Khaw Boon Wan
Singapore
“Motor vehicle dealerships and showrooms have been closed since the start of the circuit breaker. As COE bidding is done mostly by the motor vehicle dealers on behalf of prospective owners, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) suspended COE bidding for the months of April and May.”
“Though stressed by the financial pain, they press on with the immediate priority of fighting the virus and supporting essential services. Post-pandemic, we will see how public transport evolves. Will demand for public transport services simply return to the pre-pandemic level?”
“Under our rail financing framework, the Government fully pays for the cost of building new rail lines. In other words, we do not recover the cost of building the Cross Island Line (CRL) from commuters through fares. The CRL project is being implemented and the final costs will depend on tender bids.”
“There are around 5,000 private bus operators with a combined fleet of 13,500 private buses. As we do not track the number of private bus trips and passengers, we do not have data on their carbon emissions.”
“There are nursing rooms at 50% of our bus interchanges. We will provide nursing rooms at all new bus interchanges and integrated transport hubs. For the MRT network, we will provide nursing rooms at all new interchange stations. We will also explore providing such facilities when MRT stations undergo upgrading.”
“Over the last three years, Singapore carriers have reported a total of 20 incidents of food allergies on board their flights. None required the use of epinephrine or emergency flight diversions.”
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Every one of 2,685 lines we hold for Khaw Boon Wan, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 10 of 54.
“I had split the 800,000 km target into: (a) target for this year, 300,000 km, (b) next year, 400,000 km, (c) in 2019 and 2020, 800,000 km. What is our situation today? We have exceeded this year's target. In fact, we are almost 400,000 km, which is the target for next year. That is why I was confident enough to say, let me now raise the target from 800,000 km to 1,000,000 MKBF. That is ambitious, optimistic, but I have reason to be confident and I think even if we cannot reach it, we will be quite close to it. And that is the situation today. Remember it is a multi-year project. Why is it a multi-year project? Because part of the efforts in improving reliability is to replace the very old assets. The North-South, East-West Lines, 30 years old, are almost at the end of their economic life. That is why we have to progressively replace the assets. But replacing the assets when we only have three hours every day, which is at midnight, takes a long time. For a system like the North-South, East-West Lines, there are six critical core systems. Sleepers, third rail, signalling, trains, power supply, track circuits. Each one has to be replaced before you can hope to improve on the reliability. Sleepers we have completed last year. Third rail, I am doing an event tomorrow to celebrate the completion of third rail. Two down, four more to go. And the third one, signalling. The North-South Line, I have explained to Members that we will complete it before December. But East-West Line's signalling has yet to be done. So, basically, it is a multi-year effort, we are halfway there. It is a cup half full. Next year, I will top it up further and I am fairly confident we will be able to deliver this mission. Did we anticipate the re-signalling problem? We did.”
“I thank the Member for the supplementary questions. Let me put this thing in the right perspective. We are actually undergoing or carrying out two very different and separate missions. The first mission is to raise the reliability of all existing lines. The second mission is to do new projects, such as replacement of the signalling system, such as extending the Downtown Line to new stretches of the Downtown Line called Downtown Line 3. Both are very different missions and we should not conflate the two. On the first one of raising reliability, we are making very good progress. Reliability is measured by Mean Kilometres Between Failure (MKBF). What does it stand for? The average distance in kilometres (km) travelled by a train before you hit a delay of more than five minutes. And that is the global international standard of measuring reliability. Mr Low talked about my being optimistic when I first took over this job almost exactly two years ago. I remain optimistic. Yes, I have set certain targets. I said I shall accomplish this job within four years and we are on track to accomplishing this project within four years. We are two years now. We are halfway through this journey and the MKBF improvements are significant and drastic. For a long time, our MKBF could not even exceed 200,000 km. I set specific targets. Mr Low asked whether the Minister has a target. I do. And I set those targets and recorded it in Hansard in this House. At that time, the best MKBF data was experienced by Taipei. It was 800,000 km. So, it was perhaps even reckless on my part to say, "Let us close the gap with Taipei". And, therefore, I set the MKBF target of 800,000 km within four years. But for a long time, we could not even cross 200,000 km.”
