

As promised, the speech is summarised in the table below (click on image for clearer text). To be able to comprehend the table, please make reference to the full Minister's speech appended below (also available here).

Click here for bigger image

In what I see as an acknowledgement of why motorists have not been enjoying smooth traffic condition despite paying for ERP charges and promised by LTA that the traffic speed at the roads were "optimal", the Minister finally admitted that LTA has not been measuring the road traffic speed appropriately. As such, instead of using average speed as a measure to monitor road condition, LTA will revised their speed measurement method to using 85th percentile speed to determine whether the speed of a road has degraded to a point that necessitate the erection of a ERP gantry. The implication of this is that the bar for road speed will be raised which will leads to easier justification for more ERP gantries.

In fact, more ERP gantries is confirmed by the Minister. While putting emphasis on erecting more gantries in the city areas, some similar to the creation Orchard cordon to reduce through traffic, there are no further details as to how many more ERP gantries will be mushrooming across the city state. With so many ERP gantries coming up, the Government should rethink the way ERP is administered. What happened to the satellite-based ERP system which allows for the ugly and expensive gantries to be removed?

Not only can the satellite-based ERP system replaced the gantries, they can also revolutionarize how road tax are charged. Instead of a lump sum charged based on engine capacity, why not charge based on the distance a vehicle travelled? I see this as the most equitable way to move forward, as motorists who used the road more will be taxed more. Also, it will encourage motorists to be conscious of their route choice to opt for shortest distance. But then again, the Minister chose to shy away these topics in his review which were very much in lively debates barely a few years ago.

Lower vehicle growth rate is expected in line with lower road expansion rate. Though the North-South Expressway is welcomed (think of it as the equivalent of Thomson Line for North-South Line MRT), I foresee a fierce fight put up by people who are supportive of environment causes. Why? The expressway will most likely cut through part of the nature reserves and the fringe of the reservoirs, which will definitely draw protests from Nature Society or other environmentalists. Just like the rare bird habitats in the Seletar Expressway construction episode, be prepared to see more fights in the North-South Expressway construction.

To appease the motorists who have to take the bitter pill of more expensive road usage, the Government is committed to offer alternative. In fact, they promised that the bitter pills for road usage will not kick in until improvements to the public transport is made. This they will allow for more premium buses, higher frequencies for feeder bus services and trains, and more competition between buses and trains in mature rail lines. As a stick that whips hard on SMRT who refuses to improved their lunch time frequency, the Government will be revising the Operating Performance Standards that will stipulate train frequencies in morning peak-of-the-peak and lunch time.

With these, I end the three part series of the Land Transport Review. I thank all who have read the articles, friends who have given suggestions on improvements, and readers who have been discussing/debating on the issues raised actively.

Look out for the full report which will be released by March 2008. There will be an interesting report in it which will bound to raise eyebrows. Stay tuned.

Related articles:

SPEECH BY MR RAYMOND LIM, MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT AND SECOND MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS,
AT THE VISIT TO KALLANG-PAYA LEBAR EXPRESSWAY
WEDNESDAY, 30 JANUARY 2008, 10.15AM

ENSURING SMOOTH FLOWING ROADS

KPE to Open by September 2008

1. It is a pleasure to join you this morning at the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) Operations Control Centre for an update on KPE Phase 2. The KPE project team has worked very hard and made good progress. I am pleased to announce that the full KPE will be opened on 20 September 2008. With this new high speed access, northeast residents can expect travel time to the city to be cut by 25%. The KPE will also help relieve congestion on the Central Expressway (CTE).

Building Roads for the Future

2. Beyond short-term needs, our priority is to continue investing for the future. The $2.5 billion Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE) is on track for completion by 2013. A key expressway supporting the development of the Marina Bay, the MCE is crucial for the long-term growth of Singapore.

3. Indeed, when it comes to investing for growth, we do not stand still. Following LTA’s studies, the Government has given the go-ahead to build the North-South Expressway or NSE by 2020 to cater to the projected growth in travel between the northern and city areas. With the 21 km-long NSE, Singapore’s 11th expressway costing $7-8 billion, residents in the north can expect travel time to the city to be cut by 30%.

Addressing Congestion Holistically

4. Besides these billion-dollar road projects, the LTA will continue to improve roads across Singapore, for example, widening the CTE and the Tampines Expressway (TPE) to increase capacity and improving interchanges such as the Woodsville Interchange to enhance connectivity and traffic flow. Likewise, intelligent transport solutions such as the Expressway Monitoring and Advisory System or EMAS will be expanded to optimise the use of our roads.

5. However, increasing road capacity and deploying traffic engineering measures will not in themselves guarantee smooth flowing roads. Additional lanes and new roads attract more traffic and congestion soon returns. As a Time Magazine writer put it, “traffic is like water; it oozes across all available surface.”

6. The insatiable appetite for more cars has led to an uphill battle against gridlock in many cities. In fast growing economies like China, the car population grows at more than 20% a year and peak-hour traffic in mega-cities like Beijing and Shanghai crawls at 5km an hour. In the United States, motorists spent more than 4.2 billion hours stuck in jams, enough time to fill 65 million iPod Nanos with music, and used up enough extra fuel to fill 58 supertankers. The “congestion invoice” in the US stands at some $78 billion each year while congestion costs are estimated to be about 1% of GDP in European countries such as Britain and France.

7. Singaporeans likewise desire to own cars and our policies, in particular, the use of Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) to manage traffic, have made it possible for many Singaporeans to do so. And so the vehicle population has grown steadily to the 850,000 vehicles today. With rising affluence, not only are more Singaporeans owning cars, they are also using them more intensively. While the number of cars increased by 10% between 1997 and 2004, the number of car trips increased by 23%, more than double.

8. The effects are telling. Congestion levels have increased by about 25% since 1999, with more roads congested during the peak hours. A December 2007 Singapore Business Review article entitled “Gridlocked Nation” warned that “if Singapore’s growing traffic problems [were] not solved soon, the surging economy could feel the crunch.”

9. Against our ever growing appetite for car use, we are faced with the immutable realities of Singapore’s situation: a compact city state with 12% of its land already used up for roads. While we will continue to build roads like the NSE, going ahead, the pace of road expansion will have to slow down, from 1% a year over the last 15 years, to 0.5% a year over the next 15 years.

10. There are three inescapable conclusions from these observations. First, as more and more Singaporeans own cars, it is clearly not possible for all of them to drive their cars to and from work every day. The only way to move large numbers of people efficiently in our densely populated city is by public transport. It is therefore critical that we make public transport much more attractive to the vast majority of Singaporeans, including those who have access to cars.

11. Second, the trade-offs that we are faced with have become much sharper. The more cars Singaporeans own, the more extensive ERP coverage and the higher the charges would have to be. This is the key trade-off we have to make, to maintain smooth flowing roads.

12. Third, even with more extensive ERP, the current vehicle growth rate of 3% is not sustainable, given the already large vehicle population and the slowdown in road growth. We have to lower vehicle growth.

13. These are not easy issues but we have to make these difficult decisions and act decisively to manage car growth and usage to ensure that Singaporeans will continue to enjoy a quality living environment.

(I) Improving Public Transport

14. First and foremost, we are taking major steps to make public transport a choice mode of travel. We will plan our bus and rail network as an integrated system from the commuters’ perspective, with more frequent services and seamless transfers. We will also spend billions of dollars to double our rail network, enabling many more people to benefit from fast and reliable MRT connections. These measures will transform our bus and rail services, reduce journey times and increase comfort and convenience for commuters. Beyond these, we will also make immediate improvements to public transport – both bus and rail - so that people will have a good alternative to cars. Let me begin with the buses.

Improving Bus Services

15. Long waiting times, long journey times and overcrowding are the three most common complaints amongst bus commuters. These are the same reasons that discourage more people from taking public transport today. The bus priority measures such as bus lanes which we are putting in by June 2008 will help reduce waiting and journey times. These measures will help improve average bus speeds to 20-25kph, up from today’s 16kph for feeder buses and 19kph for trunk buses. In addition, we will:

(i) Increase frequencies of basic bus services, including feeder services;

(ii) Allow basic bus services to duplicate parts of the rail network; and

(iii) Expand premium bus services to provide more choices.

Increasing Frequencies of Basic Bus Services, including Feeder Services

16. To shorten bus journey and waiting times, and reduce crowding, we will enhance the frequency of basic bus services. In particular, we will put priority on corridors affected by impending ERP expansion, where the bus operators will increase the peak period frequency of all basic bus services from 15 minutes to 12 minutes by June 2008 and 10 minutes by August 2009.

17. Many commuters use feeder bus services to connect to MRT stations and bus interchanges. To reduce their waiting time, we will increase the frequency of feeder services. Over and above the minimum frequencies which the Public Transport Council (PTC) specifies for all bus services, the PTC will also be spelling out a separate and higher Quality of Service (QoS) standard for peak hour feeder bus services. The PTC will announce changes after consultation with the public transport operators.

18. The bus operators will have to procure additional buses to run the trunk and feeder bus services at higher frequencies. As this will take time, LTA will in the interim, extend the statutory life span of existing buses to expedite implementation.

Allowing Basic Bus Services to Duplicate Parts of the Rail Network

19. Today, trunk buses are not allowed to run routes that are parallel to rail lines. This avoids wasteful duplication of resources, which would increase the overall cost of our public transport system. However, LTA has reviewed and will relax this rule for the mature rail lines, namely the North-South and East-West lines, where ridership is high and the scope for expanding rail capacity quickly is limited. From June 2008, we will allow new bus services to ply along the North-South and East West lines where there is persistent heavy passenger loading during peak hours. For example, it will now be possible to have a more direct bus that runs parallel to the North-South Line, from Ang Mo Kio to Orchard Road, compared to existing services which have more indirect routes. This would give commuters an attractive alternative to trains.

Expanding Premium Bus Services to Provide More Choices

20. We will also expand premium bus services which provide more comfortable and direct journeys. We currently have 42 services. We will work with the bus operators to increase the number to at least 72 by June 2008, putting priority on routes affected by ERP expansion. For example, premium bus services will provide direct connections from residential areas such as Katong, Holland, Bukit Timah, Choa Chu Kang, Sengkang, Tampines, and Yio Chu Kang to the Shenton Way, Robinson Road, Suntec City and Orchard Road areas. The operators will also provide return trips in the evening on high demand services.

Increasing Train Capacity

21. Even as we improve bus services, we will also increase the frequency and capacity of our trains, for a more comfortable ride.

22. I have mentioned in my earlier speech that an immediate improvement is the addition of 93 train trips a week during the morning and evening peak periods from February. For commuters, this will mean less crowded trains and a reduction in waiting time by about 10-15% during peak hours.

23. Further, as part of LTA’s effort in revising the rail Operating Performance Standards, more frequent services will be required during peak time periods. For example, commuters should only have to wait for about 2 to 3 minutes during the morning peak-of-peaks when commuter volume is highest. During the lunch period, the frequency would be improved to about 5 to 6 minutes, down from the current 7 minutes. LTA will work with the rail operators to bring about these improvements.

(II) Ensuring that ERP Remains Effective

24. Besides vastly improving public transport, we will also need to enhance our ERP system. As with putting in more roads and traffic engineering measures, simply improving public transport on its own will not solve the congestion problem. Of all the different measures to deal with congestion, ERP is the only one that addresses the problem directly by requiring individuals to take into account the costs of congestion caused by their driving to others. Many other cities are coming to the same conclusion that there is no choice but to introduce congestion charging on heavily used roads. London, Stockholm and Milan have done so and New York and Amsterdam are considering it. Without ERP, Singaporeans would be spending many hours in traffic snarls, just like people in Tokyo, Los Angeles and many other US cities, who pay for congestion, not with their wallets, but with the time that they have lost, stuck in traffic gridlock.

25. However, it is a growing challenge to keep our roads smooth flowing. On the one hand, road growth is slowing; on the other hand, we are packing more and more cars onto our roads. In the last ten years, the car population grew by almost 40%, from 370,000 in 1997 to 515,000 today Coupled with this is the fact that our cars are among the most intensively used in the world, averaging 21,000 km a year, compared to 9,100 km in London, 13,900 km in Melbourne, and 19,800 km in Chicago. Not surprisingly, all these have resulted in the crowded roads and frequent peak hour congestion that we see today.

26. Our ERP system has served us well, but it is coming under strain. We often hear feedback that ERP has not helped to ease congestion on the highest demand roads like the CTE beyond a temporary respite; that ERP rate increases have little impact on travel behaviour; and that even though people pay ERP, they still face congestion on priced roads. There is some truth in this. The reason is that rising affluence has led to a greater propensity to drive which in turn has caused a dramatic rise in traffic volumes; so much so that the scale and intensity of traffic congestion today is far different from what it was a decade ago. Increasingly, given the more pervasive congestion today, the emphasis must be on encouraging motorists to shift to public transport, rather than drive on alternative roads to their destination. This is why the Government is spending billions of dollars to improve our public transport system to make it a viable alternative to the car.

27. Further, our ERP system has essentially remained unchanged since 1998. Hence, it is critical that we review the ERP system and enhance it to better address current and future traffic conditions. As a Thomson resident told me when I visited the area recently, people are willing to pay ERP charges but they must see the benefit from it. In other words, the ERP system must be made more effective. LTA has studied the matter carefully and assessed that, to manage congestion effectively, it is necessary to make the following changes:

(i) Refine the method of measuring traffic speeds;

(ii) Update the ERP rate structure; and

(iii) Manage congestion in the city area.

Refine Method of Measuring Traffic Speeds

28. The optimal traffic speed thresholds of 45 kph on our expressways and 20 kph for arterial roads have been set to ensure smooth-flowing traffic. Yet, very often, motorists who pay ERP still find themselves getting caught in slow traffic, and even experiencing “stop-start” conditions, despite fine weather, and with no accident in sight.

29. LTA did a traffic study which found that the 45 kph and 20 kph threshold speeds which were set 10 years ago, are today close to the point where traffic flow can deteriorate very rapidly to what traffic engineers call the “unstable zone”, where “stop-start” traffic conditions become common. When this happens, all it takes is a minor disturbance in the traffic flow and the traffic speeds can drop quite sharply. This is undesirable and we need to create a buffer to ensure better traffic conditions.

30. After careful review, LTA has decided to address this problem by adopting a more representative method of measuring actual traffic conditions for ERP rate reviews, with speeds determined using the 85th percentile speed measurement method. The 85th percentile speed measurement method is also an international traffic engineering practice for assessing traffic conditions.

31. The 85th percentile speed measurement method will result in better driving conditions for more motorists than the current methodology of using the average or mean speed, as it ensures that 85% of motorists will experience speeds above the threshold. The nature of averaging is such that lower speed readings would be evened out by higher speed readings. Hence, even if the average speed on an ERP-priced road is recorded as being above the threshold, the actual speeds may well be lower than the threshold for a significant part of the time. For example, even though the average travelling speed on the PIE from 7.30 to 8 am was above 45 kph in early January this year, up to 38% of the motorists were actually travelling at speeds below 45 kph. On Thomson Road in October 2007, about half of the motorists travelled at speeds below 20 kph between 8.30-9am, even though the average speed was 20 kph. Thus, using average speeds aggravates the risk of traffic falling into the unstable zone. This also explains why there is at times a disconnect between what LTA says and motorists’ actual driving experience. LTA is correct that the average speed is above the speed thresholds but a good number of motorists are not actually experiencing such speeds.

