Singapore Boosts Train Services For Commuters
Minister Raymond Lim said in Parliament that both SMRT and SBS Transit will be increasing the frequency of their train services this month.
The new Jurong East Station platform will be open in May, while the Woodleigh Station on the North-East Line and Damai Station on the Punggol LRT will start operating in June.
Speech by Mr Raymond Lim, Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs, at Ministry of Transport’s Committee of Supply Debate (Land Transport – Public Transport)
Public Transport System a Choice Mode for Commuters
Our aim is to build a land transport system that puts the needs of the people at the centre. Improving our public transport system is a critical part of this as most Singaporeans rely on the bus or train as their principal means of transport. This is why we are doing everything possible to improve our rail system, our bus system, and to ensure that all the pieces of our public transport system fit together, with the commuter as our focus.
PT Customer Satisfaction Survey 2010
Dr Lim Wee Kiak has asked if these public transport improvement measures have been successful. To ensure that we have an accurate sense of how our public transport system is serving commuters, LTA has commissioned a Public Transport Customer Satisfaction Survey every year since 2006. The results by SIM University (UniSIM) for 2010 showed that overall satisfaction with our Public Transport Services has remained high, at above 90%, despite the increased ridership on the public transport system.
Late last year, The Straits Times conducted its own independent straw poll to find out how commuters felt about our bus services. More than 80% gave it a thumbs-up. In addition, six in ten commuters interviewed felt that bus services had improved in the last two years. More recently, the travel and lifestyle website CNNgo, labelled Singapore as one of the “coolest” countries in the world. The Straits Times subsequently asked some 200 Singaporeans to list some of the things that they thought made Singapore “cool”. The outcome? “Good transport system” topped the list, ahead of “Food” at number three and “Shopping” at number five.
While we are very mindful that the implementation of the Land Transport Master Plan (LTMP) is very much a work-in-progress, such survey results affirm that we are heading in the right direction. We will do more to improve our public transport system. These surveys also help us to identify what matters most to commuters so that we can focus our efforts on them.
Improving Our Public Transport System
Dr Lim and Mr Ong Kian Min have pointed out that our trains and buses are crowded. We have been proactively working with the public transport operators on several measures that will bring relief to our commuters: First, by growing our rail capacity aggressively. Second, pushing hard to improve our bus services on multiple fronts, from faster travel time to better information. And third, paying close attention to details to ensure that the transport system is seamlessly integrated, for the benefit of the commuter.
Improving Rail Capacity
First, on improving our rail capacity. For this year, commuters can look forward to the following –
Upcoming Improvements on Existing Lines
Shorter waiting times. Starting this Sunday (13 March 2011), SMRT will increase train services by adding another 420 train trips per week. About a week later, SBS Transit will start adding another 170 train trips per week during the morning and evening peaks, as well as off-peak hours. In May, we will open the new platform at Jurong East station and remove the bottleneck there. This will allow SMRT to run more trains during the peak hours on the North-South-East-West Lines. Together, these improvements mean that trains will come at higher frequencies. Commuters therefore will have shorter waits to board the trains, and enjoy more comfortable journeys overall.
We are also monitoring the passenger loads at Sengkang LRT. SBS Transit will add one more train to Sengkang East in May, to alleviate crowding during the morning peak. As a result, the morning peak capacity on the Sengkang East LRT will increase by 14%. SBS Transit will also run the Punggol LRT East Loop in both directions throughout the day from June 2011. This will result in improved travel times as commuters will have a choice of either direction of travel on the Punggol East LRT.
There is more good news for commuters. In the past, SMRT and SBS Transit ran extended last train services to 2am on the eves of three holidays – Christmas, New Year and Chinese New Year. Both public transport operators will henceforth extend the last train to 12:30am at city stations on the eves of all other Public Holidays as well.
Professor Fatimah Lateef has, on several occasions, asked about the plans to open Woodleigh Station on the North-East Line. Woodleigh Station has remained closed since the NEL began operations in 2003 because of low commuter traffic in the vicinity. The pace of new developments around Woodleigh has since picked up, and Professor Fatimah will be happy to hear that SBST has decided to open the station in June this year. Many commuters, especially those living near Woodleigh Station and also in the Braddell Road and Joo Seng area, will benefit from this.