“So, altogether today, we have four different generations of trains running on the North-South, East-West Lines. And for the re-signalling, every train has to be completely rewired. Each train is a little bit like a human being. It has its own idiosyncrasies and we need plenty of time to calibrate and recalibrate. These are the great difficulties that all metros around the world experience when they need to re-signal. But versus the experience of London Underground, honestly, for us who are involved in this project, we thought we have done much, much better than I originally envisaged. London took one full year before they stabilised. For ours, we started in earnest since 28 May. If we can complete it by the end of November, it would be quite an achievement. But do remember, for the East-West Line, we have yet to start full-scale re-signalling. We have been installing the equipment and doing some testing during engineering hours. I hope the experience that we have picked up on the North-South Line should be able to be put to use when we extend the re-signalling to the East-West Line, and that we do not need such a long period to stabilise the East-West Line. But we shall see. As for bus services during disruptions, I think the honest answer is that a bus system is not as effective as trains during peak hours for the sheer difference in capacity. One train is equivalent to so many busloads of passenger capacity, and every two minutes, there is a new train coming. So, when there is an accumulation of delays, you can imagine we will need tens of thousands of buses to move or to transfer all the train passengers, and it is not easy. As for the Member's specific request for direct line bus to the Central Business District, we will take a look.”
“We picked 28 May obviously because of the June holidays. But unfortunately, despite all these preparations, there were still delays. But over time, because of these various efforts that we have put in, the picture is getting better. The system is stabilising. For the North-South Line, the number of delays due to re-signalling peaked at about 20. This was in the month of May. It has since declined to only six last month and continues to decline. I am fairly confident that the original timeline to complete the re-signalling of the North-South Line before year end could even be earlier. I am pushing them to get it out before December, meaning within the next few weeks. We have about 10 weeks left to December. I see no reason why we cannot deliver on this. The software is stabilising. The new software that we put in since 14 July has been very promising, but there are still a few hardware problems. Some of the equipment which are on the trains are still causing us some difficulties. It is not significant, but nevertheless, they are glitches which we have to fix. Some of the glitches are: the doors are not opening or synchronising with the platform screen doors, or the trains exceed by a certain distance when it stops at the station. I hope Members appreciate the complications of this project because, unlike a new line, let us say, Downtown Line 3, where there is also a new signalling system. It is a greenfield project, whereas this one, we are talking about an existing functioning line and we cannot close it down just to do testing. That is why it is so complicated. A further complication which the Thales engineers have explained is that because this is a 30-year-old system and, over the years, we have bought new trains.”
“Fortunately, for the re-signalling project for North-South Line, I think we are already entering the last leg, the last phase of testing. The progress has been much better than I had originally feared. The re-signalling project is a very complicated project. I remember during the Committee of Supply (COS) debate, I shared with the House the feedback that we got from London Underground. They went through similar difficulties when they re-signalled their Jubilee Line. They were the first one who warned us, "expect problems, expect troubles, expect yourself to be public enemy No 1". I brought their painful experience to this House and have been trying very hard to prepare the ground on all the various things that we may have to go through. Precisely because of the London Underground's experience, we changed very substantially our original schedule as well as approach to doing this re-signalling project. We decided to do a lot more testing during engineering hours before we start launching testing that involves passengers inside the trains. The original plan was actually to start the full testing of the North-South Line much earlier than 28 May, which was our final decision. We decided to change it and did a lot more testing during engineering hours when the trains were without passengers. It was only after we have repeated testings and discovered many of the glitches and fixed them and were satisfied with the software before we start launching it to passenger service. Even then, we take a step-by-step approach − trying out, first of all, during the last hour before service ends and, after that, during Sundays when the passenger load is a lot lighter. Finally we decided that, "Yes, let's start doing this full service testing".”
