Growth fuelled by rail network expansion; the plan is for it to double to 360km by 2030 — larger than Tokyo, Hong Kong
Sumita d/o Sreeharan, Today Online, 8 Oct 13;
SINGAPORE — After hitting a speed bump, the Government’s push to get more people onto buses and trains is back on course. Public transport’s share of the total number of trips made during the peak period rose to 63 per cent last year, reversing a downward trend that first began when the Household Interview Travel Survey was first conducted in 1997.
The growth was fuelled largely by the expansion of the rail network over the last four years, with the number of train trips rising by 35 per cent to 2.3 million daily trips last year.
Citing these findings yesterday, Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew said the Government’s “major policy decision” five years ago to make public transport a choice mode has “made good progress”.
Singapore, like all other growing cities in the world, will have to do more to curb the reliance on private cars, he added. “But doing more of the same is not enough. We have to decisively push for a strategic mode shift from private to public transport,” Mr Lui said, as he launched a refreshed Land Transport Master Plan at the inaugural Singapore International Transport Congress and Exhibition.
The master plan was first launched in 2008 and came at a time when public transport use declined over the decade. Travel on public transport was 67 per cent of the total number of trips made in 1997. In 2004, it fell to 63 per cent and in 2008, it shrank to 59 per cent.
The new master plan laid out four priorities: More connections, better service, a liveable and inclusive society, and reducing reliance on private transport.
By 2030, Singapore’s rail network will be 360km — double what it is currently and higher than in Tokyo or Hong Kong — and its rail density will be comparable to London.
Recognising “a multiplier effect” in having a denser and more connected rail network, which makes taking trains more attractive for motorists to switch to public transport, Mr Lui yesterday announced that the first six stations of the Downtown Line will open on Dec 22.
The stations —Bugis, Promenade, Bayfront, Downtown, Telok Ayer and Chinatown — will connect to existing rail lines to enhance connectivity in the city. To achieve better service, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will, among other moves, set new requirements for trains to arrive at shorter frequencies during the 30-minute time slots before and after the morning and evening peak periods. It is also studying if information on bus crowding could be provided to commuters so that they can make more informed choices for their journeys.
While all train stations and bus interchanges have been made accessible to the less mobile, the LTA will do even more, such as implementing audio-tactile systems at more traffic junctions to aid the visually-impaired.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the conference, Mr Lui said he was confident of increasing public transport modal share to 70 per cent by the end of this decade, as the rail network is expanding “significantly”. Under the master plan, eight in 10 households will live within a 10-minute walk from a train station.
Transport analysts agreed this would be an achievable target. Associate Professor Lee Der Horng, a transport researcher at the National University of Singapore, felt that the new train lines and the high cost of car ownership could push more towards public transport.
“Despite the comfort a car brings, even non-drivers and non-car owners are thinking twice and saying it’s too expensive,” he said.
According to the survey, individuals with monthly incomes higher than S$8,000 who took public transport rose to 28 per cent last year, up from 23 per cent in 2008.
Asked about the impact of surging Certificate of Entitlement premiums on shifting motorists towards public transport, Mr Lui noted that close to one in two households own a car — a situation unsustainable in the future. Roads comprised 12 per cent of total land area here, compared to 14 per cent for housing.
“Going forward, we must make sure that the possibility of people switching away from cars to public transport is there, and the way to do it is to make sure that the connectivity, the connections, the quality of service is much better than it is today,” Mr Lui said.
Transport plan needs more than just hardware
Masterplan must get to the crux of what commuters want - service quality
Christopher Tan, Straits Times, 8 Oct 13;
EVEN though most of the infrastructure plans outlined in the latest Land Transport Masterplan were announced in the run-up to the Punggol by-election in January, the document is admirable for the way it maps out methodically what Singapore needs to do to keep its population moving up to 2030.
But a masterplan requires more than just hardware. It needs to spell out more qualitative targets, rather than focus on quantitative ones such as the length of rail network and number of buses. It needs to get to the crux of what leaves commuters satisfied: service quality.