Like Woodleigh station, Damai Station on the Punggol LRT was constructed in anticipation of future developments in the area. As there are new developments in the area, SBST has also decided to open Damai Station in June this year as well. With the opening of Damai station, Punggol East Loop will be fully operational in June.
We are continuing to monitor the loading on both the Bukit Panjang LRT (BPLRT) and Sengkang & Punggol LRT systems, and are in the midst of various engineering studies with the operators. To cater for ridership growth on the BPLRT, LTA is working with the operator on the additional trains needed to enhance the capacity of the BPLRT system. We expect to finalise the details by the second half of this year.
Completion of Circle Line
This year will also see the opening of a new section of our rail network. We expect Stages 4 & 5 of the Circle Line to be operational by October this year. This will enhance accessibility for an estimated 200,000 residents, and 120,000 workers who live or work along the section of the line from Marymount to Harbourfront Stations. When fully open, we expect the CCL to help relieve crowding levels on critical stretches of existing MRT lines by about 10 – 15%. In addition, some 16 new trains will be delivered for the Circle Line by 2015, to cater for future ridership growth.
Capacity Enhancement Initiatives
Our longer term plans to expand our current network, and increase the rail capacity on the existing lines are also proceeding apace. We would like to assure Dr Lim that we will open the new lines in phases rather than open them when they are fully completed. This approach ensures that commuters will be able to take advantage of the speed and reliability of rail travel earlier.
We will be opening a section of rail every year for the next six years. The Circle Line extension to Marina Bay in 2012, Downtown Line Stage 1 from Bugis to Chinatown in 2013, North South Line extension to Marina Pier in 2014, Downtown Line Stage 2 from Bugis to Bukit Panjang in 2015, the Tuas extension in 2016, and Downtown Line Stage 3 from Chinatown to Singapore Expo in 2017.
We will also start major upgrading works for the signalling system for the North-South-East-West Lines this year. The new signalling system will allow trains to run at intervals of 100 seconds at peak periods, compared to existing intervals of 120 seconds. Commuters will benefit through shorter waiting times. Additional trains will also be bought to reap the full benefits of the upgraded signalling capability. The re-signalling works will be completed in phases between 2016 and 2018 and increase capacity by up to 20%.
There are also plans for the North-East Line to receive around 12 additional new trains in about 4 to 5 years’ time. The additional trains will cater to the future ridership growth along the north-east corridor from HarbourFront to Punggol. They are expected to increase the capacity for the North-East Line by up to 50%.
Improving Bus Services
Let me next move to our bus services. We are closely monitoring the loading levels and reliability of our bus services. Last year, LTA started a quarterly review process with the public transport operators, to identify heavily-utilised bus services and improve their capacity along crowded sectors of the route during the peak periods.
Later today, LTA and the public transport operators will announce the latest round of service improvements. A total of 21 heavily utilised bus services have or will see improvements, through measures such as deploying higher capacity buses and adjusting scheduled headways. For example, more double deck buses have been deployed for Services 79 and 95 and additional trips will be injected for Service 169 during the evening peak.
This brings the total number of bus services that have been improved since this process started in June 2010 to 51, or 1 in 5 bus services. These enhancements allow service levels to be kept above and beyond the standards set by the Public Transport Council. Both operators will continue to identify more bus services that can be improved in the ensuing quarters.
Starting next Monday, SMRT Buses will also introduce a new Express Bus service 971E. This will offer Bukit Panjang residents an additional travel option to the CBD. 971E will run from Bukit Panjang to the City during the morning peak hours, with a travel time generally comparable to taking the LRT and MRT.
This is in addition to the Express Service 868 that SMRT Buses implemented recently. Service 868 was introduced under the Parallel Bus Service Scheme and runs from Bukit Batok West Avenue 5 to Temasek Avenue. It has been useful in providing an alternative mode of transport for residents staying along sections of existing MRT lines where there are persistent heavy passenger loads during the morning peak hours.