32. Hence, LTA will no longer use average travelling speeds to determine ERP rate changes. Instead, LTA will use the speed taken at the 85th percentile level. With this change, at least 85% of motorists will be assured of smooth travel on ERP-priced roads.

Update the ERP Rate Structure

33. Traffic volumes have increased substantially in the last few years. This has resulted in the need to make more frequent rate changes on our ERP-priced roads and expressways, from 9 times in 2006 to 25 times in 2007, based on the same number of gantries. Instead of resorting to so many small adjustments, it would be more effective to make larger rate increments. Indeed, many people have commented that the 50 cents rate increment has only a temporary impact on driving behaviour as it is not significant enough to cause people to change their travel behaviour.

34. Therefore, for ERP charges to remain effective in influencing motorists’ behaviour, LTA will raise the incremental ERP charge from $0.50 to $1. In addition, the ERP base charge, which is the starting charge for a new ERP gantry point, will be increased from the current $1 to $2. These changes will improve the effectiveness of the ERP system, so that each time ERP rates are adjusted, motorists who still choose to drive on these roads would see a visible improvement in traffic flows.

Manage Congestion in the City Area

35. City traffic has been building up in the last few years. It is now much more congested in and around the city. Compared to 5 years ago, speeds on major roads in the CBD have fallen by more than 25%. For example, five years ago, a motorist crossing the city from Bugis to Chinatown in the evening enjoyed travelling speeds of 25 kph. Today, the speeds have fallen by almost 30% to 18 kph. At major cross junctions between North Bridge Road and Bras Basah Road, as well as South Bridge Road and Cross Street, the build-up of traffic has resulted in motorists having to wait for 3 or more traffic light changes before they are able to cross the junctions. We cannot let conditions deteriorate further.

36. LTA has carefully studied the traffic situation and will introduce additional ERP gantries in the city area in July 2008 to manage traffic more effectively. These gantries will run roughly along the Singapore River from Clemenceau Avenue to Fullerton Road. Their purpose is to reduce the through traffic, which currently makes up about 38% of the traffic, in this very busy area.

Phasing In the Changes

37. The revised speed measurement criteria and the new rates will be introduced from July 2008, only after the public transport improvements have been rolled out by June 2008. These public transport measures will increase rail and bus passenger capacity by 15,000 trips and 6,800 trips respectively during the morning peak hours. These are more than sufficient to cater to the 6,000 passenger car trips that LTA estimates may be affected by these ERP changes during that period.

38. LTA will phase in the ERP changes, starting with the CBD and Orchard cordons in July as the city area is a key priority. It will then extend the new criteria and rates to other roads progressively with an additional 6 new gantries put up to deal with peak hour congestion in November. This is to give time for people to adjust their travel plans and allow for the impact of changes in the city area to work its way through the rest of the road network. Hence, if as a result of the new ERP rates in the city area, fewer motorists drive on the arterial roads and expressways leading to the city, we may not need to adjust the ERP rates even with the new criteria. LTA will give more details of the new ERP gantries later.

Vehicle Ownership Taxes to be Lowered

39. With all these changes to the ERP system, the expected increase in ERP revenue will be about $70 million a year. In line with our policy to shift progressively towards taxing on the basis of vehicle usage rather than ownership, the Government will reduce road tax by 15% for all vehicles, including taxis. I urge taxi operators to pass on the savings to taxi drivers. This permanent road tax reduction will cost the Government about $110 million annually. It underlines the point that the higher ERP charge is to address congestion and is not a revenue raising measure. If motorists were to drive less, the Government would be happy to collect less ERP revenue.

40. In addition, to lower the upfront cost of car ownership, we will also reduce the Additional Registration Fee (ARF) for cars, lowering the rates from 110% of Open Market Value (OMV) to 100% of OMV with effect from March 2008. The Government will collect about $200 million less annually.

(III) Lower Vehicle Growth Rate

41. Besides enhancing the effectiveness of ERP, we will also need to lower the vehicle growth rate.

42. Every weekday morning and evening, we feel the impact of our 850,000-strong vehicle population on the roads. When I go to dialogue sessions, I often get questions like “Don’t you think there are too many cars on the roads?” People tell me that it is not just the city areas that are getting congested but also suburban areas like Serangoon and Thomson, which they say get chock-a-block full of cars in the evenings. One of the reasons for this increasing congestion is that in applying a 3% growth rate to the current vehicle population base, we have been adding 25,000 vehicles onto the roads each year, compared to 16,000 vehicles back in 1990 when the Vehicle Quota System was introduced. If we continue at a 3% growth rate, we would have enough vehicles, packed bumper to bumper, to turn our entire road network into a giant car park in the not too distant future. If we take into account that road growth will go down to 0.5% a year, then clearly, the 3% vehicle growth rate is no longer tenable.

43. We will, therefore, lower the vehicle population growth rate from the current 3% to 1.5% from Quota Year 2009 (beginning in May 2009). We will review the growth rate after 3 years, and assess then whether a further reduction is necessary, in light of the slowdown in road growth.

Conclusion – Moving A Nation

44. Quite a number of people have suggested to me that I should just focus on improving the public transport system and leave these tough car demand measures to the future. They argue that since we are making such significant improvements to our public transport system, this should be sufficient to deal with our congestion problems. I wish it were so. But unfortunately, I know that it is not the case. The reason is that even if we free up some roads because some motorists decide to switch to public transport, other motorists will soon take their place, attracted by the smooth flowing traffic and very soon, these roads will again be congested. So improving public transport is necessary but not sufficient in itself to deal with congestion. We need both – public transport improvements and congestion measures.

45. There is always a tension between the individual’s personal interest in wanting unrestrained driving and the social goal of a liveable city. We have to decide whether as a people, we are willing to take hard decisions that will benefit our country; or whether, we will, like many other cities, postpone the necessary, store up the trouble and suffer future gridlock, with the attendant costs to the economy and living environment.

46. So we must move – building up our public transport so that people will have a viable alternative to the car and taking firm steps to curb excessive car travel demand, so that all of us will enjoy a quality urban environment now and into the future.

Source: Ministry of Transport, 30 January 2008

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Land Transport Review Part 2: Public transport (rail)

2008-01-26T08:57:00.000+08:00

The Land Transport Review Part 2 which touches on rail expansion plan for the next 10 to 15 years was announced.

The major changes are the announcement of two new rail lines, extension of existing rail lines, improvements to current rail carrying capacity to ease passenger loading, acceleration of rail expansion plan, and changes to rail financing and industry framework. The rest of the changes touch on softer aspects of meeting the diverse travel needs of people. The speech is summarised in the table below (click on image for clearer text). To be able to comprehend the table, please make reference to the full Minister's speech appended below (also available here).

Click here for bigger image

In my personal opinion, I welcome the Eastern Region Line (ERL). This new line expands the rail coverage to more areas such Marine Parade and Upper East Coast. The other line, Thomson Line (TSL), is a black horse in the rail expansion plan. Virtually unheard of (though there are glimpses of it in LTA's 1996 white paper), TSL suddenly jumped onto the rail network scene, and will be completed even earlier than ERL (any reasons?). Starting from Woodlands, TSL runs through Upper Thomson corridor, serving Sin Ming and Ang Mo Kio neighbourhoods' fringe areas, before going down to city area, passing through Great World City (speculation), then joins back the Central Business District before ending in Marina Bay. Looking at its coverage, TSL does not cover much new residential catchments compared to ERL, and I foresee that it will be one of the less profitable lines among all the announced lines. The only possible reason why it was given the green light is that it will help to relieve the train load of North-South Line, which has left passengers gasping for air in the ever packed morning trains. On the 14-km westward extension to Tuas, I only have one comment: would a light-rail system serve the Tuas industrial areas more cost-efficiently?

The Minister also mentions that additional train trips will be added during the morning and evening peak periods and this will result in more comfortable ride for passengers. I see this as a long overdue enhancement to the rail lines, as SMRT train frequencies has not been keeping pace with their exponential passenger growth (read it here, note: link to external site). One interesting point mentioned is that the carrying capacity of North-South and East-West Line will be expanded by 15%, in 4 years time. What I interpret from the announcement is that the carrying capacity of North-South Line is already at its maximum due to a limitation in their design system (as the Minister has put it, "infrastructure constraint"). Changing that part of the system is a heavy investment. I believe if not for the unfortunate Nicoll Highway incident, the Circle Line would have been opened much earlier and would help to relieve passenger load at the North-South Line without the heavy investment in addressing infrastructure constraint.

On the part of shorter wait for rail lines, it is true that Downtown Line Stage 3 will be brought forward by 2 years (for your info, DTL3 runs from Chinatown and passes through Jalan Besar, Macpherson, Kaki Bukit, Bedok Reservoir, Tampines and ending in Expo). However, it is not true for the Government to say that "we will bring forward the Circle Line which was due to open from 2010 onwards". The fact is, the entire Circle Line was due to open by 2010, with the first stage due to open from 2006. What a word of difference it makes! The Nicoll Highway incident delayed the Stage 1 opening, which pushed back the completion date of the entire line from 2010 to 2011 or possible 2012 as announced by the Minister. What irks me is, in every response to questions on Circle Line opening schedule, there is always a constant emphasis that Circle Line opening is on track and is not delayed by the Nicoll Highway incident. Clearly not so.

Moving on, perhaps the most important announcement in Land Transport Review Part 2 is the part on rail financing and industry framework. Again, the Minister provided scant details on such important and ground-breaking changes as they are still in labour process. However, one thing that we are sure is that the current two rail operators arrangement will be maintained (period), and having such arrangement "enables the regulator to benchmark the operators against each other in terms of service standards and cost efficiency". I do hope that this is not the reason why there is a need to maintain more than one rail operator, as there already exists international benchmarking groups comprising rail operators in cities around the world which offers far more comprehensive and meaningful comparison.

Although it is my personal opinion that having one rail operator would make it easier for the Government to award operating rights for new rail lines (I will explain how this is so later), but the announcement on greater contestability in rail industry suggests that there could be new operators in the future, possible overseas operators, when the current operating licences of the rail operators expire in 20 - 30 years time. This will be achieved by shortening the license period from the current 30 years to 10-15 years.

However, I cannot reconcile this fact with the refinement of rail financing framework. I agree with the Minister that to support the expansion of rail network, the financing framework should move from evaluating new lines on a line approach (i.e. financial viability of the proposed new line) to evaluating new lines on a network approach (i.e. how will the proposed new line affect the financial viability of the entire rail network). However, with escalating construction costs and limited incremental passenger patronage due to overlapping catchment areas, the financial viability of new rail lines will not be great, if not impossible at all. As such, to support the proposed new rail financing framework, it is logical to have only one rail operator so that the operator can subsidise the not so financially-viable new lines with the more profitable lines. Or put it simply, having one rail operator will ensure that in the event new lines are not profitable on a line basis, the operator will have the exclusivity to lose money when they are forced to operate new lines under expanding rail network.

The rest of the review is a mixture of plans to meet the diverse needs of passengers (such as having more lifts and barrier-free access for elderly and wheel-chair passengers, allowing foldable bicycle for cyclists), to improve taxi services, and to regulate emission standards to protect the environment. I do not have much comments on those, so you may wish to read up on the details in the speech's paragraph 35 onwards.

As a final note, for those who hoped for some clarify in the role of LTA/PTC, the latest announcement provided one: fares will still be regulated by Public Transport Council subjected to fare cap formula (ref paragraph 39).

Related articles:

SPEECH BY MR RAYMOND LIM, MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT AND SECOND MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS, AT THE VISIT TO KIM CHUAN DEPOT,
FRIDAY, 25 JANUARY 2008, 9.00AM

DOUBLING OUR RAIL NETWORK

1 It is my pleasure to join you here this morning at the Kim Chuan Depot.

2 Last week, you heard about our major initiatives to improve bus services. Today, I will share with you the exciting plans that we have for the rail network, and how we will meet the transport needs of diverse groups of people.

3 Let me start by telling you what commuters can look forward to in the future.

4 By 2020, people who live or work in the city and those who shop and find enjoyment there will be able to reach an MRT station within 400m on average, a mere 5-minute walk. Travelling across the city will be a breeze, because we will have a dense network of MRT stations like what we see in London and New York today.

5 Outside the city, many more areas that are not served by the MRT now, such as Sin Ming, Marine Parade and Tuas will get high speed access to the city.

6 Commuters will also enjoy a more comfortable ride and a shorter wait during peak periods on the existing lines, as additional train trips will be added to increase capacity.

7 I will touch on the new rail lines first.

New Rail Lines to be Built

Thomson Line and Eastern Region Line

8 From the heart of Marina Bay, a new MRT line, the Thomson Line, will travelnorthwards, through the Central Business District and up through Ang Mo Kio all the way to Woodlands connecting estates such as Sin Ming, Kebun Baru, Thomson and Kim Seng which do not now have a direct MRT link.From Marina Bay, this line would connect with another new MRT line, the Eastern Region Line, which will serve the residential estates of Tanjong Rhu, Marine Parade, Siglap, Bedok South and Upper East Coast, and link them to Changi in the east.The Thomson Line or TSL and the Eastern Region Line or ERL together will add 48km to our rail network.The Government has given the go-ahead for the TSL to be built by 2018, and the ERL by 2020.

9 The TSL and ERL will shorten journey times and significantly enhance the connectivity of the rail network. Commuters staying in Sin Ming can save 20 minutes out of their current 45-minute journey to the city, whereas a trip from Marine Parade to Marina Bay on the ERL would take about 20 minutes, almost as fast as travelling by car.

New extensions to North-South and East-West Lines

10 We will also add extensions to the North-South and East-West Lines, which should be completed around 2015.

11 The North-South Line now ends at the Marina Bay station in the south. We will extend the line 1-km southwards to serve upcoming developments in the southern Marina Bay area, such as the new cruise terminal in Marina South.

12 The East-West Line will be extended by another 14km into Tuas.Today, a commuter who lives in Clementi and takes the MRT to work in Tuas has to alight at Boon Lay station and then take a 35-minute bus ride to get to his workplace.With the new Tuas Extension that brings the East-West line right into the heart of Tuas, more of the journey will be on the high speed MRT, reducing his journey time by 20 minutes.

Doubling of rail network by 2020

13 These new rail lines will cost us some $20 billion to build, over and above the $20 billion that government has already committed for the on-going Boon Lay Extension (BLE), the Circle Line (CCL) and the Downtown Line (DTL).The government has decided that all these rail projects are a necessary investment to ensure that our transport infrastructure meets the needs of a growing population and an expanding economy.

14 Together with the rail lines now under construction, the new rail lines will double our network from today’s 138km to 278km in 2020. We expect our rail network to carry 3 times as many journeys, rising from today’s 1.4 million a day to 4.6 million in 2020.