While the plan spells out issues such as service frequency and reliability, as well as walking distance to and from a train station or bus stop, the proof of the pudding goes beyond that.
There is a need to look at how crowded it can get, the quality of air-conditioning, train speed (which has been patchy of late), station dwell time, dependability of services such as lifts and escalators, and even noise level on trains.
The plan needs to deliver that lofty promise touted famously by a leading airline - "making sure you arrive in the best possible shape" - if public transport is to have any chance at all competing against the car.
Here, the goal is to make public transport a choice mode, rather than a mode of no choice.
To do that, there needs to be a slight shift away from an engineering-centric way of meeting an objective and measuring how successful we have been doing so.
But that does not mean diminishing the importance of engineering. In that respect, the quality of infrastructure needs to be nailed down, since this will eventually determine its reliability and longevity.
In light of recent rail breakdowns, it appears that there are still struggles with water leakage in tunnels - an issue faced by builders since the Central Expressway opened more than 20 years ago, despite improvements in construction material and technology.
These leaks appear to be the root cause of many MRT incidents, including at least two tunnel fires and tracks that corroded barely three years after a new line was opened.
If leaks are indeed unavoidable - as claimed by the Land Transport Authority - then it must be made sure that water is channelled safely away from all operating parts such as rails and cables.
And if such parts cannot be placed out of the path of water, then at least ensure that they are water-resistant.
There is little point stating that Singapore's infrastructure specifications meet international standards - each geographical region poses its own set of challenges.
So engineers here should specify standards that are suitable for local conditions - just as car makers "tropicalise" models meant for hot and humid markets.
It is true that it is the responsibility of operators to ensure operating assets are well-maintained and flaws are fixed quickly.
But that responsibility becomes much more onerous if an infrastructure is prone to one form of failure or another in the first place.
Singapore pays top dollar for its infrastructure. So it is reasonable to expect a high level of robustness.
Another area that needs overhauling is a transport framework that suffers from the tension arising from profit-oriented operators providing a public service.
It is now clear that publicly listed operators face opposing values of satisfying shareholders and commuters.
While it is in their commercial interest to keep operating assets in good running order, they may be tempted to delay repairs and upgrades for as long as possible. Or do the barest minimum.
"Softer" measures of service quality, such as crowdedness or efficiency of air-conditioning, matter even less.
So Singapore needs to move swiftly to a regime where the Government takes ownership of all operating and fixed assets, and, preferably, assumes revenue risk.
The operator would then be tasked with focusing solely on meeting a clearly laid out set of service standards - without worrying about the bottom line, because their profit margins would already have been fixed. An effective carrot-and-stick regulatory system will then ensure that the welfare of commuters is prioritised.
Any masterplan also needs to be stuck to.
One way to ensure this is to have longer stints for ministers and permanent secretaries.
Former transport ministers Mah Bow Tan and Yeo Cheow Tong outlined ambitious rail projects during their terms. Mr Yeo told Parliament in 2000 that Singapore would have 540km of rail lines by 2030.
But only now are some of these projects being built; and we will have only 360km of rail by 2030.
A plan in 1997 to upgrade the signalling system of the North-South and East-West MRT lines - which would have allowed trains to run at closer intervals - will be completed only in 2018.
If those original plans were adhered to, our transport infrastructure would have kept pace with the population boom.
As it is, the rail expansion programme listed in the Land Transport Masterplan 2013 may be merely playing catch-up, as Singapore continues to grow.
It does not help that some of the new lines are three- or four-car systems - unlike the six-car models in the country's older lines, and eight-car or scalable systems found in some cities.
Finally, this may be time to re-examine two even more fundamental assumptions about transport - that public transport is good and private transport is bad; and there is a need to keep increasing supply to meet demand.
To start, we can stop demonising cars, which play a crucial role in any land transport landscape.
With fast-emerging technologies such as autonomous vehicles, they might even become more efficient than public transport.
With an average occupancy of 20 per cent today, a bus may not be more efficient than a car during off-peak hours. Especially when a bus consumes far more fuel and far more road space.