“During the incident, SMRT deployed 500 additional staff to affected North-South Line stations to manage crowds, render assistance and disseminate information to commuters. Signs were also put up on other travel options, such as free bus services, and more than 3,200 announcements were made in stations and trains to keep commuters updated. Real-time updates were also broadcasted via social media, websites and MyTransport.SG mobile app. These measures were activated as part of the rail operators' contingency plans. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) monitors all disruptions closely and holds rail operators accountable for any lapses in providing timely and accurate information to commuters. LTA will use the commuter feedback from the 28 June incident to enhance the management of service disruptions by the rail operators.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I have the honour of taking the very first Parliamentary Question under your watch. Let me also join others in congratulating you. I am quite sure you will settle down in your new responsibilities much quicker than I do in my transport portfolio. On 28 June at 4.52 pm, North-South Line trains lost radio communication with the trackside signalling system and came to a sudden halt. The North-South Line has switched to a new signalling system which has been undergoing full-day testing since 28 May, that is, about four months ago. The East-West Line is, however, still on the old signalling system, except for the new stretch between Joo Koon and Tuas West. So, I hope Members can visualise the complications: North-South Line, new signal; East-West Line, old signal; but one part is on new signal. So, life is interesting for us. The fault on 28 June was due to human error by a Thales engineering team installing radio devices for the East-West Line re-signalling project. The error was realised almost immediately and the fault was cleared by isolating the East-West Line radio network from the North-South Line. However, restarting the trains took some time. As this occurred during the afternoon peak hour, many commuters were affected and their journeys delayed. Normal North-South Line services were progressively restored by 6.45 pm. The Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (SMRT) and Thales have since tightened their work processes to ensure that this does not happen again. Basically, I told them, "Please suspend all major East-West Line testing until North-South Line has stabilised". I reminded them that I am a heart patient and I do not want further shocks to my system.”
“The Land Transport Authority (LTA) and taxi companies do not track the number of taxi drivers who have suffered loss of earnings because of violent or drunken passengers. Taxi drivers can decline passengers who are unreasonable, abusive or exhibit signs of violence. Those who suffer losses because of violent or drunken passengers can approach their taxi companies for assistance.”
“The current vehicle inspection regime subjects compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles to compulsory checks of their CNG systems. However, following the recent fire incidents involving CNG vehicles, as a precaution, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) required all registered CNG vehicles to be sent for immediate inspection outside of the usual inspection cycle. To enhance the thoroughness of the inspections, LTA deployed its own engineers to assist the inspection centres. The urgency of the inspections also gave vehicle owners no time to send their vehicles for pre-inspection maintenance. All this could have contributed to the higher than normal inspection failure rate. As an additional precaution, LTA has increased the inspection frequency from once every six months to once every three months for public service vehicles which use CNG, such as taxis and buses. LTA is also working with taxi operators which have CNG taxis to enhance their own inspection and maintenance regime. LTA will also work with the inspection centres to tighten their inspection process and will double the frequency of its audits on the centres. Fees for vehicle inspections have been deregulated since 1997.”
“Almost all of the 2,385 registered compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles have been inspected. About 200 were found to have gas leakage and they are being repaired or de-registered. Gas leakage is generally due to poor maintenance. Following the recent fire incidents involving CNG vehicles, as a precaution, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) required all registered CNG vehicles to be sent for immediate inspection outside the usual inspection cycle. To enhance the thoroughness of the inspections, LTA deployed its own engineers to assist the inspection centres. The urgency of the inspections also gave vehicle owners no time to send their vehicles for pre-inspection maintenance. All this could have contributed to the higher than normal inspection failure rate. As an additional precaution, LTA has increased the inspection frequency from once every six months to once every three months for public service vehicles which use CNG, such as taxis and buses. LTA is also working with taxi operators which have CNG taxis to enhance their own inspection and maintenance regime. LTA will also work with the inspection centres to tighten their inspection process and will double the frequency of its audits on the centres.”
“The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has imposed a minimum of two years' driving experience, rather than a minimum age, on applicants for the Private Hire Car Driver's Vocational Licence. Traffic accident data does not show that there is a higher incidence of accidents among younger drivers. LTA also rejects applicants with a poor driving record, such as conviction for drunk driving and those who have had their driving licence revoked. These conditions are reviewed regularly.”