15 Many more people will be served by the MRT, and they will be able to use it to get to many more places.The density of our rail network will increase by 60%, from 31 to 51 km per million population by 2020, comparable to cities like New York and London, and surpassing Hong Kong and Tokyo.

A More Comfortable Ride on Existing Lines

16 Let me turn to the existing rail lines. Train ridership is increasing steadily and commuters have said that they are feeling the squeeze, especially on the North-South and East-West lines.Now, we are far from the crowded conditions of Tokyo trains, which Mr Norman Chong, a Singaporean who has lived in Tokyo for 10 years, describes as being “so packed that bodies are crushed against one another.”He calls it his “regular morning massage”.Other MRT users have likened the average peak period loading on our trains to an off-peak crowd in Shanghai.

17 However, we are not about to let conditions deteriorate and commuters need not worry about getting morning massages any time soon.LTA closely monitors the passenger loading on our trains. To ensure a more comfortable ride for commuters, LTA has worked with the train operators to run 93 additional train trips per week during the morning and evening periods from February 2008 on the North-South East-West and the North-East lines. For commuters, this will mean less crowded trains and a reduction in waiting time by about 10-15% during peak hours.

18 Beyond that, we will also expand the carrying capacity of the North-South and East-West Lines.We will be working with SMRT to purchase more trains and address infrastructure constraints so that peak hour train frequencies can be increased. When completed in about 4 years’ time, carrying capacity will be increased by a further 15%, and commuters can look forward to shorter peak waiting times of 2 minutes, compared to the current 2.5 to 4.5 minutes at stretches that experience heavy loading, and an even more comfortable ride.

A Shorter Wait for the DTL and CCL

19 Many people are counting down to the day they can use the Circle Line (CCL). Others have asked whether we can speed up the building of the Downtown Line (DTL). We have taken to heart such feedback and worked hard with the Ministry of Finance and other partners such as URA, to see how we can bring forward the opening of these lines, to make public transport a choice mode.

DTL 3 to be brought forward by 2 years

20 To benefit residents of Bedok Reservoir and Tampines, we will bring forward the completion of DTL 3 by 2 years, from 2018 to 2016.The completion date of DTL 3 will now be just one year after that of DTL Stage 2 serving the Bukit Timah corridor. As we speed up the development of the DTL, LTA will continue to maintain stringent safety and quality standards in construction.

Earlier opening of Circle Line in 2009

21 Likewise, we will bring forward the Circle Line which was due to open from 2010 onwards. We will now open Circle Line Stage 3 in mid-2009 to benefit residents in the north and north-east.This CCL segment connects Bishan station on the North-South Line and Serangoon station on NEL and opens up multiple new connections for residents in the north and north-east. With the CCL 3, Serangoon residents will take only 25 minutes to get to Yishun by transferring to the North-South line at Bishan station, compared to 45 minutes by bus or by taking the NEL all the way to Dhoby Ghaut before transferring to the North-South line.As for residents staying in Marymount, Lorong Chuan and Bartley, they will enjoy more seamless and direct travel to the city and other parts once CCL 3 commences operation.

More Circle Line stations will be opened

22 Other than bringing forward CCL 3, we will also open more stations on the Circle Line. This will enhance the reach and connectivity of the Circle Line, and allow many more people to benefit from the MRT. We had earlier decided to build the Thomson and West Coast stations as shell stations and fit them out only when there are sufficient developments around them. As the pace of development around these stations is picking up, LTA will now fit out these stations and open them together with the other CCL stations. To enhance the accessibility of the Marina Bay area to the rest of the island, LTA will also build and open the Marina Bay station as part of the CCL extension beyond Bayfront station in 2012.

23 With all these developments that I have highlighted, commuters can look forward to new extensions or stages of new lines opening almost every other year until 2020.

Platform Screen Doors for Above-ground Stations

24 The safety of our rail commuters is key. The incidence of people entering the train track area of above-ground MRT stations has risen from an average of 16 cases a year to 30 in 2006 and 31 in 2007. Besides endangering lives, such incidents disrupt train services and inconvenience many commuters, especially during peak hours.

25 To enhance safety and reduce the incidence of track intrusions, LTA has been studying the feasibility of installing platform screen doors on above-ground MRT stations. With platform screen doors being adopted in more transit systems worldwide, their cost has fallen, making them more cost-effective now.

26 We will therefore install platform screen doors at all above-ground MRT stations, so that commuters can have safer and more reliable train services.LTA will carry out a pilot at Yishun, Jurong East and Pasir Ris stations in 2009 to ensure that operational considerations are met, before rolling this out to all stations by 2012.

Rail Financing and Industry Frameworks to be Strengthened

27 Besides the slew of initiatives I have described - extending the rail network, opening MRT lines earlier and giving commuters more comfortable and safer rides - we will also strengthen the financing framework to facilitate rail expansion.At the same time, we will introduce greater contestability in the rail industry to ensure efficient rail operations and keep costs competitive.

Review financing framework to support rail expansion

28 From now till 2020 and beyond, we are rolling out ambitious rail expansion plans to meet the travel needs of a growing population.

29 As we expand the rail network, future lines will be more expensive to build, operate and maintain as they will be mostly underground. New lines will also need time to build up their ridership, compared to mature lines which serve the more densely built-up corridors. Hence, to keep up the pace of rail expansion, MOT will work with the Ministry of Finance to refine the financing framework. The framework should allow for a network approach, instead of a line approach, to be adopted in evaluating new lines. This would potentially enable future new lines to be implemented a few years earlier than otherwise, so long as the entire rail network remains viable.

Greater contestability in the rail industry

30 We will also strengthen the rail industry framework to enhance efficiency and maintain cost competitiveness.

31 We currently have two rail operators. This enables the regulator to benchmark the operators against each other in terms of service standards and cost efficiency.

32 There have been suggestions to merge the separate rail operations to reap greater economies of scale.Others see value in retaining the existing structure, as competition between the operators helps improve efficiency and service standards.

33 Following an extensive study, LTA’s assessment is that the key issue here is not so much whether there are one or two operators but that the threat of competition must be real to the incumbents. Further, competition must not compromise the integration of the network as the seamless working of the whole network is what gives value to the commuter.

34 Going forward, we will make the rail industry more contestable, to drive efficiency and enhance service standards for commuters. A key step in enhancing contestability is to have shorter operating licences, say 10 to 15 years, compared to the existing 30-year licence periods. Operators will compete for the right to operate rail services. They will have to meet service obligations or risk being replaced at the end of their term. LTA will study the implementation issues carefully with relevant stakeholders.

Meeting Diverse Needs

Ensuring Accessibility for All

35 As we enhance the rail network, we will ensure that our MRT system and the wider transport network are accessible to all, including elderly commuters, families with young children, people with disabilities and those who are less well-off. This is part of our broader commitment to meet the needs of diverse groups within our people-centred land transport system.

Pedestrians

36 Pedestrians can look forward to a more comfortable walking environment, as we build more covered linkways and pedestrian overhead bridges, and make it more convenient to get to bus stops and MRT stations.86% of pedestrian overhead bridges will be covered by 2010. Walkways and commuter facilities will also be made accessible to all, including the less mobile. By 2010, LTA will have completed its $60 million islandwide programme to make pedestrian walkways, access to MRT stations, taxi and bus shelters, and all public roads barrier-free.

Elderly and Less Mobile Commuters

37 The introduction of low-floor, wheel-chair accessible buses has also been welcomed by elderly commuters and wheel-chair users.By 2010, 40% of our buses will be wheelchair accessible, and we intend that by 2020, the entire fleet will be so.

38 More will also be done for MRT users.All MRT stations have already been provided with at least one barrier-free entrance inclusive of a lift.However, the elderly or less mobile commuters sometimes have to make long detours to get to that one entrance with the lift, which defeats the purpose. We will therefore provide 17 additional lifts for 16 MRT stations at the cost of $70 million. Currently, these 16 stations have entrances that are either far apart or are separated by major roads. Putting in a lift at another entrance will benefit, among others, the elderly residents at the Boon Keng housing estate, enabling them to get into the MRT station more easily. So too the people who alight from Boon Keng station to go to the Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital.By end 2011, more than 70% of our MRT stations will have at least two barrier-free access routes.

Helping Poorer Singaporeans Access Public Transport

39 Another group that we pay close attention to are the less well-off Singaporeans. While fares have to reflect the cost of operations, we will see to it that public transport remains accessible to the poorer Singaporeans. Fares will continue to be regulated by the Public Transport Council by a fare cap formula, so public transport operators cannot charge whatever they think the market can bear.This will help keep public transport fares affordable for the general public. As for lower-income families who need more help with their public transport costs, the government is committed to providing targeted help through schemes such as Workfare. Help from the community is also available, such as through the transport vouchers provided by the public transport operators and government.

Improving Taxi Services

40 While we enhance public transport and ensure that all have access to it, we will also facilitate a wide range of transport choices, including taxis and cycling.

41 Taxis offer commuters high-end door-to-door service like cars. The taxi industry is liberalized and taxi supply and fares are determined by the market. LTA sets the Quality of Service standards to protect commuters’ interests.

42 To further enhance taxi services, LTA will tighten the call booking Quality of Service standards to ensure that taxis are available when commuters call for one.

43 LTA will also set up a common call booking telephone number for taxis by July 2008, to complement the taxi companies’ call booking systems. This will make it more convenient for the public, especially the tourists, to call for a taxi as they will only need to remember one telephone number, instead of the different telephone numbers of each taxi company today.

Facilitating Cyclists

44 Cyclists are another group that we will facilitate. There is a growing interest in cycling, with more people cycling for recreation, or to get around the neighbourhood.

45 We invited some of them to our land transport review focus group discussions to see how we could better cater to their needs.Some cyclists asked for more bicycle stands around our bus and MRT stations. Others made the point that some foldable bicycles were not much bigger than prams, so why not allow them onboard our trains and buses?

46 Responding to this, LTA together with the public transport operators will launch a six-month trial from March 2008 to allow cyclists to carry their foldable bicycles on board trains and buses.LTA will also work with NParks and other agencies to leverage on the park connectors to enable cyclists to get to public transport interchanges more easily. Bicycle parking facilities at the MRT stations and bus interchanges in housing estates will be improved.

47 The cyclists also shared their ‘war stories’ and asked us to help improve safety on our roads. Following a pilot in Changi, LTA will put up signs to alert motorists to the presence of cyclists along frequently used cycling routes such as those in West Coast and Thomson from March 08. LTA and the Traffic Police have also started a trial to allow cycling on pedestrian footways in Tampines.

48 But at the end of the day, it is also an issue of mutual accommodation – for the motorists to look out for cyclists on the road; and for cyclists to have a care for pedestrians.

Protecting the Environment

49 Greater use of our MRT and buses as well as non-motorised transport like cycling will help reduce greenhouse gases and protect the environment.Land transport has a critical role in whether a city is liveable or choking on its own exhaust.Our transport policies as a whole serve to ensure a high quality living environment for all Singaporeans.

50 LTA will work with the transport operators to further improve the emission standards of their fleets. By 2014, all our taxis will comply with Euro IV emission levels. By 2010, about 40% of public buses will have achieved this emission target, with 100% by 2020. Through schemes like the Green Vehicle Rebate, LTA will also work with other agencies to promote more energy efficient vehicles as well as the use of cleaner fuels such as CNG (Compressed Natural Gas).

Conclusion

51 By 2020, we will have an integrated, efficient and user-friendly public transport system that enables every Singaporean, including those with special needs, to take part in the life of the city.With a vastly expanded rail network and a bus network that works in partnership with rail, commuters will have fast and reliable connections that bring them where they want to go. A gamut of transport choices including premium buses, taxis and cycling among others, will enable different needs to be met. As society evolves and people’s needs change, our land transport offerings must keep pace as well as encompass the diversity of needs and aspirations. To achieve this, we will plan our land transport system around people, not the other way round.This then will be our touchstone in the planning of land transport policies going forward.

Source: Ministry of Transport, 25 January 2008

Land Transport Review Part 1: Public transport (bus)

2008-01-18T14:13:00.000+08:00

The long awaited Land Transport Review is finally released, or least partially. In the release of Part 1 of the Land Transport Review, Minister Raymond Lim honed in on the sector that is being tasked to meet Singapore's growing transport needs -- public transport sector.

In what is perceived as sweeping changes, the Land Transport Review touched on several initiatives that will improve the overall transport network integration and increase the human touch which will make public transport more user-friendly. In addition, the key change will be more competition in the bus market, but details will be worked over the next few years. Sadly, the issue that rife the market earlier did not materialise -- the review does not recommend a merger (one giant transport company) or take over of selected services (one bus company and one rail company).

For the summary of the initiatives and key performance indicators, please refer to the table below (click on image for clearer text). To be able to comprehend the table, please make reference to the full Minister's speech appended below (also available here). Christopher Tan from The Straits Times also summarised the key changes which is appended below too.

Click here for bigger image

Personally, I hail the centralised bus planning. Ever since the concept of Areas of Responsibility is introduced, whereby the two bus operators are responsible for all the bus network planning in their assigned areas, passengers have suffered in terms of inefficient bus linkage across the operators' area. LTA, the agency being tasked for centralised bus planning, will have a big challenge ahead to plan the bus routes, and to explain to residents why they do not allow for point-to-point services at certain areas and why hub-and-spoke model is best etc (these complains never ends!). It is still too early to say which bus services will be merged, but the many duplicating bus services recently introduced by SBS Transit could be one of the top few candidates.

Also, I like the development of an integrated multi-modal travel information system (I've posted my ramblings about the lack of such here and here ). Though no details on the platform is given, a hint can be found from "Interactive electronic map of the island" -- I have a strong feeling the platform will be Google Map, which is the only electronic map that provides strong interactivity, and it's free too! (for the record, StreetDirectory offers no interactivity while Can.com.sg provides limited interactivity)

I also like the proliferation of real-time bus arrival information at more locations, and more platform too. However, I hope the SMS trial will not be the end -- hopefully it'll be expanded to cover mobile devices too.

A season pass would also encourage more people to use public transport on a regular basis. Just like when you buy a car you will tend to use it more because of the sunk cost of purchasing a car, buying a season pass will encourage you to travel more on public transport to recoup the sunk cost of a pass to make it more worthwhile. However, I have a feeling that if SBS Transit had not came up with their proprietary $98 per month bus season pass which drew flakes from the public for being restrictive (not able to use on MRT and SMRT services), this initiative would not have been mentioned in the review itself. Just my ramblings.