The second assumption of building more and more to meet demand is fallacious too.
Consider how Singapore's population has grown 110 per cent since 1981 but the number of trips (excluding cycling and walking) has spiked by more than 360 per cent to 12.5 million a day. Since people commute primarily because they have to, and not so much because they want to, this exponential growth in trips is a tad worrying.
If the trend continues at the same pace, it may not be sustainable - economically or environmentally - to keep building more infrastructure to cater to demand.
We need to find a better way. And that may require urban and transport planners sitting down together to improve accessibility, and not just mobility.
The way we live, work and play on this little red dot also needs tweaking if Singapore wants to avoid the maladies of a mega- city. And that will involve more mixed-use developments, flexi- hours, tele-commuting, walking and cycling.
Experts discuss ways to reduce reliance on private transport
Sara Grosse, Channel NewsAsia, 9 Oct 13;
SINGAPORE: Transport experts at a plenary session on Singapore's Land Transport Master Plan 2013 on Wednesday discussed ways to incentivise commuters to rely less on private transport.
The experts gave their take on the recently launched masterplan which maps out improvements to Singapore's transport system for the next 10 to 15 years.
They agreed that it will not be easy to reduce the desire to own a car in Singapore but it is possible for public transportation to be made an attractive alternative.
One suggestion to reduce reliance on cars is to introduce trams in the city.
Tony Dufays, director for regional offices and services at UITP (International Association of Public Transport) Singapore, said: "What we have seen in all these cities which have reintroduced tramways around the world in the last decade is that the very rich users, the car users, would enjoy using that, and that implementing a tramway has helped to revive the city centres."
Responding to media queries, LTA said it is open to considering alternative modes like trams, if feasible.
"Our Rapid Transit System (RTS) and buses will continue to form the backbone of our hub-and-spoke model. However, we are always open to considering alternative transport modes like trams for localised solutions, if feasible," said an LTA spokesperson.
Limiting the reliance on cars can also be done through car-sharing services.
The Land Transport Master Plan aims to make car-sharing services more accessible for commuters in the future.
But to ensure the success of such services, some industry players suggested eliminating COEs from the scheme.
And to reward drivers who are hardly on the road, experts proposed that the insurance they pay be based on the distance covered.
Assistant Professor Paul Barter, from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, said: "If you have a car and you don't drive it very (often), you pay the same insurance as someone who drives... 100km a day, day in and day out. That's not fair. What's more fair is the person who hardly drives should pay less insurance. So, distance-based insurance."
On managing car parking more efficiently, one suggestion raised was to price it as you would an ERP system.
For example, increase the price of parking when it gets crowded and when it's empty, have it free.
Analysts said this could reduce traffic congestion, as well as encourage car pooling.
But the expert panel maintained that the measures can only work if the reliability of public transport is ensured.
Gopinath Menon, Adjunct Associate Professor at Nanyang Technological University, said: "Today we are in a catch-up phase, because we are really a bit behind. So by the next five years, we will probably have more lines, better buses, easier to get the last mile, first mile. If you can show that it is better than today, then there will be an improvement."
The experts also discussed using public transport information apps to make door-to-door journeys more convenient.
- CNA/xq/ir
Govt needs to convince S’poreans that public transport is convenient
Sumita d/o Sreedharan Today Online 10 Oct 13;
SINGAPORE — Can the new master plan laid out by the Transport Ministry fuel the change it hopes to see in the general populace — a switch from private to public transport?
Experts yesterday weighed in on how the Land Transport Master Plan 2013 (LTMP) could achieve the goal of increasing the use of public transport over private transport: From demonstrating visibly the benefits of public over private transport, building air-conditioned bus stops, to changing the image of cars as desirable lifestyle objects.
A panel of three analysts at the Singapore International Transport Congress and Exhibition — Dr Paul Barter from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy; Mr Tony Dufays, Director of Regional Offices and Services at International Association of Public Transport (UITP); and Nanyang Technological University Adjunct Associate Professor Gopinath Menon — gave the LTMP the thumbs up, but said its success would hinge upon the Government’s ability to convince Singaporeans that taking public transport is more convenient than having a car.
