Commuter at the Centre

Yesterday, the Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Raymond Lim announced at the Land Transport Gallery that there will be a major overhaul of the Land Transport in Singapore. This is the first of three key policy speeches he will deliver this month on how travel by bus, rail and private vehicles will change to move 5.5 million around.

The theme, "Putting the commuter in the centre", aims to make public transport a choice mode and a viable alternative to the car. Mr Lim said at the heart of the overhaul is a people-centred land transport system. "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," said the Minister. "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."

The Government will focus on 3 principal strategies to address the problems raised by commuters. They are:

1. Making hub-and-spoke system seamless
2. Introducing more competition to drive efficiency and service improvements
3. Involving our People in the Land Transport System

As a city state, Singapore is the second most densely populated country in the world. Already, roads take up 12 per cent of total land area and the demands on land transport system are set to increase by 60 per cent, from the current 8.9 million daily journeys to 14.3 million by 2020.

With such a big challenge, Mr Lim said the Government will roll out 5 major initiatives to enhance the hub and spoke system:

1. LTA to undertake Centralised Bus Planning;
2. Distance-based Through Fares to Facilitate Transfers;
3. Bus Priority Measures to Speed Up Buses;
4. Integrated Public Transport Hubs; and
5. Integrated Public Transport Service Information.

The changes are the outcome of a major review which started more than a year ago to take stock of a 1996 White paper on land transport and to put in place a new roadmap that will guide developments over the next 10 to 15 years.