“We expect to stabilise the new signalling system on the North-South Line soon. The current version of the software installed on 14 July is promising and has addressed the glitches encountered earlier. We still have some concerns over train-borne signalling equipment which the engineers are attending to. If there are no new surprises, we will be able to move to the next phase of testing as we inject more trains with shorter headways during peak hours. This will reduce waiting times and offer less crowded rides for commuters. Stabilisation of the North-South Line will also allow us to start testing for the East-West Line. We hope to catch the December holiday period to begin full-scale testing of the East-West Line. This assumes that the North-South Line will have stabilised before December. This is our current project timeline. Meanwhile, the Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (SMRT), the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and Thales have over 1,600 frontline staff and engineers on stand-by to respond to any problems that may surface with the new signalling system. SMRT and LTA also have contingency plans to respond to service disruptions. These include the activation of free bus services, deployment of additional staff to affected stations and the widespread dissemination of information on alternative transport options. The two organisations are reviewing these plans to further enhance them. But realistically, buses cannot fully cope with the dislodged passengers from affected trains during peak hours. Our objective remains to avoid delays and disruptions altogether and to resume normal train service speedily.”
“Where the roads in the private residential estates are public roads, and where parking is allowed along these public roads, the Land Transport Authority cannot forbid any individual or company from parking there.”
“All the older bus depots are progressively being upgraded or replaced by new ones. In the last five years, we have built three new depots. In the next five years, we are planning to upgrade or build around five more. In deciding which depots to upgrade, the Land Transport Authority considers the age of the depot as well as other factors like site constraints and operational requirements.”
“LTA uses heat maps from bicycle-sharing operators, as well as data collected by its own enforcement officers and from public feedback, to identify areas where we need to build more bicycle parking zones and increase enforcement. The same enforcement approach is taken against indiscriminately parked bicycles in all public spaces, including in HDB estates and on public streets outside private property. We do not have jurisdiction over private land. Private landowners have the right to remove objects left on their property without permission.”
“LTA has received about 47,000 Private Hire Car Driver's Vocational Licence (PDVL) applications and about 1,600 have been rejected. Applicants are rejected either because they have failed background checks, do not meet the driving experience requirement or have poor driving records. LTA considers the nature of the offence when assessing applications from ex-offenders for a PDVL. Those who have committed extremely serious offences, such as rape, murder or kidnapping, are barred from obtaining a PDVL for life. Applicants who have committed less serious offences, like theft and cheating, will be barred for a few years from the date of conviction. Other offences which do not pose any threat to commuters, such as forgery, do not attract any debarment. LTA also considers appeals from rejected applicants to see if we can make an exception on a case-by-case basis. Out of 35 appeals considered so far, nine have been accepted. This is similar to how we assess applications for the Taxi Driver's and Bus Driver's Vocational Licences. In the last three years, LTA has granted about 1,500 Taxi Driver's and Bus Driver's Vocational Licences to applicants who have criminal records. This calibrated approach is necessary to strike a balance between giving ex-offenders an opportunity to re-integrate into society while ensuring the safety of passengers.”
“LTA requires the bicycle-sharing companies to remove their bicycles which are indiscriminately parked. If the bicycles are not removed within half a day, LTA will impound them, levy a fee on the companies for the resources used for the impounding and fine the companies. LTA has served around 1,000 notices for indiscriminately parked bicycles, of which 200 have been impounded.”
“The Traffic Police requires any passenger below 1.35 metres in height to be properly secured by a child restraint appropriate for his or her height and weight. In this regard, a simple booster seat might not adequately secure a very young or short passenger, say, a child who is only one to two years old. A baby seat would be more appropriate. Using the appropriate child restraint reduces the chances of serious or even fatal injuries in an accident. The rule applies equally to both private cars and private hire cars.”