Mr Dufays acknowledged that no plan could solve every transportation problem, and cautioned that Singapore’s ageing population, coupled with an increase in high-income individuals, would lead to an greater demand for better quality public transport.
Dr Barter said in order to reduce the reliance on cars, the Government would have to use the carrot-and-stick approach and provide a “bigger, juicer carrot” to attract people in the other direction. “An heroic effort is needed, and it needs to be more ambitious, he said.
Taking issue with advertisements that paint cars as desirable lifestyle items was Prof Menon, who felt that such advertising should be curtailed.
When asked for his views on the LTMP, transport analyst Professor Lee Der-Horng said he was initially shocked and disappointed by it.
“They covered broad areas, which is good, but the action plans were missing and the information very general and simplistic,” he said.
What was also missing, said Prof Lee, was the Transport Ministry’s future policy on taxis, a point that was also brought up by Mr Dufays, who said the taxi sector should not be underestimated as an alternative tool for those who use public transport.
Another missed opportunity, Prof Lee said, was the LTMP’s failure to address the pressing need for engineering and maintenance experts in the future to maintain the new rail lines that would open. “No tertiary institute at the moment has such expertise, and the authorities now have time to train individuals to prevent a shortage in the future,” he added.
More major roads may be subject to ERP
Transport Minister warns of ‘major consequences’ of a transport model that is overly reliant on cars
Sumita d/o Sreeharan, Today Online, 8 Oct 13;
SINGAPORE — Major thoroughfares such as Alexandra Road and Holland Road may be subject to Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) if traffic speeds fall below the optimal range of 20 and 30km/h, according to the refreshed Land Transport Master Plan that was released yesterday.
Other than the two roads, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said it is also keeping an eye on Jalan Bukit Merah, Commonwealth Avenue, Telok Blangah Road and Depot Road.
These roads are currently within the optimal speed range, but the LTA added, “should these roads become congested, we will implement ERP there as well”.
These roads are near the Ayer-Rajah Expressway, where traffic congestion around the Clementi area has been deteriorating. From the middle of next year, motorists will have to pay ERP as three gantries will be installed to help improve the flow of eastbound traffic towards the city during the morning and evening peak hours.
As he launched the new master plan, Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew yesterday cautioned about the “major consequences” of a transport model that is overly reliant on cars.
First, the environmental impact would be “significant”. While measures to reduce such impact can only mitigate, they will fundamentally not solve the problem, Mr Lui said. “Fuel efficiency and technology alone will not be sufficient to bring down transport emissions, without a reduction in demand,” he added.
Second, building a new road or widening an existing one in land scarce Singapore may mean that roads are built closer to homes and the living environment becomes noisier and less comfortable, Mr Lui said.
Despite strict policies on car ownership, Singapore’s car population grew 11 per cent between 2008 and last year, while resident population only grew 5 per cent in the same period.
“The car is not a basic necessity in Singapore given our easy access to public transport,” the new master plan said. “Going forward, we will build new roads primarily to serve new residential centres and economic activities. Expansion and improvements to existing roads will mainly be to support the movement of buses so as to bring about a better public transport experience.”
The LTA is currently studying how an underground road system could serve the new waterfront city area that will extend from Marina Bay to Pasir Panjang, via Telok Blangah. The underground road system was first mooted in the 1980s as two concentric rings of underground tunnels, each about 15 kilometres long, which would encircle the city area.
Mindset shift needed for cars not to remain preferred ride: NUS researchers
‘All you need is access to a car, you don’t have to own a car’: NUS researcher
Woo Sian Boon, Today Online, 8 Oct 13;
SINGAPORE — While having a train station within a 10-minute walk from their homes encourages more commuters to use the MRT as a primary mode of transport, having access to a car reduces this usage by 15.6 per cent.
On the other hand, having accessible bus stops did not lead commuters to adopt buses as their main mode of transportation, with only 16.1 per cent of non-daily public transport users preferring to travel by bus.