Dr Lim and Mr Ong Kian Min have asked about the speed and reliability of bus services, and how bus schedules can be improved. To improve bus journeys, we have given buses greater priority on the roads. Today, we have 155km and 23km of normal and full-day bus lanes respectively, and bus journey speeds along these lanes have increased by an average of 7%. For example, bus speeds along Upper Thomson Road have improved by up to 20% as a result of the bus lanes, resulting in significant reductions in travel time from Ang Mo Kio to Newton.
We have also expanded the mandatory give-way-to buses scheme, which imposes mandatory right-of-way for buses leaving bus bays and has reduced the time buses take to exit bus bays by up to 73%. LTA has implemented this scheme at 202 bus bays islandwide, up from 44 a year ago. LTA will continue to implement this scheme at bus bays that are found to be suitable. This year, the LTA will be commencing a small scale trial to explore different ways of making the signal priority for buses at traffic junctions more effective.
Central Bus Planning
Dr Lim and Professor Faishal asked for an update on central bus planning. Since assuming the role of the Central Bus Planner, LTA has engaged various stakeholders in its bus planning consultation. The reaction to the consultation exercise has generally been positive. Our public consultations with the grassroots and various stakeholders will not stop there but are an ongoing process. LTA will continue to engage the community at various levels through its network of Community Partnership Managers, and progressively implement bus route changes that benefit as many commuters as possible.
Professor Faishal asked how commuters have benefitted from central bus planning. The benefits range from providing better connectivity to MRT stations such as Service 410 that was diverted at Shunfu Road to provide greater access to Marymount MRT station and Shunfu market, to that of making it more convenient for the elderly to access bus services in Marine Terrace by amending service 76. When interviewed by the Straits Times last year, 66-year old retiree Jimmy Yap said that the changes to Service 76 gave him a direct link from Parkway Parade Mall to his flat. Mdm Koh Geok Lin also wrote to us to say that the new route “makes it so much easier for elderly people, especially with heavy purchases”. LTA will continue to make such improvements to bus services where possible.
Exemption of ARF for Public Omnibuses
To recognise the important role that public buses play in our public transport system, the Government will exempt public omnibuses from Additional Registration Fees (ARF) payable, starting from 10 March 2011. Public omnibuses are already exempted from the Vehicle Quota System, but were subjected to a relatively low ARF rate of 5% of the Open Market Value (OMV) of the vehicle. The Government has decided to completely exempt public omnibuses operated by SBST and SMRT Buses from the ARF payable.
This will help our public bus operators, as they renew or expand their bus fleets.
In the coming year, SBST and SMRT will bring in about 400 new buses, including high capacity ones like double-deckers. These buses will replace some of their existing bus fleet, and also be injected to improve existing service levels. Commuters can look forward to more comfortable rides on the new buses, and improved bus frequencies when they are put into operation.
Infrastructure Improvements
Improvements to bus services are not the only things that bus commuters can look forward to. LTA will also improve existing infrastructure for a better bus commuting experience. In our bus network, some major bus stops act as a transit hub where multiple bus services call and connections to onward journeys can be made. LTA has looked at this and will expand the facilities at some of these to accommodate more buses, reduce bus dwell times and minimise localised congestion. This will mean faster journeys and shorter waiting times for commuters.
This programme was piloted at the bus stop in front of Block 270 at Bukit Panjang. Bus dwell times have been reduced after the bus stop was expanded to allow more buses to pull into the bus bay for passengers to board and alight. The LTA has identified more than 30 existing bus stops that can be upgraded to “bus hubs”, including some at Woodlands Centre Road and Commonwealth Avenue West and will be doing so progressively, starting at the end of this year.
Integrated Public Transport Network
Dr Lim and Mr Seah Kian Peng asked about our efforts to improve the integration of our rail network and bus services to achieve seamless, convenient and efficient travel for commuters.
