Feng Zengkun The Straits Times AsiaOne 27 Nov 14;
A new sustainable blueprint to guide Singapore's development over the next 15 years was launched earlier this month, to create a better home, a better environment and a better future. That better future, however, includes curtailing the dream of many Singaporeans - owning a car.
One priority of the ambitious $1.5 billion Sustainable Singapore Blueprint 2015 is reducing the number of private cars on the roads. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong explained: "We have to rely less on cars on the road, because we can't keep building roads; more roads for more cars."
Roads already make up 12 per cent of land use, compared to housing at 14 per cent.
Fewer vehicles would also reduce land needed for carparks, and improve the quality of life. Air quality, for example, would be better, with fewer polluting emissions from the tailpipes of private cars.
PM Lee said the Government would aim for a "car-lite" Singapore by providing more transport options, such as an expanded MRT network, buses and bicycle paths.
But experts said infrastructure gaps need to be plugged, and, in a country where the car is king, laws and attitudes towards them changed. More is also needed to help people move seamlessly from one form of transport to another more easily.
Beefing up alternatives
Last year, about 63 per cent of trips during peak hours were by public transport such as buses and trains.
Minister for National Development Khaw Boon Wan recently said that cycling makes up 1 to 2 per cent of transport.
The Government wants public transport to make up 75 per cent of peak-hour trips by 2030, and has outlined plans to achieve this.
From the year 2012 to 2016, it will have added 800 buses to the fleet - a 20 per cent increase - and from last year to 2030 it will have expanded the rail network from 178km to 360km.
It will build an island-wide cycling path network of more than 700km by 2030, including both park connectors and cycling paths in Housing Board towns.
It is also conducting a year-long study to shed light on why and how Singaporeans walk, and what would encourage them to do so more often.
The Economic Development Board and Land Transport Authority (LTA) plan to co-lead a project involving the pooled sharing of electric cars.
While the agencies would say only that the project is in the planning stages, The Straits Times understands the Government had considered rolling out up to 1,000 electric cars under such a scheme as recently as two years ago.
The LTA has said "car sharing can help those who need to use a car for a few hours or over a weekend, and allow convenient access to it without people having to own or maintain one".
The authority will pilot a bicycle-sharing scheme next year, possibly in the city centre and Jurong Lake District.
But transport experts said the devil is in the details.
When three Straits Times reporters rode 180km over three days last October to test cycling paths for commuting, they found snags that could dissuade users.
An 11km stretch that people who live in Ang Mo Kio and Bishan can use to go to work at the Upper Paya Lebar Road factories, for example, had six overhead bridges, three of which did not have ramps. People have to haul their bikes up and down the stairs.
Some park connectors were actually existing pavements, which meant cyclists and pedestrians had to jostle for space.
Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy transport researcher Paul Barter said the cycling network needs to be not just comprehensive but also enjoyable and seamless so people can ride almost anywhere efficiently.
"You want people to be able to travel at speeds that let them cover 7km to 8km in half an hour. But it also has to be safe enough for your 10-year-old child," said the adjunct associate professor.