These were some of the six key findings from a year-long study conducted by researchers from the National University of Singapore’s Institute of Systems Science, which was presented yesterday during a panel about transport mobility in cities at the Singapore International Transport Congress. The findings reinforce observers’ belief that the rail network will continue to be the preferred public transport mode among commuters here. The study, which is supported by the Land Transport Authority, aimed to discover how commuters make travel decisions and the factors which influences that influences their choices, such as convenience, time and cost. It also examined how commuters perceive public transport, and how this shapes usage patterns.
It was conducted from July last year and ended in August, using data gathered from field observations, interviews with transport operators, 1,500 survey responses and 47 focus-group participants.
Its principle investigator Dr Pallab Saha said that 37 per cent of commuters aged between 16 to 24 years old preferred cars as their transportation mode during peak hours, noting that owning a car has become “an aspirational symbol” associated with wealth. This is compared to 26 per cent of commuters in the age group of 35 to 54, and 18 per cent aged 55 and above, who indicated they preferred private transportation. The younger group also exhibited less eco-friendly attitudes as they would not be willing to cut back on car use to reduce their carbon footprint.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the panel, he said that more awareness and education is necessary a for mindset shift to “decouple car ownership and car access”, adding that a study is being planned to look into car-ownership behaviour.
“We have to address the mindset so that cars no longer remain as the preferred mode ... All you need is access to a car, you don’t have to own a car,” he said.
As such, he felt that “there is scope for improvements” in providing alternatives such as car sharing and car pooling, but acknowledged that it would take time to instil a change.
“It’s not going to happen in the next one to two years, because this is not dealing with the physical infrastructure or hardware, this is dealing with the mental models,” he said.
Having access to a car reduces use of trains by 15.6%: Study
Woo Sian Boon, Today Online, 8 Oct 13;
While having a train station within a 10-minute walk from their homes encourages more commuters to use the MRT as a primary mode of transport, having access to a car reduces the use of trains by 15.6 per cent.
On the other hand, having accessible bus stops did not lead commuters to adopt buses as their main mode of transportation, with only 16.1 per cent of non-daily public transport users preferring to travel by bus.
These were some of the six key findings from a year-long study conducted by researchers from the National University of Singapore’s Institute of Systems Science, which was presented yesterday during a panel discussion about transport mobility in cities at the Singapore International Transport Congress.
The study, which is supported by the Land Transport Authority, aimed to discover how commuters make travel decisions and the factors that influence their choices, such as convenience, time and cost.
It was conducted from July last year and ended in August, using data gathered from field observations, interviews with transport operators, 1,500 survey responses and 47 focus-group participants.
Its principal investigator, Dr Pallab Saha, said that 37 per cent of commuters between 16 and 24 years old preferred cars as their transportation mode during peak hours, noting that owning a car has become “an aspirational symbol” associated with wealth.
This is compared to 26 per cent of commuters in the age group of 35 to 54, and 18 per cent aged 55 and above, who indicated they preferred private transportation.
Speaking to reporters, he said that more awareness and education is necessary for a mindset shift to “decouple car ownership and car access”. “We have to address the mindset so that cars no longer remain as the preferred mode ... All you need is access to a car, you don’t have to own a car,” Dr Saha said.
As such, he felt that “there is scope for improvements” in providing alternatives such as car sharing and car pooling, but acknowledged that it would take time for change. “It’s not going to happen in the next one to two years, because this is not dealing with the physical infrastructure or hardware, this is dealing with the mental models,” he said. Woo Sian Boon
More than 700km of cycling paths by 2030
All HDB towns will have a network of dedicated paths to ride to MRT stations
Royston Sim, Straits Times, AsiaOne 8 Oct 13;
BY 2030, cyclists could possibly ride from their homes in the suburbs to work in the city via a comprehensive, islandwide cycling-path network that stretches more than 700km.
The Government revealed its plans to further expand off-road cycling paths and support cycling as an alternative mode of transport in the newly launched Land Transport Masterplan 2013 yesterday.
