In the article from Urban Solutions “Tapping Tech for Smooth Traffic”, Tay (2018) mentioned that although there are existing improvements of technological advancements, Singapore requires more advanced traffic management measures to counter with the increasing number of vehicles on the road and a more complicated road system in the 21st century. Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) introduced the Area Licensing Scheme (ALS) to ease traffic congestion. However, Tay stated that with the current implementation it is still inadequate to solve with the rising of vehicle population and road system. Hence, LTA introduced the Intelligent Transport System (ITS). An example of ITS is the Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system which replaced ALS. It reduces traffic volume and travel time for road users. Tay concluded that with the implementation of ITS, Singapore has improved in both traffic safety and efficiency and Singapore will continue to push boundaries to improve urban mobility.
While the article focuses on the implementation for private transport that improves traffic safety and efficiency, it fails to discuss in-depth on implementing new systems for public transport in terms of rail network, buses and shared vehicle services that could smoother traffic.
To start off, the introduction of new lines for rail-network, allows commuters to travel more conveniently. LTA is introducing Cross Island Line (CRL) in the near future. Based on LTA’s website (2019), CRL provides commuters with more choices of travel routes to their destinations which will encourage them to switch from private transport to public transport. it allows commuters to take the same mode of transport to the same destination instead of taking the different mode of transport to the same destination which will reduce the traffic congestion on the road. With CRL, it will be more convenient for commuters to travel around and be less reliant on private transport.
Furthermore, with the new implementation for bus service, it improves commuters' travel experience. LTA introduced dedicated bus lanes for buses to improve bus travel speeds which enhances the reliability of bus services and commuters will spend lesser time to reach the destination. According to the Ministry of Transport (MOT) website (2019), on a single full capacity trip, a single-deck bus can carry up to 90 commuters while a car can only carry up to 5 passengers to a destination. Based on LTA’s website(2016), LTA worked with SMRT and SBS Transit to enhance bus services by installing the centralized system to determine the real-time bus location to provide commuters with accurate bus arrival information. It will encourage commuters to take the bus instead of private transport to increase traffic efficiency.
Lastly, to reduce the number of vehicles on the road, Grab that was licensed by LTA introduced carpooling service Grab share service where users can share their ride with someone who is heading along with the same destination which can reduce the traffic congestion on the road. Another example of a shared vehicle service is BlueSG. BlueSG is an electric car-sharing service where the user can go to the nearest charging point to drive the vehicle when they need to travel by car. Based on the BlueSG website (2018), with the implementation of BlueSG, it reduces the number of private cars on the road and provides another mode of transportation for the user.
In conclusion, most people spend their time traveling by public transport.Therefore it is important to implement new systems to smoother the traffic. The use of technology in different aspects has greatly helped to improve traffic efficiency and ease traffic congestion. However,Tay did not mention how public transport will smoother traffic where there are evidence showing that LTA is committed to improve public transport services and promote it as Singaporeans’ choice for traveling to help smoother traffic.
References
BlueSG. (2018). A successful first year for BlueSG. Retrieved October 1, 2019, from https://www.bluesg.com.sg/news/successful-first-year-bluesg
Land Transport Authority. (2019). Cross island line. Retrieved October 1, 2019, from https://www.lta.gov.sg/content/ltaweb/en/public-transport/projects/cross-island-line.html
Land Transport Authority. (2016). Enhanced real-time bus information at your fingertips. Retrieved October 3, 2019, from https://www.lta.gov.sg/apps/news/page.aspx?c=2&id=f8e78c77-b89b-4c88-9f1d-c4b0ce4dcfea
Ministry of Transport. (2019). Enhancing public transport. Retrieved October 1, 2019, from https://www.mot.gov.sg/About-MOT/Land-Transport/Sustainable-Transport/Enhancing-Public-Transport/
Tay, Q.W. (2018, July). Tapping tech for smooth traffic. Urban Solution, Issue 13, Retrieved from https://www.clc.gov.sg/docs/default-source/urban-solutions/urb-sol-iss-13-pdfs/11_case_study-singapore-intelligent-transport-systems.pdf
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