“Tamper-evident decals help commuters more easily verify that the private hire cars they engage are, indeed, registered with LTA. It also facilitates enforcement against offences, such as using unregistered cars to provide private hire car services, or private hire cars picking up passengers via street-hail. Together with vocational licensing, this ensures accountability when providing private hire car services. We had considered alternatives, such as special licence plates, for private hire cars. Tamper-evident decals, however, provide more flexibility. They can be easily removed if necessary, such as when driving the car into Malaysia for personal use, but the owner must get a new decal affixed subsequently. Decals are also less onerous to implement for the owners. Private hire car owners are not required to submit details of their registered drivers to LTA on a regular basis, but must maintain a register of persons who drive their cars and produce this when requested by LTA. Private hire car booking service operators, such as Uber and Grab, will be subject to similar requirements later this year.”
“As of 28 June 2017, LTA has received about 43,000 applications for the Private Hire Car Driver’s Vocational Licence (PDVL). Forty-two thousand applications or 98% have been processed. Of these, 38,000 have been approved. Four hundred fifty have been rejected because of failed background checks. The rest were rejected because they were invalid, for example, the applicant did not have the minimum two years' Class 3/3A driving experience. We do not have data if the current applicants are already providing private hire car services.”
“These are new estates and we are closely monitoring travel patterns there. A rule of thumb is to ensure that there are public bus services within 400 metres of developments, subject to there being a minimum level of ridership. Meanwhile, Service 983 is accessible within 400 metres from developments at Keat Hong Close. If a shorter walking distance is preferred, residents can walk around 300 metres to take Service 301 and make a same bus-stop transfer to Service 983 along Choa Chu Kang Avenue 6.”
“The first phase of the BlueSG electric vehicle car-sharing programme will commence in the next few months. The services will begin with 125 electric cars and 200 charging points across 50 car parks. The Land Transport Authority and BlueSG are currently discussing with the various communities on the specific car park lots to install the charging points and to complete the legal documents.”
“The owner of a vehicle is responsible for ensuring that it is roadworthy. The Land Transport Authority conducts spot checks on both local and foreign vehicles travelling on the roads. Vehicles that do not meet roadworthiness standards are impounded and the owners penalised under the Road Traffic Act. In addition, all Singapore-registered vehicles are required to undergo regular inspections and vehicles that fail these inspections cannot be used on the roads. For their and other road users' safety, we strongly advise vehicle owners to use reputable workshops for maintenance and repairs.”
“We will link up Potong Pasir Mass Rapid Transit station and the perimeter of Sennett Estate nearest to the station with covered linkways.”
“We are exploring a number of ways to reduce road noise, such as noise barriers and low-noise road surface mix. Trials on the effectiveness of these measures are underway.”
“They have also set up Joint Teams to regularly review the reliability performance of individual rail lines, identify the causes, develop targeted solutions and monitor the results. All these efforts take years to complete and to produce results. We are not yet where we want to be. However, we have seen good progress. The industry key performance indicator (KPI) for measuring rail reliability is Mean Kilometre Between Failure (MKBF), measuring delays exceeding five minutes. It is a demanding KPI and adopted globally. Last year, I set stretched targets for our operators to work towards an MKBF of 200,000 train-kilometres (km) for 2016, 300,000 km for 2017, 400,000 km for 2018 and 800,000 km by 2020. From January to May 2017, our Mass Rapid Transit trains travelled 387,000 train-km between delays of more than five minutes. This is more than double the performance in 2016 of 174,000 train-km. It has also exceeded my stretched targets. It is a pleasant surprise and is greatly inspiring to our teams of engineers and technicians working in the trenches. In fact, three out of the five lines have exceeded next year’s target of 400,000 train-km. Among the three, two have exceeded the 2020 target of 800,000 train-km in the first five months of this year. We are determined to be among the best in rail reliability and we will get there. Please continue to give us your encouragement and support.”