The aim is to provide "a seamless cycling experience," said Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew when he unveiled the masterplan, which maps out Singapore's future land transport landscape. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will connect cycling paths between adjacent towns "where there is sufficient demand" over the next 15 years.
It will also work with other agencies such as the Urban Redevelopment Authority and National Parks Board to explore providing inter-town cycling routes for cyclists to commute to the Central Business District (CBD).
Minister of State for Trade and Industry Teo Ser Luck, a long-time champion of cycling, said this masterplan reflects a change in the Government's mindset from one of viewing cycling as a means to connect commuters to transport nodes, to recognising it as a mode of commuting.
Calling it "real progress", he noted that cycling is a sustainable and convenient mode of transport that brings health benefits and could also ease congestion on the roads.
The off-road cycling path network now spans about 12.1km within towns such as Tampines, Sembawang and Yishun.
This will go up to about 190km by 2020. Eventually, all 26 Housing Board towns will have a network of dedicated cycling paths for residents to ride to MRT stations and neighbourhood centres.
The LTA will also integrate these intra-town paths with park connectors to form a 700km network by 2030. The current park connector network spans about 250km and will be extended.
More bicycle racks will also be built at MRT stations, HDB blocks, amenities, schools and other places when there is demand. The LTA will also look into enhancing security for bicycles, through better design of parking facilities and public education campaigns.
Mr Francis Chu, 53, co-founder of cycling group LoveCyclingSg, noted that if more people could cycle to the city, that could help relieve congestion on the road and overcrowding in public transport.
But there is also a need to make the CBD safe for cyclists, he said. "There's heavy traffic, and no provision of space for cyclists. That makes it intimidating for a regular commuter."
Tampines GRC MP Irene Ng said it is "refreshing" that the LTA is now open to providing links for commuters to cycle to the city.
However, she expressed disappointment that the focus is still solely on off-road cycling. While a safer option for cyclists, she noted that such paths cannot be built everywhere due to space constraints.
Cyclists will still have to ride on footpaths and roads at some point in their journey, so the challenge is in creating a seamless cycling network, she said.
"Does LTA recognise that cyclists have a right to be on the road? If it does, how to make it safer for them to ride on roads? How to reduce the dangers of heavy vehicles? This is absent in the master- plan," she said.
Ms Ng also highlighted the issue of cyclists riding on footpaths. It is illegal to do so now in all towns except Tampines.
"Improving cycling infrastructure is important, but this has to be accompanied by a regulatory framework for cycling as a mode of transport."
First stage of Downtown Line rail network to open on Dec 22
The first stage of the Downtown Line rail network will open on December 22 this year. Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew said the first stage will see six stations open for service linking three other lines.
Saifulbahri Ismail, Channel NewsAsia, 7 Oct 13;
SINGAPORE: The first stage of the Downtown Line rail network will open on December 22 this year.
Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew made the announcement at the opening of the Singapore International Transport Congress and Exhibition on Monday morning.
During the congress, Mr Lui also announced a new Land Transport Master Plan 2013 that maps out initiatives to take Singapore's land transport forward for the next 10 to 15 years.
It refreshes the previous plan which was rolled out in 2008.
Among the key elements of the plan is the opening of six stations of the Downtown Line.
Mr Lui said the first stage will see six stations open for service, linking with three other MRT lines -- the Circle Line, North East Line and East-West Line.
The six stations are Bugis, Promenade, Bayfront, Downtown, Telok Ayer and Chinatown.
This will improve the rail network density and connectivity in the city area.
When fully opened in 2017, the 42-kilometre Downtown Line will be the longest fully underground driverless train system in Singapore.
It will also improve connectivity for residents from the east and west to the city and also help bring some relief to some of the crowded stretches of the existing rail network.
With the fifth major rail line in place, Mr Lui hopes more people will consider switching to public transport over the next few years with more enhancements due to be carried out.
Mr Lui said: "We will also improve "first and last mile" by putting in more resources. The feeder bus network is being expanded to reduce crowding and waiting times. We will expand the intra-town cycling networks.
"For commuters who walk to the train station or bus interchange, we will build more sheltered walkways to protect them from the elements. To make bus-rail transfers more convenient for everyone, we will build more integrated transport hubs."
