PUBLIC TRANSPORT SYSTEM

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PUBLIC TRANSPORT SYSTEM:

(Measures to improve): 3.

Mr Zaqy Mohamad asked the Minister for Transport (a) if his Ministry has plans for public consultation at the grassroots level on improving bus route planning once it has taken over the centralised planning of bus routes; and (b) how does the Ministry plan to engage the public users to make bus routes more relevant.

4.

Mdm Ho Geok Choo asked the Minister for Transport (a) whether he will give an update on the upgrading exercise of the public transport system; (b) whether there has been an increase in the frequency of buses and trains and, if so, by how much; and (c) if there is a measure of the number of passengers per

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train/bus and whether this figure has fallen.

The Senior Minister of State for Transport (Mrs Lim Hwee Hua) (for the Minister for Transport): Mr Speaker, Sir, may I have your permission to take Question Nos. 3 and 4 together as they are related?

Mr Speaker: Yes.

Mrs Lim Hwee Hua: Sir, since the completion of the Land Transport Master Plan (LTMP) early this year, LTA has been rolling out various initiatives to improve the public transport system. I will briefly report the progress in four key areas: (i) immediate improvements to train capacity, (ii) immediate improvements to bus capacity, (iii) providing more and better public transport travel information, and (iv) other medium-term initiatives to improve the overall system.

First, on train services. LTA has worked closely with the Public Transport Operators (PTOs) to increase the capacity of the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system. Since February this year, SMRT and SBST have injected some 800 additional train trips per week. This has led to shorter waiting times and less crowded trains around the peak hours and lunch time. For instance, the waiting time for a southbound train at Toa Payoh MRT station during the morning peak period, between 8.00 am and 8.30 am, has been reduced by about 15% to about 2 minutes. This means that even if a commuter may not be able to board the first train that arrives, he need not wait too long to board the next or subsequent trains.

In addition, with the additional train trips, crowding has been kept manageable despite a 13% surge in train ridership on the North-South East-West line between February and July 2008. At the most crowded stretches during peak hours,

we

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are still seeing an acceptable level of loading of between 1,300 and 1,400 passengers per train – or to put it in more concrete terms – approximately 4 persons/sqm. This is comparable if not better than other major cities such as Hong Kong, New York or Tokyo. Where train loading is persistently high, we will consider allowing bus services to run parallel to the MRT lines during peak hours, to help take some of the load off the trains. For example, Service 128 now runs parallel to sections of the North-South Line, from Ang Mo Kio to the CBD.

Second, on bus services. Since June 2008, all trunk bus services plying along corridors affected by the ERP changes this year have improved their headways from 15 minutes to 12 minutes during peak hours. This will be further improved to not more than 10 minutes by 1st August 2009. In addition, the Public Transport Council (PTC) has tightened the Quality of Service (QoS) standards such that bus operators must operate at least 85% of their feeder bus services at headways of not more than 10 minutes during peak hours with effect from August 2008. This standard will be further tightened to 90% of feeder bus services by August 2009.

To meet the tighter QoS standards, and also as part of their continuous efforts to improve services, the PTOs are adding more buses and renewing their bus fleet. For example, SBS Transit recently announced that it will put 400 new Euro V buses on the road next year, at a cost of $147 million. Aside from basic bus services, we have also increased the number of premium bus services to 74, surpassing our initial target of 72 services. For commuters, premium bus services offer greater choice in the form of a faster, more direct and more comfortable journey.

In tandem with the increase in bus capacity, bus ridership has increased, by about 6% for the first half of 2008,

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compared to the same period last year. Crowding levels on our buses are regulated under the QoS standards, which the PTC administers. The PTC reviews the PTOs' compliance with the QoS standards, including passenger loading levels per bus, every six months. It is expected to provide the next update in October.

Third, we are in the process of providing more and better public transport travel information. Commuters are currently already able to use an online Journey Planner on the Transitlink website to work out what services they need to take to reach their destination. This journey planner is integrated across operators and bus and rail modes. If they would like to suggest a new premium bus service route, they can also visit the online premium bus service demand aggregator tool, on LTA's website. If there is sufficient demand for a particular route from the community, LTA will approach operators to examine the viability of launching a new premium bus service.

Fourth, in terms of the medium-term initiatives, LTA will be injecting greater contestability into the bus and rail sectors, by shortening the length of rail licences and tendering out packages of bus routes. Also, the PTC will introduce a new system of distance-based through fares by 2009, to give commuters greater flexibility in choosing the travel options that best suit their needs, including transfer journeys, without having to pay an extra fare penalty. The first step in this transition was announced last Friday, when the PTC said it will raise the transfer rebate from 25 cents to 40 cents. Also, by 2009, LTA will assume the role of central bus network planner, to ensure better optimisation and integration of bus and rail services, so that the entire public transport network including bus routes is designed holistically and with the commuters' interests in mind.

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All these initiatives mean change. Mr Zaqy has asked if we plan to consult community stakeholders and those affected by the changes. I would like to assure him that we will certainly do so. Currently, there is already extensive engagement at the grassroots and community level on transport issues including bus routes. Teams of managers from LTA's Community Partnership Division are assigned to each constituency, and have established strong relationships with local residents and grassroots leaders. If there are issues or suggestions on bus routes and services, LTA's officers will surface to the PTC for consideration. This process will continue, and as LTA takes on the bus planning role, LTA will also examine how to further engage community stakeholders to ensure bus routes will better meet the transport needs of the community.

Mdm Ho Geok Choo (West Coast): Three supplementary questions for the Minister. As Singaporeans are encouraged to use public transportation, are there measures to review our Park-and-Ride Scheme?

Second supplementary question would be: how does the Ministry propose to fund the support measures that were announced, such as increasing the number of full-day bus lanes, managing demand for road space through congestion pricing and making travel information more accessible?

The third supplementary question would be: when will these support measures be installed?

Mrs Lim Hwee Hua: Sir, I have previously taken a question on the Park-and-Ride Scheme, so I will not repeat the answer I had given, except to say that this will be part and parcel of the overall plan to shift more people towards public

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transport. The Park-and-Ride Scheme is currently under review and the Ministry will make an announcement in due course.

As regards Mdm Ho's questions on the funding of the different support measures, my Minister has also previously in this House elaborated quite substantially on all the different plans in terms of both the implementation timeline as well as the different measures that will be taken to finance the rollout of all the different pillars of the land transport plan. A large part of these, in terms of the investment in the rail as well as the road infrastructure, will no doubt be publicly funded.