One issue I have with the changes is distance-based through fare system. Although the abolishment of transfer rebate is long overdue, the solution should not be distance-based through fare system. Rather, it should be zonal-based through fare system. With distance-based fare, you will still have the issue of passenger being penalised due to inefficient bus/train network (think buses that need to snake through neighbourhood to extend its coverage). For example, to get from Orchard to Tiong Bahru, I can take a bus which is more direct compared to a train, which take a winding path down Raffles Place and Tanjong Pagar before coming back to Tiong Bahru. However, I may prefer to take train because of many reasons, for example, I like the convenient services provided at the train stations (ATMs/bank/shops), I want to get away from the rain etc, but I will be paying more because of the distant-based fare structure. In addition, the distance-based fare structure will encourage people to take the most direct route if they want to save on the fare, but that route may not be the fastest. My point is, the Minister has already made a point to improve point-to-point travelling, the natural choice to set a fare should be point-to-point too, which a zonal fare fare system offers this. In addition,

All in all, why are these changes not implemented earlier? To be fair to the local players (be it LTA/private operators), all these initiatives are not new. In fact, some of the initiatives have been put to trial many years ago. However, the issue with implementing the initiatives boils down to COST - LTA is unwilling to provide more funding, private operators are unable to agree on jointly developing a single system to share cost etc. Also, the two companies truly lived out the meaning of "competitors" where they compete with each other head-on, rather than competing with their real competitor of private transport (cars), although recently they seemed to have move on. I am glad that the Government is finally providing funding to develop these initiatives to further advance a stagnating (if not degenerating) public transport system.

Having said those, do look out for Part 2 of Land Transport Review at the end of this month, which will be focusing on how to manage cars' usage.

[Post note: There will be another part to the Land Transport Review, which covers enhancement to the MRT system. I'm not sure which one will be released first. Thanks Tim for pointing this out.]

Related articles:

SPEECH BY MR RAYMOND LIM,MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT AND SECOND MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS, AT THE LAUNCH OF THE LAND TRANSPORT GALLERY,
18 JANUARY 2008, 9.20 AM

PUTTING THE COMMUTER AT THE CENTRE

Introduction: The Land Transport Review Journey

1. I am happy to join you this morning to launch the Land Transport Gallery and to share with you the outcomes of our land transport review.

2. We started this review more than a year ago to take stock of the 1996 White Paper on Land Transport and to put in place a new roadmap that will guide land transport developments over the next 10 to 15 years.

3. Today, I will speak about making public transport a choice mode, a viable alternative to the car; and in particular, how we will make public transport more seamless for commuters and improve bus services to help achieve this. I will cover our MRT enhancements and car demand management plans later this month.

4. The central question that we sought to answer in our review was this: What will it take for the majority of Singaporeans to choose the bus or MRT over the car?

5. This is a key question for us because a high reliance on public transport is fundamental to a liveable and environmentally sustainable city. As a city state, Singapore is the second most densely populated country in the world. Already, roads take up 12% of our total land area and the demands on our land transport system are set to increase by 60%, from our current 8.9 million daily journeys to 14.3 million by 2020. Making public transport the centrepiece of our land transport system will be crucial, to keep congestion in check and help protect our environment.

6. With this question in mind – how we can make public transport a choice mode - we set out to understand the perspectives of our commuters.

Insights from Commuters

7. Now, for many, a car means convenience, more control over one’s schedule and time saved, all very important given our busy lives.

8. Hence, if we want people to embrace the bus or train as ‘my other car’, then it stands to reason that the bus and the train will have to be more like ‘my car’. Public transport must be more convenient and comfortable, and journey times more competitive with the car, while remaining affordable.

9. So we asked people, where are the pain points in our public transport system?

10. These were the common refrains: Long waits. Erratic bus arrivals. Circuitous feeders. Overcrowded buses. Give us more point-to-point buses because transfers are inconvenient; the waiting time for each leg adds up, and the total journey time is much too long.

11. To be fair, these comments do not give us the whole picture. In representative surveys taken to get the view of commuters as a whole, 8 in 10 commuters that LTA polled in their 2007 Public Transport Customer Satisfaction Survey were satisfied with the public transport system as a whole, similar to 2006. The International Association of Public Transport (UITP) also named Singapore as one of the top cities for public transport in their 2006 “Mobility in Cities” report.

12. However, LTA’s commuter surveys have also highlighted long waiting times and overcrowding as key concerns. To make public transport competitive with the car, we agree that the system must do even better, and in particular, our review has zeroed in on these problems that commuters have highlighted.

A People-Centred Land Transport System

13. Let me spell out our new philosophy in developing our land transport system going forward.

14. We will do more to put the commuter at the centre of our land transport system. Our land transport system must be planned and built for people, not vehicles. This means seeing through the eyes of the commuter from the time he steps out of his house to the time he gets to his destination. In fact, it starts even before that, as soon as he thinks about making a journey.

15. We will invest in quality, not just system capacity. Simply saying we have planned for enough trains and buses for the increased travel demand in 2020, is not enough. We need to ask: Can people get to a train station or bus stop quickly and comfortably? Are the connections good? How long is total journey time and waiting time between transfers? How crowded are the buses and trains? Can people get timely and user-friendly travel information? And so on. Everything that is important to the commuter needs to be thought through. Only then would we be able to achieve our target of making 70% of all morning peak hour trips on public transport by 2020.

16. I will now highlight the principal strategies to address the problems raised by commuters:

(I) Making our Hub-and-spoke System Seamless

(II) Introducing More Competition to Drive Efficiency and Service Improvements

(III) Involving our People in the Land Transport System

(I) Making our Hub-and-spoke System Seamless

17. First, we will enhance our hub-and-spoke system to address the key problems of waiting time, travel time and over-crowding. It is the right model for our public transport system. The alternative is to have many direct services, which cannot work in a compact city state like Singapore.

18. Let me illustrate the difference between the two approaches. Let us take 20 origins and 20 destination points with a hub in the centre. With a hub-and-spoke system, you will have 20 buses going into the hub from the origins and 20 buses leaving the hub to the destinations, or 40 bus services to run this system. Take away the hub, replace it with direct services, and you will need 400 bus services.

19. A direct service between every origin and destination point is thus inefficient and expensive. There would be long waits between buses as the passenger volumes would not be able to justify frequent services for many of the services. Our hub-and-spoke model is not only much more efficient, but also delivers better outcomes for commuters.

20. Transfers are part and parcel of a hub-and-spoke system. They can in fact reduce overall travel time, especially for longer journeys using rail, because trains travel faster than traffic on the roads. But unfortunately, transfers today are not as seamless and easy as they should be.

21. Ms Jeanne Conceicao, a participant at one of the focus group discussions, told us about her experience with the daily commute. She gave up on the MRT in favour of the taxi. Taking the bus or MRT was just too wearying. Too many decision points, she said. She had to take a feeder bus to the MRT station, hop on the North-South line, then transfer onto the East-West Line, and then hop onto another feeder bus that took her to Heng Mui Keng Terrace where she worked. The uncertainty of the journey time - how long it would take for the feeder bus to arrive; whether taking the MRT to Raffles Place or Jurong East interchange to transfer would be faster - it took too much out of her. In the end, she decided to take a taxi, and would be buying a car.

22. This really drives home the point that we need to improve the connectivity of our hub-and-spoke system, in particular the integration between the feeders, trunk buses and the MRT. Only then can we ensure seamless transfers and make the whole public transport journey as convenient as possible.

23. System unity is thus critical: the entire public transport system should be planned and operated as a whole and not as separate parts. The choice for the commuter should not be between bus or rail but between public transport and the car. But this is not the case today.

24. Currently, the two public transport operators plan the bus routes within their areas of operation based on commercial considerations, subject to minimum service obligations.

25. This has led to a situation where out of more than 250 bus services, only 35% are run at intervals of 10 minutes or less. Some even run at intervals longer than 30 minutes.

26. Then there are the feeder buses that make huge, circuitous loops before they get to the MRT station or bus interchange.

27. Yet others have pointed out that there was no integrated travel information across both operators. Up till recently, before LTA worked with the operators to develop the Electronic Bus Journey Planner which is now on the Transitlink website, you could go to the SBST website, look up a bus service to take you from Orchard Road to Choa Chu Kang and fail to find one. This is because Choa Chu Kang is under SMRT’s area of responsibility, and not SBST’s.

28. We will undertake five major initiatives to enhance our hub and spoke system and address the problems I have highlighted. They are:

(a) LTA to undertake Centralised Bus Planning;

(b) Distance-based Through Fares to Facilitate Transfers;

(c) Bus Priority Measures to Speed Up Buses;

(d) Integrated Public Transport Hubs; and

(e) Integrated Public Transport Service Information.

(a) LTA To Undertake Centralised Bus Planning

29. Buses are an integral part of our public transport system, serving two-thirds of all commuter trips today. If we allow the bus to become the poor cousin of the train, the system as a whole suffers and commuters suffer. Rail and buses must work in close partnership.

30. This is why, by 2009, LTA will also take on central planning of the bus network, so that we have one agency that does all the land transport planning with the people in mind. By integrating the planning of the bus, rail as well as the road network, LTA will be able to optimise the performance of the entire land transport system for commuters’ benefit. The Public Transport Council (PTC) will continue to have oversight of the bus network and service quality.

31. By 2015, our target is for 80% of public transport commuters to complete their journeys within an hour, from the point they set off, to arriving at their destination, up from 71% today. We will narrow the gap between public transport and car journey times. By 2020, journeys on public transport should not take more than 1.5 times that by car, a reduction from the current 1.7 times.

32. The LTA and Public Transport Council (PTC) have already made a start by tightening the Quality of Service (QoS) standards for buses to address problem areas. To shorten waiting time for buses and reduce crowding, the bus operators are now required to despatch buses from the bus interchanges at more frequent intervals. At least 80% of bus services must be run at peak frequencies of 10 minutes or less by August 2009, compared with 15 minutes today.

33. Going forward, LTA will ensure that there are more frequent and direct feeder services so that commuters get to MRT stations and bus interchanges in less time. Bus and rail service schedules at the interchanges will also be better coordinated, to cut down waiting times and facilitate transfers.

(b) Distance-based Through Fares to Facilitate Transfers

34. To further enhance transfers, we will introduce a distance-based through fare system by 2009 to get rid of the transfer fare penalty. Under a through fare system, commuters will pay a fare based on the distance they travel on bus, rail or both, irrespective of the transfers they make.

35. For example, an SMU (Singapore Management University) student who lives in Sin Ming Avenue could take a direct bus service 162 from SMU which costs $1.19. Or he could hop onto 166 or 167 if it comes along first, and make a transfer along Upper Thomson Road onto bus service 52, 410 or 162, whichever arrives first. The latter would be more expensive and cost up to $1.61 today. With through fares, the student would pay the same fare, whether he takes one bus, or two buses, along the same route as there will be no transfer penalty.

36. As LTA works with the operators to refine the fare system, it will also work towards making available an integrated season pass for travel on both bus and rail regardless of operator.

(c) Bus Priority Measures to Speed Up Buses

37. To speed up the buses and enhance their reliability, we have introduced bus priority measures such as full-day bus lanes so that buses can travel unimpeded by other traffic. These have improved bus speeds by an average of 7% and as much as 16% on some roads. We will do more.

38. We will make the coverage of our network of bus lanes more comprehensive, especially within the CBD. By June 2008, the network of normal bus lanes will be extended from 120 km to 150 km, and full-day bus lanes will treble from 7 km to 23 km.

39. Even with the bus lanes, buses are sometimes slowed down by other left-turning traffic at traffic light junctions. LTA will therefore be piloting a new scheme by end 2008, to give signal priority to buses at traffic light junctions, so that buses have right-of-way over other vehicles turning left into side roads.

40. Another key aspect of reducing travel times on our buses is to reduce the dwell time at bus bays. An SBST survey showed that up to 9% of travel time on buses is spent trying to get out of bus bays. To address this, LTA will make it mandatory for motorists to give way to buses exiting from bus bays by end 2008.

41. All these bus priority measures will help work towards increasing bus speeds to 20-25 kph by 2009, up from the current 16 kph for feeder buses and 19 kph for trunk buses.

(d) Integrated Public Transport Hubs

42. Part of making public transport more convenient is to reduce the physical effort of accessing our bus interchanges and MRT stations, especially with our high humidity and sudden rain showers. We will do more to integrate our bus and MRT stations and even turn them into lifestyle hubs like Raffles Xchange and Tanjong Pagar MRT station.

43. With the opening of Ang Mo Kio Hub last year, residents have told us they liked the air-conditioned bus interchange where they can pop into shops at the passenger concourse before their bus arrived. Others liked the convenience of the underground linkway to Ang Mo Kio MRT station. These attributes have helped increase public transport ridership at this hub.

44. We will therefore embark on a programme to build more integrated public transport hubs as well as upgrade existing bus interchanges. We have already started building two more integrated bus interchanges at Boon Lay (2009) and Clementi (2011) which will be ready in a few years, bringing the total number of integrated bus interchanges to 5 (Ang Mo Kio, Toa Payoh and Sengkang). Over the next 10 years, we will upgrade another 5 interchanges at Bedok, Jurong East, Serangoon, Joo Koon and Marina South in tandem with the re-development in these areas, to better integrate our transport hubs with the surrounding facilities.

(e) Integrated Public Transport Service Information

45. Travel information was another missing link in the commuting chain until recently.

46. Now, all 4500 bus stops island wide have bus service information posters unlike in the past. LTA has also installed Key Bus Service Maps at 36 bus stops in the Orchard Road area. These maps set out the key bus routes and places of interest in a clear pictorial format, so commuters can find their bus more easily.

47. Going forward, to reduce the anxiety of waiting and provide more certainty on journey times, we will make available dynamic, real-time travel information to commuters on the go. Last year, LTA piloted real-time bus arrival information panels at 30 bus stops in the CBD and two HDB towns (Yishun and Ang Mo Kio). This has worked well and LTA will install these panels at another 20 bus stops by May 2008. In addition, from July, LTA will embark on a trial to use SMS to provide real-time bus arrival information to commuters at these bus stops.

48. To help people plan their journeys better, LTA and Transitlink will come up with an enhanced Integrated Public Transport Journey Planner which also has basic map features, by July 2008. You can get travel information via the internet or the hotline to plan out your route, and yes it will cover both SBST and SMRT services.

49. As a further step, LTA will develop an Integrated Multi-Modal Travel Information System for door-to-door travel planning. It will have an interactive electronic map of the island where commuters can get information on bus service routes, bus stops and rail stations, arrival information and landmarks at a glance, at home or on their office computer, and also when they are on the move via their mobile devices.

(II) Introducing More Competition to Drive Efficiency and Service Improvements

Enhance Contestability of Bus Services

50. Competition enhances efficiency and keeps costs competitive. Cities in Europe and Australia and Hong Kong have moved towards making their bus services more contestable. They found that introducing some form of competition, or even just the real threat of competition, is an effective way to keep bus operations efficient and raise service standards.

51. Hence, our second broad strategy is to gradually open up our basic bus service sector for more competition, by making the right to operate bus services contestable. There are limited economies of scale for bus operations above a fleet size of 500 buses. Hence, our current bus industry of about 3,700 buses could potentially support more than the current two operators.

52. Our intention is to introduce competition “for” the market, where operators compete periodically for the right to provide a package of bus services designed by LTA. They will have to fulfil service obligations or risk being replaced when their term is up. This is different from competition “in” the market or head-on competition for market share, which would be detrimental to an integrated public transport system where the emphasis is on co-operation to grow the overall pie.

53. Injecting greater contestability into our bus industry is a major change. Not only is it critical to get the policies right, it is just as important that we implement the changes smoothly. Hence, over the next year or so, we will study all the issues carefully together with all relevant stakeholders, before embarking on any changes.