Based on the latest Household Interview Travel Survey, more people have opted for public transport instead of private vehicles for their daily commute over the past four years. Peak hour trips have also increased to 63 per cent last year, as compared to 59 per cent in 2008.
The travel survey also revealed that there has been a 13 per cent increase in daily journeys.
In 2012, there were 12.5 million daily journeys as compared with 11 million journeys in 2008.
A total of 10,000 households participated in the survey.
Mr Lui said the travel survey also showed that more higher-income commuters appear to be choosing public transport.
"Going forward, we must do more to strengthen this modal shift from private to public transport. It is our goal to increase this to 70 per cent by the end of this decade," said Mr Lui.
There is also good progress in building cycling path networks in public housing towns and the target is for every single town to eventually have such a network.
More details of the cycling plan will be shared later this year.
- CNA/xq/fa
Downtown MRT line to open on Dec 22
First stage of newest train line to open on schedule as LTA reveals daily public transport journeys on the rise since 2008
Sumita Sreedharan, Today Online, 7 Oct 13;
SINGAPORE — The new Downtown Line (DTL) is due to open on Dec 22, Minister for Transport Lui Tuck Yew announced today (Oct 7).
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has handed over the trains to SBS Transit, the operator of the line, for trial runs that could take about two months, for the testing and commissioning of station equipment, trains and all control systems.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong first announced in his National Day message that Downtown Line 1 (DTL 1) would open on schedule in December.
DTL 1 will be 4.3km-long. The entire line, slated for completion in 2017, and will stretch out over 42km.
Mr Lui’s announcement today came as the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said that more people have been opting for public transport over private transport, with a 13 per cent increase in daily journeys, from 11 million rides to 12.5 million rides, between 2008 and last year.
The LTA’s latest Household Interview Travel Survey also found that commuters were more likely to use public transport if they lived nearer to a MRT station, and that car ownership was lower among households located closer to train stations.
The survey, covering 10,000 households, is conducted every four to five years.
First stage of Downtown Line to open on Dec 22
Lui Tuck Yew spells out three strategies to improve public transport
Royston Sim, Straits Times, 8 Oct 13;
THE first part of the 34-station Downtown Line will open on Dec 22 this year, marking one step towards a plan that will have eight in 10 households within a 10-minute walk from an MRT station by 2030.
Test runs are under way at the six stations - Chinatown, Telok Ayer, Downtown, Bayfront, Promenade and Bugis. Operator SBS Transit has hired 400 new staff for the first stage of this new line.
"We are intensifying our efforts and significantly investing more resources to improve the quality of public transport in Singapore," said Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew when he launched the Land Transport Masterplan 2013 yesterday.
The 55-page blueprint maps out Singapore's plans to enhance the public transport system from now till 2030.
It acknowledges that commuters have had to deal with overcrowding on trains and buses with the population boom.
Mr Lui yesterday promised to improve the public transport system, and spelt out three key strategies to do so.
* First, commuters will have more transport connections, especially when the rail network doubles to 360km in the next 17 years.
This will include the 42km Downtown Line, and future lines such as the Jurong Region Line and Cross Island Line.
About 40 new bus routes will be added under the $1.1 billion Bus Service Enhancement Programme (BSEP), while 200km of sheltered walkways will be built by 2018 to encourage walking.
* Second, commuters will get better service, with more trains and an upgraded signalling system on the way, to reduce waiting times and overcrowding on the MRT.
There will also be stricter standards to ensure that more taxis are on the road through the day.
* Third, cyclists and the elderly will also be taken care of. Apart from supporting alternative transport modes like cycling, there will be more lifts built at pedestrian overhead bridges to cater to a rapidly ageing population.
The latest Household Interview Travel Survey showed that more people are turning to public transport, although they are also spending more time travelling.
Last year, 63 per cent of trips during the peak periods were made on public transport, up from 59 per cent in 2008.
Overall, trips made on public transport rose by 14 per cent in the last five years.
