DROP IN USAGE OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT

DROP IN USAGE OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT:

(Reasons): 9.

Dr Lam Pin Min asked the Minister for Transport (a) what are the reasons for the decrease in utilisation of public transport by Singaporeans in 2008; and (b) what measures or new initiatives will the LTA implement to encourage Singaporeans to switch to public transportation.

The Second Minister for Transport (Mrs Lim Hwee Hua) (for the Minister for Transport): Mr Speaker, Sir, I believe that Dr Lam Pin Min is referring to the reduction in the public transport mode share indicated by the Household Interview Travel Survey 2008. Between 2004 and 2008, the number of public transport journeys made each day increased by 16%. However, the number of car journeys made each day increased by 31%. Hence, the public transport mode share, which measures the proportion of journeys made on public transport during the morning peak hours, fell from 63% in 2004 to 59% in 2008.

This decrease can be attributed to the lack of major infrastructural improvements to the public transport system between 2004 and 2008, while our population and the number of vehicles continued to grow.

We had commissioned this survey in 2008 to help us to properly establish the baseline for the Land Transport Masterplan (LTMP), and give us a more accurate assessment of the magnitude of the land transport challenges we face going forward. The timing of the survey is such that its results ought not to be interpreted as feedback on whether the plans and initiatives announced in the LTMP are effective as the survey was conducted before any of the major LTMP measures started to kick in. Instead, the survey results re-affirm the key challenge that the LTMP has identified – that of reversing the decline in public transport mode share and the importance of achieving the 70% public transport mode share target by 2020. In other words, increase the public transport mode share from six to seven trips out of every 10 trips.

The survey findings also re-affirm that we need to continue to complement improvements in our public transport system with measures to moderate car usage. We have reduced the vehicle population growth rate, from 3% to 1.5% a year, and will assess this again in 2012, to see if a further reduction is necessary. We have also made it easier for drivers who choose to give up their cars to encash their COE and PARF rebates, and will be making improvements to the Off-Peak Car scheme and Park and Ride scheme.

While we have already made some immediate improvements to our public transport system, many of the more significant programmes will take time to implement. We are working to double our rail network. New lines and extensions to existing lines will be opened progressively when they are ready. The Circle Line started operations in May this year, and will be completed by 2011. We can look forward to the Downtown Line after that. LTA is taking over the central bus network planning, and we are completing the implementation of through-fares. These are just some of the measures we are taking to improve our public transport system. As the rollout takes place, we will continue to see what else we can do. If we stay the course, we should be able to make progress in reversing the trend and achieve our target of 70% public transport mode share by 2020.

Dr Lam Pin Min: I would like to thank the Minister for her comprehensive reply. I have two supplementary questions for the Minister. Residents in new and developing estates often complain about inadequacy of public transport, especially bus services. When requests for more services were raised to the public transport operators, the answers that came back often blamed the lack of critical demand and the cost-effectiveness of adding more services. I see it as a chicken-and-egg phenomenon.

With the lack of a good public transport network in new estates, residents are forced to turn to private vehicles. How will LTA taking over the central planning of bus routes be able to resolve this conundrum? Or is the poor utilisation rate a manifestation of the general public's dissatisfaction with our public transport system?

Mrs Lim Hwee Hua: Sir, for new estates, typically the public transport operators will be given preliminary information ahead of the actual operation of the estates. They will be given information by the HDB on how the estate would be laid out, the profile of the blocks and the density of the estate, including key installations like schools. They would also be given information by the LTA on the road layout as well as the location of major infrastructure like the rail lines and where the stations would be. This would enable the public transport operators to assess the density and to plan for basic services to serve the new estates, based on some assumptions. As the families start to move in, the public transport operators will continue to do more ground surveys to verify some of the assumptions as well as to track the patterns of moving in. In other words, the public transport services will necessarily have to evolve along the way, based on a lot of the feedback from the constituents as well as the public transport operators' own assessment. LTA's role as a central bus planner will be crucial in that LTA will seek to optimise the infrastructure that is already planned in the estate, for example, the rail line and the stations, all with the intention of optimising these by linking bus services to the hub itself. What LTA will do, which has already begun, is to consult the advisors as well as the grassroots leaders and the public at large to check what the travel patterns might be and whether there is a critical mass. And the public transport operators will actually provide the services ahead of the established demand. But this would largely be an evolution for the first few years.

Dr Lam Pin Min: There is another second part of my question which is about the general perception that maybe Singaporeans are just generally unsatisfied with the public transport system or the services that they provide to the public.

Mrs Lim Hwee Hua: Sir, if this is asked in relation to the survey findings, let me reiterate the fact that the drop in the public transport mode share is largely attributed to the combination of a lack of major infrastructural work between 2004 and 2008 against the increase in vehicle population. It is not so much the drop in satisfaction levels. In fact, if I may inform the House that the annual public transport satisfaction surveys conducted over the past few years have actually shown an increase in satisfaction. According to the survey conducted in October last year, which is the survey 2008, 89.5% of respondents, or about nine in 10, were satisfied with the overall public transport services in Singapore. This is three percentage points higher than the 86.5% in 2007, which is itself higher than the 84% rate achieved in 2006.

Mr Speaker: Mr Viswa Sadasivan, last question.

Mr Viswa Sadasivan: Could I have the Minister's assessment as to what could be the single most important factor that is impeding the migration of private transport usage to public transport usage?

Mrs Lim Hwee Hua: I would like to urge the Member to read the entire Report on the Land Transport Masterplan (LTMP) because the main thrust is that we need to do a whole suite of things, ie, providing the public transport infrastructure, improving the services as well as moderating car usage. So we need a whole combination of measures and not just one single measure that will achieve that shift.