More Niche Services - Premium Bus & other Non-Basic Services

54. To keep up the momentum of service improvement, we will continue to encourage a range of niche bus services to give commuters more choices. One example is the premium buses which are proving to be very popular. Another example is the FastForward services which are express services that run during peak hours, and which can cut journey time by up to 20% because of fewer stops.

(III) Involving our People in the Land Transport System

55. Now, these exciting plans that we have for public transport commuters would not be what they are, if not for the contributions of the many people who took time to share their perspectives.

56. Indeed, the whole land transport review has benefited from the inputs of a broad spectrum of stakeholders and public. Besides the many emails, web postings and letters we received, numerous people participated in our focus group discussions, and Great Transport Challenge Game. In total, more than 4500 people contributed their time, energies and ideas to the review.

57. We will continue to keep our fingers firmly on the pulse of our people, their changing travel needs, preferences and the interests they represent. We will also enhance what we have already started with this land transport review.

58. Moving forward, the community, the people who use the transport system, will play a larger role in helping to shape and implement land transport plans and initiatives.

59. To support the community’s involvement in transport issues, LTA has set up a new “Land Transport Community Partnership Division”. Teams from this division will be assigned to each constituency to handle not only the day-to-day road and traffic management functions more effectively, but to also engage the community more closely on the ground.

60. LTA will also be launching its Community Outreach Programme where gatherings will be held with grassroots leaders to share and discuss land transport policies and plans. To reach out to young people, LTA will step up efforts to engage them in their schools and through the new media. And of course, today’s launch of the Land Transport Gallery is an important part of this holistic effort to reach out to our people.

Conclusion

61. With all these changes, commuters will have a public transport system where the bus and rail work together in close partnership. Fast and frequent feeders will bring commuters to the high speed trunk routes served by rail or trunk buses. Services will be co-ordinated and easy to understand. Buses will travel speedily on the roads, aided by comprehensive bus priority measures.

62. Commuters will make convenient transfers, without any fare penalty, in the comfort of integrated public transport interchanges. Those who wish to can make use of an integrated season pass. They will have easy access to public transport information on the web and on the phone, including real-time information while on the go.

63. Now, besides making these public transport improvements, it is also important that we manage car usage. We need to do more of both to ensure that we have a quality urban living environment. In particular, to keep our roads free flowing, we will need to lower our vehicle growth rate and raise ERP charges. In the past few years, our roads have become more congested. Driving in the Suntec area in the evening, for instance, is often a real challenge. We must do something about this as the city centre is the heart of our economy. We will also need to raise the performance bar for our ERP system, so that motorists who use these roads, be it in the CBD or the expressways, get a better driving experience. I will be announcing these measures later this month as part of our land transport review.

1. Together, these initiatives to transform our public transport system and manage car usage will help ensure that Singaporeans enjoy the benefits that come from a vibrant and growing city, rather than pay heavily for it through gridlock and pollution.

Source: Ministry of Transport, 18 Jan 2008

[Author's note: The wrong numbering of paragraph 64 is inherent in the press release itself.]

Key changes to improve land transport in S'pore
by Christopher Tan, The Straits Times

• Distance-based fares to allow transfers
Commuter will no longer be penalised when they transfer from one bus to another while still on the same journey. The fare will be calculated based on the total distance travelled instead and the commuters will pay less for the distance. For example, a trip from Sin Ming in Thomson to the Singapore Management University at Bras Basah will cost $1.09 instead of $1.31 now.

• Buses will get more priority on the road
There will be more full-day bus lanes so that buses can have unimpeded travel. It will be mandatory for all other vehicles to give way to buses exiting from bus bays by end of 2008. By June 2008, network of normal bus lanes will be extended from 120 km to 150 km, and full-day bus lanes will treble from 7 km to 23 km. Bus drivers now spend 9 per cent of their time on the roads waiting for others to give way. These measures to give priority to buses will increase bus speeds to 20 to 25 kph by 2009, up from the current 16 kph for feeder buses and 19 kph for trunk buses.

• More competition to operate buses
LTA will open up the market and tender out parcels of bus routes to anyone who can deliver the services at the standards it spells out. Cities in Europe, Australia and Hong Kong have moved towars making their bus services more contestable. They found that introducing some form of competition, or even just the real threat of competition, is an effective way to keep bus operations efficient and raise service standards. There are now two public transport operators - the SMRT and SBS Transit - in Singapore running about 3,700 buses on the roads. This has lead to a situation where out of more than 250 bus services, only 35 per cent are run at intervals of 10 minutes or less. Some even run at intervals longer than 30 minutes. The feeder buses make huge, circuitous loops before they get to the MRT station or bus interchange. There is no integrated travel information from the two operators.

• Centralised bus planning
The public transport system serves two-thirds of all commuter trips in Singapore, thus, rail and buses must work in close partnership. By 2009, LTA will take on central planning of the bus network so that there will be only one agency handling the land transport planning, which will integrate the bus, rail and the road network.

• Speeding up travel by public transport
By 2015, the target is for 80 per cent of public transport commuters to complete their journeys within an hour - up from 71 per cent today. Gap between public transport and car journey times will be narrowed. By 2020, journeys on public transport should not take more than 1.5 times that by car, a drop from the current 1.7 times. At least 80 per cent of bus services must be run at peak frequencies of 10 minutes or less by August 2009, compared with 15 minutest today.

• More niche services
Expect more niche bus services like the premium buses from housing estates to the city centre. Over 60 are running and another 40 more are awaiting approval.

• Integrated public transport service information
Travel information is a missing link in the commuting chain until recently. To reduce the anxiety of waiting and provide more certainty on journey times, dynamic, real-time information will be made available to commuters on the go. To help people plan their journeys better, LTA and Transitlink will come up with an enhanced integrated public transport journey planner, which also has basic map features by July 2008. There will also be an interactive electronic map of the island where commuters can get information on bus service routes, bus stops and rail stations, arrival information and landmarks at a glance - at home or on office computer, and mobile devices.

Source: The Straits Times, 18 Jan 2008

Farmway LRT

2007-11-13T20:25:00.000+08:00

As speculated in the post of "New MRT Map", SBS Transit has confirmed that Farmway LRT station is opening this Thursday (15 Nov 2007).

With the opening of Farmway LRT station, residents staying in Blk 316 to Blk 318 can finally enjoy a shorter walk to LRT access. Before the opening of Farmway, they need to endure more than 400m walk to Tongkang LRT.

Having said so, the residents still need to endure a long 13-min LRT ride to and fro Sengkang town centre if they happen to travel during morning and evening peak hours -- being the firsts to board LRT in the morning peak (to be exact, before 3pm) and the lasts to alight in the evening peak (to be exact, after 3pm).

New MRT map

2007-10-30T12:15:00.000+08:00

Spotted any difference?

Red North-South Line gets a little bend
Sembawang finally updated with a "Bus Interchange Station" logo
Downtown Line Phase 1 is drawn (in dark brown)
And, Farmway LRT is opening soon. :)

[Post note: For information on new rail lines as announced in Land Transport Review Part 2, please refer to here.]

More expensive to travel by bus than train

2007-09-11T23:23:00.000+08:00

Come October 2007, public transport fares are going up again. To be exact, only bus fares will see an increase while train fares will be unchanged.

In announcing the latest fare hike, Public Transport Council defended its decision to approve this year's fare revision: both wages and transport fare affordability improved, and the profit of operators are not excessive, so there are no "extenuating circumstances" not to grant the full 1.8% allowed this year to buses. The same fate cannot be said of train: their profit indicator is showing that they are performing too well last year to deserve a fair revaluation of their fares.

As such, the decision to raise only bus fares but not train fares created an interesting phenomenon. Train systems are known to be expensive to operate, which is why it goes without dispute that train fares are higher, if not comparable, to bus fares in almost all cities in the world. The latest revision bucked this trend. In fact, we might have created a world first in land transport industry by allowing bus fares to be more expensive in close to half of the approved fare band.

Responding to PTC's announcement, SMRT rightly pointed out this:

“The latest increase in bus fares will cause SMRT train fares to be cheaper than bus fares in five out of the eight fare bands.”, said Mr Yeo Meng Hin, Deputy President & Chief Operating Officer, SMRT Corporation Ltd

To illustrate this awkward trend, please refer to the graph I've drawn up below (you may wish to click on it to see an enlarged version).

Note that the fares quoted above is for Adult ez-link fare, and the band is following train fare band which has finer graduation of 16 bands compared to bus fare band which has only 8. As you can see, bus fares are more expensive than trains for travel up to band 7, which is the equivalent of about 12km travel. If you're travelling from the city, it is roughly equivalent to travelling from city area to either Buona Vista (west), Paya Lebar(east) or Bishan (north).

Come 2007, do think twice about hopping on a bus for short trips. If you're travelling a distance less than about 12km, it is cheaper to travel by train than bus. You could potentially save up to 11 cents per trip!

For more information, please refer to the following press releases:

Bus Journey Planner

2007-08-27T22:18:00.000+08:00

Weeks ago, I lamented the snail pace progress of the electronic bus journey planner. Originally scheduled for public trial release in July, it is not until today that it is launched. For those who are unaware, you may read up some background here. Essentially it is an integrated tool that enable people to plan how to get from one point to another using public bus services offered by the two major operators.

I've given it a try and here are my findings:

It is bus-stop based. Although it offers three different ways of search (by street names, MRT stations, or bus interchanges), it still requires user to select which bus stops they are boarding and alighting. This is unlike journey planners in other countries which also offer major attractions/landmark as another way. It would be great if TransitLink can incorporate "landmark enquiry" into the bus journey planner.
Bus stops are paired. What this means is that it is able to advice you to walk to the opposite bus stops if you choose the wrong direction of travel. Say goodbye to solutions that require you to travel in nonsensical loops.
Walking distances are coded. When suggesting an alternative bus stop, it is able to tell you the walking distance from the bus stop you've selected to the proposed boarding point. Best of all, you can select how far you are prepared to walk to alternative bus stops for more direct journey by choosing from a selection of 200m, 300m or 400m. (Why not offer solutions of up to 800m if people are willing to walk?)
Number of bus stops. Besides providing the usual information of fares and travel times, it also lists the number of bus stops in between boarding point and alighting point of each leg of the journey.
Make it more user friendly please. It would be easier to select the street addresses from the drop-down menu if it is separated into smaller list (say breakdown by alphabet) instead of a single long-list. Second, it is intuitive to provide a link at the proposed solutions page to allow users to view the bus route details with a single click.
More fare information please. Instead of giving adult (ez-link) fare and cash fare only, why not list child fare and senior citizen fares too? Also, please help us to compute the total journey fare by including transfers rebates too! (I'm sure you're able to deal with the complications arising from SBST $1.90 fare cap)

And the last of my comment? Please consider expanding the journey planner to include other modes. We should not be contended with having a BUS ONLY journey planner. We should challenge ourselves to develop a total integrated journey planner, offering solutions using buses, MRTs, and even walking!

Explore it here now.

LTA And Transitlink Launch Electronic Bus Journey Planner

Joint News Release

From today, commuters will be able to plan their bus journeys with the Electronic Bus Journey Planner at www.transitlink.com.sg. The Planner will cover all bus services provided by SBS Transit and SMRT.

1 By indicating the origin and destination bus stops or bus interchanges, commuters will be able to obtain information on various possible bus travel routes, select their desired travel route, determine the estimated travel time, number of transfers required and fares for each route.

2 The Planner is introduced on a 3-month trial basis, with funding support from the Land Transport Authority. This is part of LTA's continual efforts to promote the use of public transport and make it a choice mode for commuters. During the trial, TransitLink will obtain commuters' feedback and suggestions and improve on the Electronic Bus Journey Planner where relevant. Commuters are encouraged to provide their comments via TransitLink website www.transitlink.com.sg.
Source: LTA, TransitLink (27 Aug 2007)

New ERP gantries

2007-08-26T17:43:00.000+08:00

[Note: If you're looking for locations of the 16 new ERP gantries as announced in the Land Transport Review, please refer to this latest post instead.]

More ERP gantries coming your way on 1 Nov 2007 onwards. In summary, the changes are:

South-bound CTE: Operational hours extended from 7:30am - 9:30am to 7am - 11am on weekdays
North-bound CTE (before PIE): New gantry charging from 5:30pm - 10:30pm on weekdays
East-bound CTE: Two new gantries charging from 6pm - 8pm on weekdays. One gantry is placed before the Rochor Road exit and another at the Ophir Road slip road.
South-bound BKE (before PIE): New gantry 7:30am - 9am on weekdays

[Post-note: The 4 ERP gantries mentioned above are denoted by blue pins. The rest of the pins are the location of the new 16 ERP gantries that was announced in the Land Transport Review Part 3. ]

View Larger Map

Expanding ERP Coverage To Better Manage Congestion
1. Traffic congestion affects the quality of life and the environment as well as the overall efficiency and productivity of the economy. The LTA adopts a holistic and multi-pronged approach to deal with congestion in a sustainable manner. These include promoting the use of public transport, moderating vehicle growth, and using Electronic Road Pricing (ERP).
2. The ERP is a key tool for managing congestion, by maintaining traffic flow within the optimal speed range of 45 to 65 kilometres per hour on expressways and 20 to 30 kilometres per hour on arterial roads. The ERP seeks to achieve relatively smooth flowing roads by encouraging motorists to consciously plan their trips via different routes or consider public transport alternatives. As demand for travel increases due to factors such as population and economic growth, the ERP has to be continually reviewed for effectiveness, to take into account dynamic traffic conditions.
3. The LTA has completed its review of traffic conditions on the roads and will be extending the coverage of ERP at the following locations. The changes take effect from 1 November 2007.
South-bound Central Expressway (CTE): Extension of Morning ERP Hours
4. Currently, ERP is in operation on the south-bound CTE from 7.30am to 9.30am during weekdays. The ERP has been effective in keeping traffic congestion in check during this period. However, outside the current ERP operating hours, traffic speeds have consistently fallen below the optimal speed range on the stretch between Ang Mo Kio Ave 3 and Braddell Road.
5. To improve traffic speeds, the charging hours at the ERP gantry between Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 and Braddell Road will be extended to operate from 7am to 11am on weekdays.
6. There will be no changes in the operating hours (7.30am to 9.30am) of the other three ERP gantries along south-bound CTE (between Braddell Road and PIE; and Serangoon and Balestier Slip Roads). This is because the speeds along this CTE stretch between Braddell Road and PIE remain within the optimal speed range.

North-bound Central Expressway (CTE): New Gantry with Extended Evening ERP Hours
7. The implementation of evening ERP on the north-bound CTE since August 2005 has helped to improve travel speeds on the CTE north of the Pan Island Expressway (PIE) exit. However, the average traffic speeds on the stretch from Bukit Timah to just before the PIE exit have consistently fallen below the optimal speed range due to the high volume of traffic from the city exiting to the PIE.
8. To manage congestion along this stretch, a new ERP gantry will be erected along the north-bound CTE just before the PIE exit. The charging hours at this gantry will be between 5.30 pm and 10.30 pm on weekdays. The charging hours reflect the period during which congestion is experienced on this stretch of the CTE.