But the survey also found that the number of public transport journeys within 20km that are completed within an hour fell from 79 per cent to 76 per cent.
The Land Transport Authority attributed this to slower bus speeds, while Mr Lui noted that the first and last mile take up a "disproportionately large amount of time for the entire journey".
To tackle this, buses will be given more priority on the roads and the cycling network expanded, he said.
The authorities will also continue to improve the reliability of the MRT, which has suffered major disruptions in recent years.
Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport chair Cedric Foo said public transport must be made more attractive relative to private transport.
For this to happen, new rail lines must be implemented without delays. More can also be done to stagger the flow of commuters during peak periods and reduce crowding, he said.
"This requires staggered work hours and differentiated pricing to spread out the loads."
Six stations of Downtown Line to open on Dec 22
Samuel Ee, Business Times Singapore, 8 Oct 13;
Households near MRT stations less likely to own cars: survey
THE first stage of the Downtown Line will open on Dec 22 and, it seems, not a moment too soon in the effort to make public transport a choice mode, as a survey reveals that car ownership for households near MRT stations is lower than for those further away.
Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew unveiled this yesterday when he launched the Land Transport Master Plan 2013 at the opening of the Singapore International Transport Congress and Exhibition.
The 42-kilometre Downtown Line is being built in three stages and will be Singapore's longest, fully underground driverless train system when it opens completely in 2017. The first stage comprises six stations - Bugis, Promenade, Bayfront, Downtown, Telok Ayer and Chinatown.
As a medium-capacity rapid transit system, it allows direct access from the central business district and new developments in the Marina Bay area to north-western and eastern Singapore.
This Master Plan is an update of the one announced in 2008 and retains the central aim of making public transport a choice mode.
For 2013, Mr Lui said that efforts have been intensified and significantly more resources invested to improve the quality of public transport along three thrusts - by creating "More Connections", by providing "Better Service", and by supporting a "Liveable and Inclusive Community".
Regarding the first thrust, More Connections, the minister reiterated that the rail network will double to 360 km by 2020, with four in five homes expected to be within a 10-minute walk of a train station.
"For households within 800 metres of a train station, public transport usage is about 12 percentage points higher than those living two km and farther," said Mr Lui, adding that there is a multiplier effect in having a denser and more connected rail network, "with every addition to the network increasing the overall attractiveness of taking the train, and increasing the likelihood of switching people from cars to public transport".
"We saw evidence of this with the opening of the Circle Line," he said.
Mr Lui said that Singapore has made good progress on the Master Plan in the past five years.
"Our peak-hour public transport mode share has since increased to 63 per cent in 2012," he said, citing the Household Interview Travel Survey 2012.
The figure was 59 per cent in 2008 and reverses a downward trend since the survey was first conducted in 1997.
"Interestingly, more higher-income commuters appear to be choosing public transport."
Based on the survey, individuals with monthly incomes above $8,000 taking peak period public transport rose to 28 per cent from 23 per cent in 2008.
Other key findings from the survey, in which 10,000 households took part, include the 14 per cent increase in trips made on public transport as a whole, with train trips growing from 1.7 million daily in 2008 to 2.3 million in 2012, a 35 per cent jump.
Daily bus trips also grew, from 3.1 million trips in 2008 to 3.2 million in 2012.
As for changes in private car ownership patterns, the survey revealed that the growth in private vehicle trips slowed significantly to 9 per cent from 2008 to 2012, compared to 29 per cent from 2004 to 2008. This was partly a result of a slower increase in the car population.
During this period, the car population was still growing faster than the resident population, resulting in more households owning cars now than before.
In 2012, 46 per cent of households owned cars, up from 40 per cent in 2008 and 38 per cent in 2004.
But car ownership for households near MRT stations is seen to be lower. For households within 400 metres of an MRT station, only 39 per cent own cars, compared with 55 per cent for households that are more than 1.8 km from a station.
Land Transport Authority chief executive Chew Hock Yong said: "The findings of the latest survey reaffirm that our policies under the inaugural Land Transport Master Plan in 2008 are on the right track."