“Improving rail reliability is a multi-year effort. It comprises four major elements. First, timely replacement and upgrading of ageing assets. This applies especially to our oldest North-South and East-West Lines. We have completed the replacement of all the wooden sleepers with new concrete sleepers. We will soon complete the replacement of the third rail system, which supplies power to the trains. We will soon begin the process to replace the ageing power system and the first-generation train fleet. Meanwhile, we are in the last phase of trials for the new signalling system on the North-South Line. The signalling system upgrade for the East-West Line will be completed next year. Re-signalling is not a simple exercise and similar projects elsewhere had experienced delays and disruptions during implementation. We have to be patient as the Land Transport Authority (LTA), Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (SMRT) and the equipment supplier painstakingly iron out all the hitches in the new system. Second, build up the expertise of our rail engineers. We have set up the Singapore Rail Academy to augment industry efforts in developing rail expertise and manpower. Through various international advisory panels, we are actively tapping on international experiences and adopting best practices. Third, reform our maintenance regime. We have introduced process-based Maintenance Performance Standards to address maintenance issues upstream, before delays occur. We have also begun to incorporate predictive maintenance concepts to raise efficiency and effectiveness. Fourth, step up investment in maintenance and engineering. LTA and the operators have increased their maintenance and engineering manpower significantly.”
“The speeds of vehicles along expressways are measured using both data from sensors on Global Positioning System (GPS)-enabled taxis and traffic monitoring cameras. Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) rates for expressways are reduced when vehicular speeds consistently exceed 65 kilometres per hour (km/hr), and increased when they consistently fall below 45 km/hr. This is reviewed every quarter.”
“The Government does not fund or build covered linkways from private condominiums to bus stops. Instead, under the Walk2Ride Programme, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will build a covered linkway from a condominium to a Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station located within 400 metres, or to a Light Rail Transit (LRT) station or a bus interchange within 200 metres. This linkway may, in some cases, connect with bus stops along the way. The key condition for the Government to provide such a covered linkway from the gate of the condominium to a major public transport node is that the condominium must provide a sheltered route within its compound from the residential blocks to the gate. This ensures a seamless, sheltered connection the entire way. It would not make sense for the Government to fund a covered linkway from the gate, if the walk inside the condominium is exposed to the weather anyway.”
“The Land Transport Authority (LTA) establishes no-planting zones around pedestrian crossings to ensure that motorists have a clear view of pedestrians. The size of these no-planting zones depends on site conditions, such as the geometry of the road and the speed limit. In addition, the National Parks Board conducts inspections at least once a month to make sure that greenery does not block the visibility of crossings.”
“The Public Transport Security Committee (PTSC), a multi-agency body led by the Land Transport Authority (LTA), constantly reviews security threats to our public transport network and recalibrates the security measures as necessary. Our risk-based approach seeks to strike a balance between ensuring security and facilitating commuter flows and public transport operations. A multi-layered set of measures is currently in place. The Public Transport Operators (PTOs) engage security guards to patrol Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) stations and bus interchanges. This is supplemented by closed-circuit television (CCTV) surveillance. Police Officers from the PTSC (TransCom), as well as officers from other Police units, such as the Emergency Response Teams and Special Operations Command, also conduct patrols. Security exercises involving the relevant agencies are conducted regularly. Whenever there are major events taking place near an MRT station, the Police work with the PTOs and LTA to step up security within the MRT station and also the surrounding areas. During periods of heightened threat, additional security measures may be deployed. One such measure PTSC is considering is the deployment of screening equipment, such as baggage scanners, at MRT stations. Commuters also play an important role in ensuring the safety and security of our public transport system, by cooperating when stopped for security checks, and by looking out for and reporting suspicious persons and unattended items to the authorities. Members of the public should also not leave their belongings unattended in MRT stations and trains, so as not to cause unnecessary public alarm and inconvenience.”
“During construction, the Land Transport Authority and its contractors will install temporary noise barriers, enclose noisy machinery and schedule noisy works during the day. They will water the work areas periodically and wash construction vehicles before they leave the work site to minimise dust pollution.”
“The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has reached out to more than 70,000 primary school students via publications. Last year, it also conducted a pilot Safe Riding Programme (SRP) in four schools. The pilot was very well received. LTA is in the process of appointing training providers to conduct the programme at more schools this year. SRP covers the use of personal mobility devices (PMDs). It teaches users how to manoeuvre their PMD when they encounter different situations. As there are many different types of PMD in the market, the programme participants are required to have at least basic ability in using their device. New PMD users could approach their retailer for such basic training. Government hospitals and polyclinics do not maintain statistics on injuries that arise from falls from PMDs.”