Evening ERP on East-bound East Coast Parkway (ECP): New Gantries for Evening ERP Charging
9. The high traffic volume along the east-bound ECP between 6pm and 8pm on weekdays has led to traffic congestion occurring between Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE) and Fort Road exit of east-bound ECP.
10. In March 2007, LTA had provided an additional lane in each direction of the ECP between Fort Road and Marina South to help alleviate the congestion. Despite this, traffic speeds continue to remain below the optimal speed range.
11. To manage the congestion, ERP will be implemented on the east-bound ECP from 6pm to 8pm during weekdays. An ERP gantry will be erected at each of the two accesses into the east-bound ECP from the city and the AYE, namely, (i) before the Rochor Road exit and (ii) at the Ophir Road slip road.
South-bound Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE): New Gantry for Morning ERP Charging
12. Average traffic speeds on the BKE have deteriorated below the optimal speed range on weekdays. A new ERP gantry will be erected after the Dairy Farm exit, before the BKE joins the PIE, to help manage the traffic congestion there. The operating hours for this gantry will be from 7.30am to 9am during weekdays.

Installation of Other Gantries Which Will Not Be Activated Until Speeds Fall Below Optimal Speed Range
South-bound Upper Bukit Timah Road: New Gantry
13. With the introduction of a new gantry at the south-bound BKE, traffic at Upper Bukit Timah Road may deteriorate as traffic decants from the BKE. Hence, an ERP gantry will be erected along the south-bound Upper Bukit Timah Road after Hume Avenue to allow us to address congestion in a timely manner if it were to build up. This gantry will only be activated when congestion builds up and traffic conditions warrant the implementation of ERP.
14. LTA will give prior notice before levying any ERP charge at this gantry.

Outer Cordon: New ERP Gantries
15. In May 1999, LTA announced that the ERP system would be progressively expanded beyond the Restricted Zone (RZ) to relieve traffic congestion along roads in the Outer Cordon area under Phase 2 of the ERP plan. The aim is to relieve congestion in the Outer Cordon area by forming a cordon covering the radial roads leading into the city around the RZ.
16. On 6 September 1999, LTA implemented seven gantries in the Outer Cordon and the Central Expressway under ERP Phase 2A, and announced that the remaining Phase 2 gantries would be implemented as and when traffic conditions warrant it.
17. There are 10 locations remaining in the Outer Cordon where ERP has not been implemented. LTA has been monitoring traffic conditions on these roads very closely and anticipates that traffic speeds may deteriorate below the optimal speed range at four of the locations.
18. To enable LTA to be more timely in managing traffic congestion on these roads, LTA will be installing gantries at these four locations, namely Toa Payoh Lorong 6, Upper Boon Keng Road, Kallang Bahru Road and Geylang Bahru Road. ERP charging will be activated only when traffic conditions deteriorate and warrant the implementation of ERP. LTA will continue to monitor the traffic conditions at the remaining six locations.
19. LTA will give prior notice before implementing ERP charging at these gantries.

Enclosures:
Annex A - ERP charges at new gantries/extended hours of operation
Annex B - Summary of implementation dates for ERP 2007 (including KPE)
Annex C - Location maps of gantries (with dates of implementation for gantries operating in 2007)
Annex D - Location map of ERP Outer Cordon gantries
Source: LTA (23 August 2007)

Real-time bus arrival information panels & Key bus services map

2007-08-01T08:48:00.002+08:00

I've come to a realisation that this transport blog is too boring: text, text, and more text. In an effort to spruce things up, I've posted some photos. Pardon for the poor photography skills though.

(A) Real-time Bus Arrival Information Panel

Passengers will be able to know when their next bus will arrive with the new real-time bus arrival information panels. Two panels are already up at bus stops outside Delfi Orchard and Le Meridien Shopping Centre. A total of 30 bus stops will be fitted with LED panels by August 2007 -- 20 in Orchard; 5 in Ang Mo Kio town, and another 5 in Yishun Town.

Real-time bus arrival information panel @ Delfi Orchard

Panel @ Le Meridien Shopping Centre

Bus 700 is clearly approaching the bus stop. Why is it the panel showing next bus is 12-min away?

Basking in bright daylight, the LEDs fade into the background, leaving passengers squirming their eyes over the bus services number in green. To improve service delivery, they can consider enhancing the LED contrast, or change the font colour. How useful are these panels? Take a poll on your right to voice your opinion!

(B) Key Bus Services Map

Key Bus Services Map will be installed at 36 bus stops around Orchard Road by August 2007. It will provide graphical information of selected key bus routes calling at the bus stops and the routes they cover. Measuring 1m x 1m, they are housed in specially designed and installed tampered proof glass panel.

Key Bus Services Map

Bus routes are differentiated by colours and labels

Look! "You are here!"

The key bus service map looks uncanningly familiar to an equivalent London's map. London's version is so much more elegant. Our own version is living demonstration to our failed attempt to copy the initiative.

Don't get me wrong. The map is a good initiative. Perhaps what LTA needs to do is to engage a better design agency that can produces a map with better layout, better typography, and a design that is more consistent with their public transport signal guidelines. It would help greatly if they replace the meaningless shopping malls logo with one that reflects the architecture of the building. Oh? No unique architecture for shopping malls in Singapore? It's not LTA's fault then. Pardon me. May the new ION Orchard and Orchard Central shopping malls add some spice to Orchard Road architecture.

[Post note: Softcopy of Key Bus Services Map is now available]

Public transport information going in circles again: Part II

2007-08-01T00:00:00.000+08:00

In March 2007, LTA announced that it would introduce two initiatives to enhance public transport experience. One of the them is real-time bus arrival information which was launched on schedule. The other initiative is electronic bus journey planner.

LTA promised that the electronic bus journey planner would be available on TransitLink website for testing by July 2007. Today is 1 Aug 2007. Has anyone seen it yet?

(no response)

It's nowhere to be seen. :-(

I was actually looking forward to the launch of the new electronic bus journey planner. The reason being the planning tools currently available provide only piecemeal information or limited functions. A summary of the choices available now:

StreetDirectory.com: Provides point-to-point route planning using SBS Transit buses and MRT only (with map)
iris Journey Planner: Provides point-to-point route planning using SBS Transit buses only (map optional)
SMRT E-Bus Guide: Provides point-to-point route planning using using SMRT buses only
TransitLink EGuide: Compilation of a list of bus services from both operators, SBS Transit and SMRT

The new electronic bus journey planner would provide passengers with a more comprehensive planning tool. It aims to the one-stop planning tool that merge information from both public transport operators. This means that passengers would not get a nil return from the journey planner if they try to find out how to get from Boon Lay to Yishun, or Woodlands to Serangoon, or Clementi to Choa Chu Kang... (or whatever travel path that goes from SBS area to SMRT area, vice versa). It would also eliminate the hassle of using two or more planning tools to get complete journey information. It is touted as the final solution to the current piecemeal information provision.

I do understand that developing a journey planner is not an easy task, especially more so when TransitLink is developing it in-house. Already faced with a stretched workforce, they also need to meet the never-ending external requests (psst... I heard one of the guilty party is LTA themselves, which push them to put up bus service information at all bus stops panels). It is no wonder there is a delay to the journey planner.

An alternative solution is to outsource the development of the journey planner. There are many countries in the world that already have a comprehensive journey planner (e.g. London, Paris) ,and some of them are developed by consultants. There are also many bundled packages available all over the world. All it takes is a sum of money and a time of about six months to develop a journey planner with full functionalities. The comprehensive planner allows journey solutions that involves all modes (note: the new TransitLink journey planner provides solutions using buses only), and schedule planning down to the minutes (be it day/night). Some even give details on the walking time and distance travelled.

As of now, there is no news on the status of the journey planner. A last check at TransitLink EGuide shows some signs of feeble work in progress. There is an addition of TransitLink Portal section which requires password access (which means I have no idea what is inside!). Also, there is a new function that allows users to calculate fare by simply selecting the boarding and alighting points. I would say the fare calculation is quite a useful and innovative feature to keep me entertained while I wait patiently for the next generation of the journey planner.

Meanwhile, to cover the lack of progress on the bus journey planner, LTA chose not to mention the delay in the journey planner project. Instead, they replaced the journey planner with a another initiative known as "Key Bus Services Map" that provides bus routes information around Orchard area. The news release is attached below for your reference.

Interestingly Hong Kong does not have a journey planner yet. Maybe LTA will hasten the development of Singapore journey planner if Hong Kong happens to procure theirs.

LTA Introduces Initiatives To Enhance Public Transport Travel

Mr Raymond Lim, Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs, inspects the first integrated real-time bus arrival information panel and Key Bus Services Map

Commuters will soon be able to get real-time bus arrival information of both SBST and SMRT buses services at 30 bus stops. This will help commuters better manage waiting time and transfers, so that they can make more informed travel decisions.

2 The first Real-Time Bus Arrival Information panel was inspected by Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Raymond Lim, at the Delfi Orchard and Le Meridien shopping centre bus stops today. With information supplied by SBST and SMRT, LTA will begin a trial to offer bus arrival times on a real-time basis at 30 bus stops with a high volume of commuter traffic -- 20 along Orchard Road and 10 in the Ang Mo Kio and Yishun HDB towns.

3 Commuters will now have the convenience of knowing how long more their buses will take to arrive at these bus stops, as these will be progressively fitted with LED panels by end August 2007. The panels will display the bus services that call at a particular bus stop, the arrival times of the next and subsequent buses for each bus service, and a symbol to indicate whether the bus is wheelchair-accessible.

4 Another initiative unveiled today was the Key Bus Services Map, to help commuters in the Orchard Road vicinity better plan their bus journey. The maps will be installed at 36 bus stops around the Orchard Road area by end August 2007. Each map will provide pictorial information on key bus services calling at the bus stop and the routes they cover. It will also indicate the MRT stations along the routes and significant buildings and locales. These maps will be especially helpful to tourists as they can determine which buses serve the places of interests in the vicinity. Please refer to Annex B for the list of bus stops and a sample of the map.

5 "We are focusing on improving the travel experience of commuters. The provision of real-time bus arrival information and key bus services maps will help commuters to better plan their journeys and manage their waiting time. These form part of the broader slew of initiatives to improve public transport for the benefit of commuters," said Mr Raymond Lim, Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs.

6 The two initiatives are introduced on a six-month trial basis, so as to allow time to take in commuters' feedback. To ensure that these services meet the needs of commuters, members of the public are welcome to share their feedback and suggestions via LTA's hotline 1800-CALL LTA (1800-2255 582) or their discussion forum Talk2LTA (talk2lta.lta.gov.sg).

7 "We'd like to hear commuters' feedback to help us refine these initiatives, to make them even more useful and relevant. By working in partnership with commuters and other stakeholders, we can better achieve our aim of making public transport a choice mode for all," said BG (NS) Yam Ah Mee, LTA's Chief Executive.

Source: LTA (30 July 2007)

The untold story of LTA's unsuccessful bid

2007-07-31T23:30:00.000+08:00

Singapore was bidding to host a prestigious event – the 2011 UITP World Congress and Mobility & City Transport Exhibition. The biennial congress is highly regarded as a platform to showcase best practices. It is public transport conference that host close to 2,000 public transport professionals from all over the world. UITP, the organising body, is considered the international authority on public transport issues and opinions.

There are a multitude of reasons why Singapore was bidding to host the event. Part was to support Tourism Board's aim of growing tourism arrivals to 17 million by 2015. Part was to grow the MICE sector. But the bulk of it was to showcase Singapore's land transport system to the world.

To garner support for their bidding, LTA drummed up quite a fair bit of publicity. First, there was a news release (attached below). Then, they reported the visit by UITP assessment officials in their newsletter (page 5).

It is quite rare for LTA to create such publicity when they are not declared a winner. Maybe they have insider news that say they are the fore-runner in the three-legged race that saw them compete against Dubai and Melbourne.

Despite all the effort, the bubble burst. Singapore lost the bid.

Dubai won.

Singapore Bidding To Host Prestigious UITP World Congress And Exhibition On Public Transport

UITP Officials In Singapore for Host City Selection

LTA is pleased to announce that Singapore is shortlisted as the potential host for the 2011 UITP (Union Internationale de Transport Public) World Congress and Mobility & City Transport Exhibition, a highly prestigious event within the international public transport industry.

UITP officials are currently in Singapore for the host city selection process. They arrived today for a 2-day site inspection visit.

UITP is the worldwide network of public transport professionals, representing over 2700 urban, local, regional and national mobility actors from more than 90 countries across all continents, and covering all modes of public transport. It is considered the international authority on public transport issues and opinions, and its various studies and conclusions are traditionally viewed as the benchmark for public transport standards, and therefore highly valued. Its recent report, ‘Mobility in Cities Database’ published in 2006, benchmarked Singapore with over 50 world cities, and consisteistently placed Singapore among tre among the top three cities, alongside Vienna and Helsinki, with the most striking successes in efficient and enjoyable public transport.

Started in 1889, the UITP World Congress and Exhibition on Public Transport, is held every two years, with various cities bidding for the honour to host this significant event, attended by leaders and decision makers from public transport sectors the world over.

“This event is an opportunity for Singapore to showcase its excellent public transport system, as borne out by the UITP’s own studies, and for its members to experience the system for themselves. They can then bring their experiences back with them for further thought, and their feedback would, as always, help us to improve further. Also, the cutting edge exhibits to be presented at the event will give Singaporeans a sneak peak into the exciting future of public transport. For these reasons, and more, we hope that Singapore will host the UITP World Conference come 2011,” said LTA Chief Executive, BG (NS) Yam Ah Mee.

Mr Aloysius Arlando, Assistant Chief Executive, Business Travel &l & MICE Group, Singapore Tourism Board, in supporting Singapore’s bid, says:

“The Singapore Tourism Board fully supports the bid to attract UITP World Congress and Mobility & City Transport Exhibition to Singapore in 2011. Given the opportunity to host this prestigious transportation industry event, Singapore will receive a further boost in our efforts to showcase our MICE capabilities and exciting tourism offerings while promoting Singapore as a leading MICE destination in Asia. This event will also strengthen Singapore's profile as a key global transportation node highlighting our integrated public transport infrastructure and our seamless access to the world's major and growing economies.”

The 59th UITP World Congress in Rome, in 2005, was attended by more than 2300 delegates and over 300 exhibitors from 80 countries.

The results of the host city selection process will be announced in May 2007 at the 2007 UITP World Congress in Helsinki. The other candidates are Melbourne and Dubai. The 2009 UITP World Congress will be held in Vienna.

Source: LTA (5 January 2007)

Dunearn Road ERP vs NUS Bukit Timah Campus peak hour surcharge

2007-07-26T16:13:00.000+08:00

Motorists driving past Dunearn Road, take note!

I know most of you are irritated by the Dunearn Road ERP gantry which charges between 50 cents and $1 on weekdays between 8am and 9am. It is not expensive, but little amounts do add up.