Integrated Transport Hubs
By assuming the role as the central bus planner, LTA is now able to plan the rail, bus and road networks in a more holistic manner. This includes planning for supporting infrastructure such as bus depots, as well as integrated transport hubs, where air-conditioned bus interchanges and MRT stations are co-located with retail and commercial activities to provide added convenience for commuters.
Ten Integrated Transport Hubs were announced in the LTMP. Two new ones, in Serangoon and Clementi, will begin operations in the second half of this year. LTA has planned for more integrated transport hubs to be built in the medium term, in Bukit Panjang, Hougang Central and Yishun.
Transport Information Portals
Apart from ensuring that the requisite infrastructure is in place, we also want to provide commuters with more information to facilitate their journey decisions. For example, real-time bus arrival information systems have been installed at selected bus stops, and will be extended to more bus hubs in the future.
A suite of information portals have been introduced progressively to help commuters to plan their trips better. The PublicTransport.SG portal, which provides public transport information, bus arrival time and bus routes, attracts over 3.5 million page-views a month. The One.Motoring portal, which reported over 12 million page-views a month, provides useful traffic information to motorists.
Last year, LTA went mobile with the portal MyTransport.sg. MyTransport.sg is an aggregation of mobile services under one portal. Commuters can now access transport information like bus routes, or traffic news on their mobile phones, and plan their journeys using different modes of travel to reach their destinations faster. This portal was rated highly by MyPaper, and attracts an average of about 500,000 page-views a month.
Distance Fares
Dr Lim and Mr Seah also asked about Distance Fares. Distance Fares is a key component of the integration of our hub-and-spoke public transport network, and allows commuters more choices and greater flexibility in selecting their routes.
Mr Seah asked if Distance Fares has really benefitted commuters. If you look at what has been happening since the system started to stabilise, I think people see the benefits. Mr Wang Min Sheng, for example, wrote in to Lianhe Zaobao and gave a few examples of his public transport journeys where he enjoyed savings. He also said: “…. I welcome the move to such a fare system. I am confident to say that there are Singaporeans who, like me, have enjoyed savings. “
Our latest data for January 2011 supports his view. It also shows that the number of commuters who benefited from distance fares has continued to increase. Overall, 71% of commuters saw weekly fare savings compared to the 63% that was originally projected. And the figure for senior citizens is higher at 76% in January 2011, compared to the 70% originally projected.
In fact, as the public transport operators pointed out in their recent results announcements, average fare revenues of the public transport operators have fallen since distance fares was introduced. More commuters are making use of the flexibility afforded by distance fares, and optimising their journeys by choosing the best routes to reach their destination.
I would like to assure Members that the fare system is robust. LTA and the public transport operators identified a number of errors in the bus stop distances last year, and these have since been rectified.
To ensure the accuracy of the bus stop distance data going forward, the Public Transport Council has put in place a framework requiring bus operators to ensure that bus stop distances are updated regularly.
We take these issues seriously, and everything possible has been done to preserve the integrity of the fare system.
Demand Management
Dr Lim has also suggested that we manage demand rather than supply to alleviate crowding on our public transport network. At the planning level, we are already working with land use agencies like URA to plan for well-distributed employment nodes closer to homes to mitigate the pressure on the public transport network. Minister Mah mentioned this last week. More housing units will be injected in the west and in the city to improve the job-worker distribution. Apart from reducing the demand on the transport network, transport capacity in the less crowded direction such as outwards from the city during the morning peak can also be better utilised.
On staggering of operating hours, this is already something that some schools in close proximity to each other have implemented in localised areas. A growing number of workplaces, including the civil service, have also adopted more flexible office hours for their employees.
This allows people to determine what best suits their individual situations and preferences. However, large-scale adoption is not straightforward as there are several issues to consider, including the potential economic costs of staggered business hours
Topics: 2011, Asia, bus services, business, commuters, Damai Station, economic development, economic growth, Economy, Governance, government, investment, Jurong East Station, Land Transport Authority, moniter, monitor, news, Pacific, public transport system, Punggol LRT, Raymond Lim, SBS, SMRT, society, train services, transit, transportation, Woodleigh Station
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