“Tampering with odometer readings with the intent to deceive potential buyers is already an offence under the Penal Code. Furthermore, if a motor dealer is aware that an odometer has been tampered with but fails to disclose this to the buyer, he can be investigated for unfair practices under the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act. Affected buyers may approach the Consumers Association of Singapore for assistance.”
“The motor vehicle speed limit for Tanah Merah Coast Road is 70 kilometres per hour at most stretches, and 60 kilometres per hour at some locations for safety reasons. We will monitor the situation and make adjustments if necessary. Personal mobility devices are not allowed on the on-road cycling lanes, just as they are not allowed on roads. The traffic rules for bicycles using the on-road cycling lanes are the same as the existing rules for cycling on roads.”
“The physical and cognitive stress on taxi drivers is much more than that on private motorists, as they drive for long hours and must constantly look for fares and respond to passengers. While the annual medical examination can test for visual, cognitive and driving impairment, it cannot adequately assess the effect of such stress and fatigue on the taxi driver. Hence, we feel that an age limit is necessary, in the interests of passenger safety. This age limit had been raised from 70 years in the 1970s, to 73 years in 2006, and further to 75 years in 2012. We will continue to periodically review the age limit, taking into account improvements in the general health and lifespan of the population.”
“Today, 80% of schools already have covered linkways to a Mass Rapid Transit station within 400 metres, or a Light Rail Transit station, bus interchange or bus stop within 200 metres. These linkways are built along the most practical path. The remaining schools will have covered linkways by 2018, if they fall within the Walk2Ride criteria.”
“Single-mode passes are special concessions for students and National Servicemen who take only buses or only trains for their travel. The reference point for hybrid passes should not be the prices of single-mode passes, but the prices of Monthly Concession Passes for other commuter groups. In this regard, the price of a hybrid pass for polytechnic students is set to be the same as that for secondary, Institute of Technical Education, and junior college students, and is less than half the price of an Adult Monthly Travel Pass.”
“I thank the Member for his support for the Bill and also for helping to elaborate on my Second Reading speech. Thank you very much. It is not unusual for countries to take time to accede to a convention. For this particular Bill, time was needed to consult the various stakeholders, and we wanted to make sure that it is something that the industry supports and owns the decision. In this instance, even though we take a few years, we are still among the earliest to have done so. I think, as of to date, less than 30 countries have acceded to the Convention, out of about 200 countries in the world, and, in Asia, we would be among the first. As for the question on penalties, MPA have assessed them to be adequate. They have taken into account the other penalties imposed by the other sections of the Bill. There must be suitable parity involved. [(proc text) Question put, and agreed to. (proc text)] [(proc text) Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. (proc text)] [(proc text) The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. – [Mr Khaw Boon Wan.] (proc text)] [(proc text) Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. (proc text)]”
“In fact, one of the stretches in my constituency fitted that kind of description, too. So, I am very sympathetic to the plea. We will do our best.”
“Madam, as I have explained, there was a delay by a few months because we were asked to do a post-Budget review because as is a huge project involving hundreds of millions of dollars. So, rightly, the Treasury required us to, first, break it up into two phases and to do Phase 2 after we have had a good review of the results of Phase 1. That is why there was this slight delay of a few months. That explains why 2019 becomes 2020. But, overall, I am sympathetic because my constituency is also within Phase 2 of this programme. We will do our best.”
“We will call the tender for noise barriers for Khatib and other areas under Phase 2 of the programme within the next couple of months. There has been a delay due to the need to review the effectiveness of Phase 1. After tender award, LTA will need some time to finalise the design for each of the locations under Phase 2. But more importantly, the timeline for installation needs to be closely coordinated with many other rail maintenance, improvement and upgrading works that compete for the very limited engineering hours. We should be able to start installation works around 2020 for completion by 2022. Er Dr Lee Bee Wah (Nee Soon): Mdm Speaker, I would like to ask a clarification from the Minister. When I asked a similar question in August last year, the answer was that it would call the tender in the second half of last year and it would start in 2019. It will only be completed in 2022, that is, a few years' delay. I would like to ask the Minister: when we implement this stretch of noise barrier, can Khatib be put at the beginning of the project because I have quite a number of residents who have been requesting because their sleep has been affected by the noise?”