As such, some motorists who wish to save on the ERP charges do not mind a longer route via NUS Bukit Timah car park to bypass the Dunearn Road ERP. Even though NUS charges a parking rate is $0.02 per minute (i.e. $1.20 per hour), they offer a grace period of 15 minutes. Effectively, motorists are not charged any amount since they time lapse between entry and exit is much less than that, so motorists are using the bypass for free (please refer to map below).

Legend: Direct route (blue) Bypass route (orange)

Things will change from 20 August 2007 (Monday) onwards.

To deter bypass traffic which is adding unnecessary traffic to NUS Bukit Timah, a $1 surcharge will be imposed for vehicles entering Bukit Timah Campus via Kheam Hock Road and exiting via Evans/Cluny Road during weekdays 8am to 9am. The surcharge rate is comparable to Dunearn Road ERP, if not more expensive. As such, the shortcut will not be attractive anymore.

Time Period	via Dunearn Road (blue route)	via NUS Bukit Timah (orange route)
0800 to 0830	$0.50	$1.00
0830 to 0855	$1.00	$1.00
0855 to 0900	$0.50	$1.00

Motorists, get ready for a more congested Dunearn Road.

Implementation of $1 Peak Hour Charge (For Non-Season Parking Holders)
With effect from Monday, 20 August 2007, National University of Singapore (NUS) and National Parks Board (NParks) will be implementing a peak hour charge on all passing vehicles that enter from Kheam Hock Road and exit at Evans/Cluny Road during the peak hour of 8am to 9am.

Peak Hour Charge
A $1 peak hour charge is applicable from 8am to 9am on Mon to Fri (except public holidays) for vehicles entering Bukit Timah Campus and exiting via Evans/Cluny Road.

There will be no change in parking rates. Please refer to the following for more information.
For Public
For Staff and Students
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Source: NUS Office of Estate and Development (23 July 2007)

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Trivia of the month:
This is not the first time that an ERP loop hole is plugged by artificially marking up the parking charge. Can you give details of other similar instance(s)?

A mystery prize in the form of a memorabilia will be given to the fastest reader who gives the most accurate and comprehensive answer. To participate, please input your answer in the comment and supply your email (for notification purpose if you win). Closing date: 17 August 2007, 2359.

Answers and results will be announced in sgtransport.blogspot.com on 20 August 2007 (Monday).

Trivia of the month (Results):

Alas! No one attempted to win the prize, though some readers answered through informal channel (i.e. other than posting a comment on this blog). As such, no one is a winner of the memorabilia. It'll roll over to the next trivia of the month (probably with increased value).

The answer that I had in mind is the Handy Rd ERP. After Cathay Building restoration was completed and opened to public, some motorists attempted to avoid the Handy Rd ERP gantry along Orchard Road by using the carpark as a bypass (very similar to NUS Bukit Timah carpark problem). If you study their carpark rate, Cathay management filter out such bypass traffic by tweaking the parking charges as well.

The moral of the story? Erecting more ugly gantry and place them at strategic locations will solve the problem, albeit at a very high cost.

Do you guys have any other answers?

Top management of LTA, SBS Transit and SMRT

2007-07-18T13:49:00.001+08:00

After the Nicoll Highway incident that claimed three lives and delayed Circle Line project, LTA welcomed a new CEO Mr Yam Ah Mee. Except for a few minor reorganisation to ensure more safety, LTA's top management was pretty stable. However, there had been some turbulence over the past year. Two top management left in late 2006. Now, another two left. The latest departure is reported in an article by Straits Times (attached below).

2 more directors quit

THE Land Transport Authority, beset with top-level resignations in recent months, has lost two more group directors.

Group director of roads Tham-Lee Siyou Kim, who is in her 50s, has quit. So has Ms Rebecca Teo, 47, group director of corporate services. Both left in May without new jobs. They were among nine top managers reporting to chief executive Yam Ah Mee, 49.

In January, deputy chief executive Low Tien Sio and director of policy and planning Eng Sok Yong quit.

Mr Low, 60, is now with a team building the Sentosa integrated resort, while Ms Eng, 39, is with corporate development at transport group SBS Transit.

Other LTA honchos who have left include former chief executive Ho Meng Kit, 50, and director of projects Rajan Krishnan, 56, who left soon after the Nicoll Highway collapse in 2004.

With the latest departures, Ms Maria Choy, in her late 50s, is the only 'old guard' LTA group director remaining. She heads the vehicle and transit licensing unit.

Source: The Straits Times (17 July 2007)

Unless we have insiders' news or the press decided to investigate further, we would not know the reasons of their departure. It just quite bewildering that top management people are leaving a company without a job. I do reckon they could be retiring early. However, that contravenes the government's effort in promoting a more elderly workforce.

For SMRT, all the old guards of former bus company TIBS had left, with the exception of Mr Morris Piper. The departure were inevitable for a merged company as it is usual that the staff in the acquired company leave. The only surprise is the departure of former Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Mr Patrick Lau, who left in 2006. He is now heading a company reproducing famous art works.

For SBS Transit, Executive Director Mr Ong Boon Leong left in April 2007 to heed higher calling. There are no other departures.

Out of the three organisation, SBS Transit seems to be the only organisation with stable top management. In fact, they manage to rope in former LTA high-flyer Ms Eng Sok Yong to join as Senior Vice President (Corporate Development). With her experience in LTA, she now oversees the departments in the support area, with key focus on finance, human resource, information technology and corporate communications.

Personally I feel that such drastic movement is unhealthy. Especially in this times where the land transport industry is at an important juncture. LTA is currently undertaking a review of the industry, and it is better to have people who understand the land transport industry. Nevertheless, having new blood could bring fresh perspective to this industry that had seen little progress in recent years.

Let's keep our fingers crossed.

A story of an old Angsana tree

2007-07-12T09:42:00.000+08:00

Photo source: TODAY

Since antiquity, there is an old Angsana tree in Singapore. It is a valuable tree. So valuable that it has earned itself immunity: it was ruled that the tree is not to be chopped down if it is in the way of construction; instead it will be moved and transplanted under the guidelines issued by the authority overseeing trees.

This old and valuable tree sits in the middle of Braddell Road, overlooking Raffles Junior College. Many years have passed and the surroundings have morphed many changes, but the old tree remains just as it was fifty years ago. It still sits faithfully on its spot and continues to provide its service and shade to the people who reciprocated with much love and appreciation.

However, things took a twist of turns a few years back.

The traffic authority decided one day that a new viaduct connecting Lornie Road and Braddell Road would be necessary to alleviate the perennial traffic congestion (it was part of the Outer Ring Road System actually). Unfortunately the old Angsana tree sits right at the centre of the road diversion arising from the new viaduct. The construction company lamented at how ‘suay’ (colloquial slang which means ‘unfortunate’) it is. Already faced with rising construction costs, it needs to cough up another huge sum of money to transplant the tree under authority’s guidelines.

Then came along a brilliant idea. Why not get the authority that oversees tree to waive the requirement? That is, to chop the tree down. Nope, not successful.

Then came another brilliant idea. Why not a fork road (technically known as bifurcated road)? The traffic can go round the tree. Eureka! The tree is saved, traffic flow resumes, everybody is happy. This is not new in Singapore: there is also a forked road at North Buona Vista Road that goes around a MRT column due to Circle Line construction.

After numerous attempts to convince the traffic authority that safety would not be compromised, the forked-road scheme finally got the blessing to go ahead. It is not a cheap sum mind you. It is a whopping $200K. But considering how much moving a tree would cost, this sum pales in comparison.

And so everybody is happy. The authority looking after the trees is happy that the tree gets to survive; while the authority overseeing traffic is happy that it is paying a lesser sum for variable order (a technical term in construction that refers to any contingency work that went beyond the contract agreement).

It seems everyone is happy with the odd arrangement, until a few important passers-by happened to pass by the area.

“Unsafe” was the verdict.

This simple six-letter word was all it takes to throw the forked-road scheme away. Tussle followed.

In the end, after a brutal fight, the tree has to go. By this Sunday (15 July 2007).

If you happen to pass by the area, take a few moments to mourn for the tree.

So much for the guidelines.

Braddell Road Angsana Tree To Be Removed

1. An Angsana tree that stands in the middle of Braddell Road will be removed this month to ensure motorists’ safety.

2. Usually, in its construction projects, LTA undertakes to conserve the greenery and minimise the impact of its construction activity on the surrounding environment, often working with NParks in these efforts. When the construction for the new Lornie-Braddell Road Interchange began in 2005, LTA and NParks had opted to save the Angsana tree by bifurcating the slip road around the tree. This was done after LTA’s studies showed the bifurcation design – or splitting of the road around the tree – would be a safe option if motorists were to drive within the stated 40km/h speed limit.

3. As a precautionary measure, LTA had drawn additional road markings and placed additional signs to remind motorists driving along this stretch to keep within the speed limit. To further ensure safety for motorists, the chevron markings in front of the tree were extended and a double white line was painted on the road before the tree.

4. In the two years since the bifurcation design was implemented, LTA has continued to monitor traffic conditions around the Angsana Tree. Despite the additional measures, LTA’s ongoing monitoring has revealed that many motorists do not drive within the 40km/h speed limit, and consequently, run the risk of colliding with the tree, resulting in injury or worse. It was also observed that, in not staying within the safe speed limits, many motorists are unable to keep to their lanes. We have also received feedback from motorists involved in ‘near accident’ situations along this stretch of Braddell Road.

5. Ms Karen Loh, a businesswoman, who drives pass the stretch occasionally told LTA: "When I come to this road, I have to make a split second decision on which lane to take. I also found it difficult to slow down. While I applaud the authorities' efforts to conserve the tree, many drivers don't realise the need to slow down to manoeuvre the curve in the alignment of the road.''

6. Based on LTA’s observations and the public feedback, LTA and NParks came to the conclusion that removing the tree is the most prudent course of action to prevent any future accidents.

7. The removal of the tree and the realignment of Braddell Road will take place from 15 July 2007. To facilitate the removal, there will be lane closures along Braddell Road from 15 July 2007 to 7 August 2007.

8. With the removal of the tree, a straighter three-lane carriageway will be constructed along this stretch of Braddell Road.

Source: LTA (11 July 2007)

[This post is not possible without John's contribution. He helps to improve the story flow and added a human touch to the writing. Thanks John.]

Another campaign from SBS Transit

2007-06-21T22:19:00.000+08:00

Back in February 2007 when SBS Transit launched its third campaign, I postulated that the next campaign would be "Press the bell early campaign". I was proven wrong.

Today, SBS Transit launched another campaign again. This new campaign takes on the same spirit as the previous campaigns of educating passengers or road drivers to exhibit desirable behaviour to improve bus operations. The essence of the campaign is all summarised in its punchline campaign title of "Stop Bus Captain Assaults Campaign".

In the press release (attached below), SBS Transit justifies its effort in promoting a stress free environment for its Bus Captain: that the abuse rate on its bus drivers has increased more than 100% compared to last year. Passengers are urged not to be coward and should lend a helping fingers to the bus drivers by dialling the Police to report the abuse.

My comments: it is better still if we can lend a helping arm/hand to the bus drivers -- by separating the abuser from the bus drivers (not adding on to the punches which is a criminal offence by Singapore Law!). [Thanks Samuel for his suggestion which provided the punch/kick needed for this post.]

SBS Transit Launches Campaign to Stop Bus Captain Assaults
21 June 2007

The punches rained down on his head without warning - all because he declined to hold up an entire busload of passengers for one guy who wanted to finish his cigarette at the bus stop.

Such brutish behaviour is inexcusable - especially since it is causing hurt and injury to people who are just doing their job.

In the first six months of this year, there have already been 18 cases of assault on Bus Captains - more than the 14 in the entire year of 2006. There have been incidents of Bus Captains being slapped, punched and even kicked.

It is for this reason that SBS Transit has decided to launch a campaign to stop Bus Captain abuse. From today, posters will be put up on all of its 16 bus interchanges and 18 terminals. The interior panels of SBS Transit's 2,800 buses will also be installed with the pin-ups to encourage commuters to lend a helping hand to Bus Captains by reporting to the Police any assault that they witness.

SBS Transit Chief Operating Officer, Mr Gan Juay Kiat, said: "Our Bus Captains like anyone else, have the right to work in a safe environment. They should not have to work in fear as they carry out their daily duties. We are dismayed and at disgusted at what some commuters have done to our Bus Captains. Therefore, to protect our Bus Captains, we will take action against their assailants where appropriate."

"While the incidents may not be rampant, they are significant enough to be a cause for concern. We know that there are many good Samaritans out there who have tried to stop such abuse and we thank them for their help. We continue to seek their assistance of all commuters to report such abuses to the Police should they witness any," he said.

A first for land transport industry

2007-05-02T23:05:00.000+08:00

Land Transport Authority (LTA), the government body that plans road and rail network in Singapore, relies on some planning parameters to determine how much time to allocate to each phases of the signalised junctions. One of such is walking speed, which is used to determine the minimum time for pedestrians to cross the road at a pedestrian crossing. For example, a dual three-lane road with a central median (i.e. the road separator) is about 25 metres wide. Based on walking speed of of 1.1 metre/second, pedestrians should be given a minimum of 23 seconds to cross the road, excluding the start up lag which usually constitutes another 5 seconds.

Different areas has different parameters, mainly to reflect the local demographics. For road crossings in city area, the walking speed parameter can reach as high as 1.3 m/s. On the other hand, housing estates, especially those with more elderly residents, could see a low of about 0.9 m/s.

In a latest study (refer to news below), Singapore finally earns a number one spot in the otherwise medal-less land transport sector: by having people who walked the fastest in the world! The study reported that Singaporeans took 10.55 seconds to cover 18-metre, which translates to a walking speed of 1.7m/s.

If LTA were to adopt the higher walking speed planning parameter, pedestrians who are walking slower would have to hasten their walking speed by about 25%, in the mean time possibly increasing their blood pressure too. On the other hand, motorcars will have more green time, especially for turning vehicles: this will increase the vehicles throughput at signalised junctions and thereby reducing queues and jams at junctions.

I'm personally against raising the planning parameter. Already I need to face a particular pedestrian crossing near my office which I always fail to cross in time. LTA should consider increasing the green time so I can enjoy a more comfortable work after lunch. I'm pretty sure it's not due to the additional pounds I gain from the heavy lunch, if you're asking. ;)

Life in the fast lane 'speeds up'

The pace of life for city dwellers is literally getting faster, a new British-led study suggests.

People are walking 10% more quickly than a decade ago, according to research in 32 cities across the globe.

Thousands of pedestrians were secretly timed in city centres with Singapore's residents found to be the most swift, followed by Copenhagen and Madrid.

However, the chief researcher told the BBC walking faster did not necessarily mean people were getting healthier.

Professor Richard Wiseman, of the University of Hertfordshire in the UK, told the BBC that the results provided "a significant insight into the physical and social health of a city".

"At one level, walking quickly is good, but if it's a way of life - if you're doing it simply to get from A to B as quickly as possible - then it goes with a whole load of other behaviours which are not quite so good for you.

"As people speed it's not the stress, it's the result of not eating properly, exercising or seeing friends and family. It can lead to all kinds of things, especially heart attacks."

A frenetic pace of life was found to be driven to some extent by technology. Mr Wiseman said communications were getting faster and faster.

"We are constantly in touch with each other and getting back to people as quickly as we can and that's minutes and not hours. That's driving us to think everything has to happen now."

The biggest changes were found in Guangzhou in China with an increase of more than 20%. Singapore showed a 30% increase, making it the most frenetic city in the study.

New York was ranked 8th, while London was outside the top 10. The Middle East tended to have the slowest pace of life.

The study was carried out in collaboration with the UK's cultural relations agency, the British Council.

FASTEST CITIES
1. Singapore; 10.55s
2. Copenhagen (Denmark); 10.82s
3. Madrid (Spain); 10.89s
4. Guangzhou (China): 10.94s
5. Dublin (Ireland); 11.03s
6. Curitiba (Brazil); 11.13s
7. Berlin (Germany); 11.16s
8. New York (USA); 12.00s
9. Utrecht (Holland); 12.04s
10. Vienna (Austria); 12.06s

Time in seconds to cover 60ft (0.02km)
Source: British Council

Source: BBC

If I were the Transport Minister

2007-04-28T23:55:00.000+08:00

Raymond Lim is inviting you to try to fit into his big shoes by playing "The Great Transport Challenge 2020" game. This is similar to an earlier game with similar title to help explain the Budget 2007.

The game gives a quick comprehensive view of the issues that are currently being discussed or debated in tandem with the White Paper review. It is a good guide for starters and a good summary for those who are familiar.

Do play the game and learn a thing or two from it. There are prizes to be won too!

Resignation of SBS Transit's Executive Director

2007-04-24T23:36:00.000+08:00

SBS Transit has announced the resignation of Executive Director Mr Ong Boon Leong, who has only been appointed as executive director in 2005. This should be a sudden news for most people. His departure could also be sensitive in view of the ongoing public transport industry review and the rumoured merger between the two land transport rivals, ComfortDelGro and SMRT.

However, the news should be less shocking to investors, as there were already some telling signs about a month earlier. Ong Boon Leong is one of the top 20 shareholders of SBS Transit Ltd, ranked 16th with 289,500 shares (0.1%). In the past month, many non-executive directors of the company exercised their share options and buy in substantial shares. Other investors are also showing strong interest in the company's stock, which explains why the share prices went up 20% within the past month. However, the only blip amidst the flurry of buying action is the sale of Ong Boon Leong's share, which he reduced from 289,500 shares to a mere 500 shares in end March through sales in the open market at his own discretion.

SBS Transit Ltd regrets to announce the resignation of Mr Ong Boon Leong, Executive Director with effect from 27 April 2007. Mr Ong will be leaving to pursue a Masters in Divinity in Vancouver, Canada. The Company is grateful to Mr Ong for his invaluable contributions and the good stewardship that he provided as Executive Director.

Source: SBS Transit

SBS Transit will lose a key driving force for the company. From my understanding, he was the one who pushed for the aggressive expansion of the bus network, which saw SBS Transit introducing a record number of 21 new services in year 2005. Under his leadership, he has pushed for an all-out-attack strategy that challenge every front of SMRT bus and train services, so much so that they are pressed to introduce more bus services at the expense of their profitability to counter the negative publicity they received for their laggard bus services initiatives.

The press release on Mr Ong Boon Leong's departure was clear and definitive in pointing out that he left the company for a higher calling -- he will be pursuing Masters in Divinity in Vancouver. For those who are unaware, a Masters in Divinity is a prerequisite for full time church ministry, and one of the best seminary, Regent College, happens to be in Vancouver.

Mr Gan Juay Kiat will be appointed as the Chief Operating Officer a day after Mr Ong Boon Leong departs. Godspeed, Mr Ong Boon Leong!

Mr Ong Boon Leong
Executive Director, SBS Transit

Mr Ong Boon Leong was appointed Executive Director of SBS Transit Ltd in 2005. Mr Ong first joined DelGro Corporation Limited in 1994 as Senior Manager, Corporate Development where he was responsible for business development, corporate planning and corporate communications. From 1998, he was concurrently appointed Group Chief Financial Officer.

On his promotion to Executive Vice President in 2000, Mr Ong assumed the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Europe Business, a position which oversees the DelGro Corporation Limited’s operations in United Kingdom and Ireland. Subsequently, in 2001, he was concurrently appointed as Deputy CEO of SBS Transit Ltd. In 2003, Mr Ong assumed the position of Chief Operating Officer. He oversees the day-to-day operations of both the bus and rail businesses.

Prior to joining the ComfortDelGro Group, Mr Ong served in the Administrative Service with stints in the Ministry of Communications and Ministry of Home Affairs. He also worked as an Investment Analyst at Standard Chartered Securities Pte Ltd.

Mr Ong was a Monbusho scholar and holds a degree in Economics from Hitosubashi University, Japan.

Mr Ong was last re-elected a Director of the Company pursuant to Article 103 of the Company’s Articles of Association at the Annual General Meeting held on 27 April 2006. He is a non-independent Director of the Company.

A tale of two companies

2007-04-21T14:33:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, Singapore’s exchange market was rife with speculation about a possible merger of the two land transport giants: ComfortDelGro and SMRT. As a result, their share prices skyrocketed between 5.9% and 6.6% at closing.

ComfortDelGro is the “world’s second largest public listed land transport company with a fleet of more than 40,000 vehicles”. It is the parent company for Comfort and SBS Transit which are the market leaders in taxi and bus industry in Singapore respectively. SMRT, the market leader for train services, is a multi-modal public transport company offering train, bus and taxi services, as well as expertise in consultancy and project management in railway systems. Both companies have advertising arms.

In a newspaper report by The Straits Times (attached below), it was reported that ComfortDelGro has submitted a position paper to the Ministry of Transport, giving their two-cent worth on how the public transport industry should be structured. Two specific suggestions are given: to merge with rival SMRT to create one big giant transport company, or to have two separate companies with different areas of expertise – one running buses while another operating trains. (Note: It should be quite obvious that SBS Transit will be the natural bus company and SMRT will be the train company).

It is not hard to fathom why ComfortDelGro is keen to push for the two scenarios because they will have the upper hand in both scenarios. For the first scenario, if they were to merge with SMRT, it would most likely to be a take-over exercise rather than merger. With a market capitalisation of S$4.8 million over SMRT’s S$2.6 million and a ferocious appetite for aggressive acquisition, it would be quite unthinkable that they are willing to “merge” with SMRT. I speculate that they would have said something like this in their position paper:

Having a one giant company would create a company that can offer a holistic transport solution to Singapore with economy of scale. Also, by ~~taking over~~ merging with SMRT, we will hasten the process of achieving our mission of creating the world’s number one land transport operator. This would be Singapore’s pride: the largest land transport operator which is profitable.”

For the second scenario, though left with buses only, they will be able to use buses to compete with the trains by offering point-to-point services and direct bus services which are what the passengers wanted – faster and more direct services without the hassle of transfers.

Hitherto, SMRT has not yet put forth any position paper. Judging by their rival’s move, I would think they would be forced to come out with one. Already, they are managing shareholder and market’s expectation by responding to media about the position paper submitted by ComfortDelGro. A day after the news was reported, SMRT responded:

“(SMRT) Having operated trains and buses for over five years, we have grown to understand the synergistic benefits of a multimodal model. This is our preferred mode.”

What could we read from this statement? It could mean that they are supportive of the merger to create one big giant company, but this is quite unlikely as they will be a takeover subject. Another possibility is that they are against the one-bus-one-rail industry structure advocated by their rival. It is not hard to think why they are against bus-rail competition because the bus company could employ a bus network strategy that degrade the attractiveness of feeder buses to train stations while offering direct trunk services that offer door-step services or point-to-point services to compete with the trains (which SBS Transit is already doing so by replacing feeder services with passing through trunk services). Without the support of feeder buses, the trains will be left with pockets of small catchments area around the train stations.

What then is the government preferred industry structure? Minister for Transport Raymond Lim had previously state that there is no sacred cow that cannot be slaughtered, but they would not be slayed for the sake of doing so. Ultimately, with a pragmatic government, what is more important is to find solutions that achieve the outcome they want, rather than be engaged in an academic argument that debate which theoretical model best fit Singapore.

So far, the Ministry has made clear that in the next 10 to 15 years, the key solution to land transportation is to make public transport more attractive. It can no longer act as a captive market which attracts users who are unable to afford a car. As part of the land transport industry review, Ministry of Transport and Land Transport Authority have lately engaged the public in first of the many focus groups. One issue touched on is the possibility of bus route-tendering system, where bus routes are centrally planned by an independent body while the operation of the routes is being awarded to bus transport companies through competitive bidding.

In light of this, you might want to add one more possible industry structure to ComfortDelGro’s list: one rail company with multiple bus companies with route tendering.

Let us continue to wait in anticipation for the final outcome of the public transport industry review.

ComfortDelGro shares climb on SMRT merger whispers

Shares in ComfortDelGro, operator of the world's second-largest fleet of buses, taxis and rental vehicles, gained as much as 6.8 per cent after a report said chairman Lim Jit Poh suggested a merger with rival SMRT Corp.

Mr Lim's other proposal reportedly was for one company to operate bus services and the other to run Singapore's subway system to boost the use of public transport. The company does not comment on market speculation, spokeswoman Tammy Tan said.

Singapore is encouraging more people to use public transport to ease road congestion. The Ministry of Transport is reviewing the public transport sector.

“This piece of news could lead to more analysts factoring in the possibility of Singapore having one operator for rail and one operator for the bus system,” UOB Kay Hian analyst Leng Seng Choon said.

Shares of ComfortDelGro gained 13 cents (5.9 per cent), to $2.33 at the close of trading, while SMRT shares jumped 11 cents, (6.6 per cent), to $1.77.

SMRT, Singapore's biggest subway operator, also provides bus, taxi and charter services.

“Having operated trains and buses for over five years, we have grown to understand the synergistic benefits of a multimodal model,” SMRT said in an emailed statement. “This is our preferred mode.” — Bloomberg

Source: TODAY, 21 April 2007

Mega-merger of transport operators or separate all-bus, all-train entities
By Christopher Tan, Senior Correspondent

TRANSPORT giant ComfortDelGro's chairman, Mr Lim Jit Poh, has made a formal proposal to the Government on restructuring the public transport industry.

The Straits Times understands he is suggesting two options:

• A mega-merger with rival SMRT to create a single public transport group, or
• Have one operator run the buses and the other, trains.

Mr Lim has in the past mooted 'inter-modal' competition between separate all-bus and all-train operators.

He submitted his paper to Transport Minister Raymond Lim, following the ministry's call six months ago for an industry review to raise public transport ridership sizeably.

The paper was mentioned in the latest annual reports of ComfortDelGro and its subsidiary SBS Transit, although its contents were not revealed.

The Transport Ministry would not say what ComfortDelGro has proposed, but its spokesman said: 'We treat these as useful inputs coming from a key stakeholder and will give due consideration as part of the ongoing land transport review.'

The ministry is expected to release results of its review by year-end.

Currently, the two key stakeholders - SBS Transit and SMRT - have bus and train operations. SBS Transit does not make much money from rail and SMRT does not make much from buses.

Caught in the middle are commuters who complain that travel in many parts of the island is far from 'seamless'.

In the present set-up, commuters find they require more transfers to get to their destinations because too many bus services were removed to avoid duplicating MRT services.

In his chairman's statement, Mr Lim said: 'I note the public calls for more competition. I also note the cry for centralised and integrated services. These are extreme positions.'

In its General Household Survey 2005, the Department of Statistics found that although buses were the public transport network's fastest way to get around, the proportion of commuters who could take a straight bus to work had fallen from 25 per cent in 2000 to 21.9 in 2005.

The proportion who had to take both bus and train went up from 13.9 to 15.1 per cent.

Asked for her comments on the two options, SMRT president Saw Phaik Hwa said it was unnecessary to overhaul the industry, but improvements could be made.

Ms Saw said a bus-versus-train set-up could mean duplication of resources and, as a result, higher fares. She also said it may not be environmentally sound.

'That's what's happening in Hong Kong, where you see buses occupying five lanes in Causeway Bay. The pollution is bad,' she told The Straits Times yesterday.

The suggestion for one operator to run all the trains was made in 2003 by former transport minister Yeo Cheow Tong, who said 'a lot of the overheads can be saved'.

He even said SMRT would be allowed to operate all future lines if it took over SBS Transit's North-East Line (NEL), which was loss-making then.

Ms Saw said she would not acquire a loss-maker.

But last year, the NEL became profitable. Asked if she would now reconsider her position, Ms Saw said: 'I don't have a problem running the NEL, but the price must make sense. It's a business deal.'

Source: The Straits Times, 20 April 2007

Google Map showing car park rates

2007-04-15T19:16:00.000+08:00

Lately, the Esplande car park rate shot up by up to 50%. If you're a regular visitor, you're likely to look out for other cheaper alternatives nearby. Although there is a comprehensive compilation of car park rates available at One.Motoring, you have to know the names of nearby car parks and search through the list. Wouldn't it be easier if the information can be presented graphically?

Here comes the answer. Someone has made use of Google Map and created a graphical version of the list -- Parking Maps Singapore. The idea is similar to the display of bus stop timing which I've blogged earlier. By mapping the car parks onto the map, you can easily focus on a specific area where you want to park to find out parking rates. Results are available almost immediately. This is especially useful if you wish to find alternative car parks nearby without searching through the long list.

Caution: the car park listed in the Google Map is not exhaustive, and the information is only as updated as what One.Motoring provides.

Screenshot of map showing car park rates

Google Map showing bus arrival times

2007-04-14T22:34:00.000+08:00

SBS Transit recently launched iris NextBus service -- an online enquiry that tells when the next bus is arriving at a bus stop. It is a good initiative, but the website is cumbersome to use as you have to click through drop-down menus to search for your bus number and bus stop. Also, only one service is available at any one time.

Singeo has overcome the limitations by using Google Map. It displays all the bus stops on an easy to read map. From the map, just click on any bus stop to show a pop-up window that lists all the services available from the bus stop, and click on the service number will link you to SBS website for the next bus timing.

This is a demonstration so only bus services along East Coast Road and Marine Parade Road are available for this demonstration copy. Try it -- it's pretty cool!

Screenshot of Google Map showing bus stops

Screenshot of iris NextBus

Road Name	Start	End
Collyer Quay	Fullerton Rd	Marina Blvd
Fullerton Rd	Esplanade Dr	Collyer Quay
Grange Rd	Somerset Rd	Devonshire Rd
Shenton Way	Boon Tat St	Maxwell Rd
Robinson Rd	Maxwell Rd	Finlayson Green
Bencoolen St	Rochor Rd	Bras Basah Rd
Hill St	Stamford Rd	River Valley Rd
New Bridge Rd	River Valley Rd	Upp Cross St
North Bridge Rd	Rochor Rd	Parliament Place
South Bridge Rd	Circular Rd	Cross St
Victoria St	Rochor Rd	Stamford Rd