“The Land Transport Authority allows the Temporary Certificate of Entitlement (COE) for Categories A and B vehicles to be transferred only if there are very serious and unforeseen changes in the COE holder’s circumstances which are beyond his or her control, such as when the COE holder has passed away. The Temporary COE can only be transferred to immediate family members.”
“In public spaces, shared bicycles are subject to the same parking rules as all other bicycles. They cannot be parked outside of bicycle parking racks and demarcated parking areas, as this may cause obstruction or inconvenience to the public. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has set up a feedback channel with bicycle-sharing operators to inform them to remove illegally-parked bicycles expeditiously. Members of the public who come across illegally-parked bicycles in public places can inform LTA or the bicycle-sharing operators directly. LTA, together with other Government agencies, will strictly enforce against illegal parking. Enforcement action will include the impounding of bicycles and fines. The Government is also working to provide more bicycle parking in areas where there is a shortfall. We have already begun introducing bicycle parking zones at seven Mass Rapid Transit stations2. These are demarcated by yellow painted boxes on the ground and are open to both privately-owned and shared bicycles. We intend to implement more such zones and also more bicycle parking racks at other public areas. As for private spaces, including commercial and residential developments, the owners have the right to remove objects left on their property without permission. We would suggest that bicycle-sharing companies engage private development owners before operating bicycle-sharing services on their premises or making use of their bicycle parking.”
“The trial to allow foldable bicycles and personal mobility devices (PMDs) on buses and trains at all hours began last December. This has been welcomed by cyclists and PMD users and, so far, there have not been significant negative reactions from other commuters. We will decide whether to make this arrangement permanent when the trial ends in May this year. In the last four months, there were about 70 reported instances where foldable bicycles or PMDs were not permitted to board the train or bus, largely because they exceeded the allowable dimensions. To improve the first- and last-mile experience for cyclists and PMD users, we will continue to widen footpaths where possible, and build more covered linkways, cycling paths and bicycle parking facilities.”
“The localised depression was caused by a combination of mixed ground conditions and poor judgement on the part of the machine operator. The correct protocol, which the operator failed to follow, is to stop tunnelling and consult the on-site Tunnel Manager or Senior Tunnel Engineer. The errant operator has been replaced. Tunnel boring requires specialist skills. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) only appoints machine operators with at least five years of experience. LTA also requires the contractor to conduct soil investigation before tunnelling to understand the ground conditions. Thus, depressions of such scale and magnitude are rare. Nevertheless, LTA will be enforcing even stricter controls and supervision going forward.”
“Insurance claims are private transactions and we do not have access to the data. We understand that the General Insurance Association of Singapore will assist local motorists in claims against Malaysian insurance companies. We have received very few complaints on this issue.”
“There are 80 dedicated rain shelters for motorcyclists along expressways. They are located under flyovers and are segregated from the main carriageway by vehicle impact guardrails, concrete safety barriers or spring-loaded poles. There are also warning signs about 40 metres before each shelter to alert drivers and motorcyclists. We will provide more rain shelters where feasible.”
“To enable automatic deduction of tolls for Singapore vehicles at the land checkpoints today, we will need to install substantial physical infrastructure similar to what is used for Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) or car park charging. However, we will be replacing the existing ERP system, which is becoming obsolete, by 2020, with a next-generation system that is based on satellite navigation technology and does not require physical gantries. We can then provide for automatic deduction with much less investment in physical infrastructure.”
“The reason for extending to motorbikes is not so much because of consistency but because we wanted this principle of being more progressive in our taxation system. As for PARF, PARF's main purpose is to incentivise deregistration. In other words, you get rid of your old vehicles, whether it is cars or motorbikes. But because the bulk of the motorbikes, even with the tiered ARF, we will still be paying very low ARF, which is about 15% of Open Market Value (MOV). Without PARF, the incentives to deregister would be greater.”