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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“Design work for the renewal has already started. The overhaul, replacement and upgrading of all these critical components and sub-systems will be fully completed by 2024. However, commuters can begin to enjoy smoother and more reliable rides from 2022, when the upgraded trains and signalling system come into operation. But meanwhile, SMRT has also engaged Bombardier to provide technical support for the existing BPLRT system. LTA, SMRT and Bombardier are committed to improving the reliability of the existing BPLRT by intensifying preventive and corrective maintenance. The recently announced Sunday closures of the BPLRT have been very useful for SMRT’s engineering teams. We thank commuters for their understanding and patience. In short, things will get a lot better when we have completely renewed the BPLRT, which will be 2022-2024. But meanwhile, we are intensifying maintenance for the existing BPLRT, and that is why we needed additional engineering hours, and we have already stepped up doing so with the Sunday closures. I am confident that we can do a better job than what is happening today. Today, the reliability measure, the Mean Kilometres Between Failures (MKBF), is barely 50,000 kilometres (km). The other LRT, which is Sengkang-Punggol, is doing more than 100,000 km. My instruction to SMRT and LTA is to, first, close the gap and then work towards exceeding Sengkang's achievement. So, today, it is 50,000; I am confident that within a couple of years, we can double it, but that is still not my final destination. I think we can do much better than that.”
“Bombardier, having worked with LTA and SMRT since 2016 to improve the BPLRT's reliability, was also deeply familiar with the difficulties the system faced. LTA, SMRT and Bombardier have jointly analysed the root causes of past BPLRT breakdowns and delays. They were largely due to faults with the signalling, traction power and train propulsion systems. The renewal will directly address these causes. First, the train's signal collector shoes tend to lose contact with the signalling system’s signalling rail at sharp turns. With the renewal, we will adopt a new wireless Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) signalling system with better built-in redundancy. Second, the traction power system supplies electricity to the trains through the power rail. Similar to the signalling system, a recurrent cause of faults is when the trains' current collector shoes dislodge from the power rail at sharp turns. The renewal will enhance the power rail with more robust rail brackets and we will also relocate the joints to less severe curves. Third, faults with the train propulsion system will be addressed when the first-generation fleet of 19 trains are replaced with new models which will come with a more reliable Alternating Current (AC) propulsion system. The new fleet will also feature enhanced redundancy and better air-conditioning performance. Beyond these engineering fixes, LTA will also install more condition monitoring features to support predictive maintenance. At the same time, SMRT has contracted Bombardier to provide long-term service support for the renewed BPLRT system. This contract engages Bombardier to provide more expedient technical, logistical and spares support, including training for SMRT’s maintenance staff to build up local expertise.”
“Sir, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has studied all possible options to replace the Bukit Panjang Light Rail Transit (BPLRT) which is reaching the end of its economic life. These included replacing the LRT system with a non-LRT option, such as running more buses or even autonomous vehicles on the existing roads and LRT viaducts. But after extensive traffic studies, LTA concluded that these alternatives, which would require an extended shutdown of the BPLRT to modify the viaducts, are just not feasible. This is because any suspension of the BPLRT during peak hours would require us to deploy 40 double-deck or 80 single-deck buses, at frequencies of as low as three minutes. The existing roads just cannot support such a level of bus deployment. As Bukit Panjang is already built-up, there is also limited scope to expand the current road network and to build additional bus facilities. These non-LRT options would have created severe traffic delays and unacceptable tradeoffs to commuters’ travelling experience. Even if LTA were to implement strict bus priority measures at the expense of motorists, a trip between, say, Choa Chu Kang Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Bukit Panjang LRT stations, which are less than three kilometres apart, would take at least half an hour by bus due to the heavy road congestion created. Hence, LTA discussed the LRT renewal option with several established LRT manufacturers, including the existing supplier, Bombardier of Canada. After a thorough evaluation with Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (SMRT), the LTA Board decided to award the contract to Bombardier in March this year. Bombardier’s proposal was selected because it could be completed sooner, without requiring major civil engineering works or extensive service closures.”
“But in the end, they decided against it for various reasons. In any case, even though it is not in the fare formula, I deal with it directly, myself, through the sort of focus and pressure I exert on the operators to make sure they work on rail reliability because that is my priority. And I will see to it that it happens, whether or not it is included in the fare formula. One of the reasons why PTC did not include it is because when a system is unreliable, in fact, that is the time to pump in more resources. And if you punish them through reduced fares, you are withdrawing resources from the operators. And you will be doing exactly the wrong thing. In short, rail reliability is important, but deal with it separately.”
“It is a very rapidly evolving situation. I have been in this game now for two and a half years and I personally witnessed how things have changed. Yes, last year, we had an awful year, especially towards the end of last year. Two incidents, which should not have happened, happened unfortunately. But there was a silver lining to it; out of it, we came up with Early Closure Late Opening (ECLO). As I always shared with my transport colleagues, ECLO is our favourite four-letter word because that allows us to intensify engineering maintenance. And the results show. Since December, and we are now approaching the middle of May, the situation has improved significantly. So, when the Member said the commuters are upset over very frequent delays, it depends on when you asked them. Was it last year or this year? I do not know whether the Member uses trains and buses. I do. I meet many more commuters than he does, I think. I got it first-hand. North-South line, for example, which used to have a lot of problems with rail reliability, goes through my constituency. In my many house-to-house visits, it used to be about trains. But, in the last few months, I have not heard about trains. Instead, it is e-scooters and bicycles being thrown all over the place. So, as far as rail is concerned, things have improved. Bus level improvements I think have been pretty obvious in the last two to three years. Of course, we are not yet in a perfect situation, like in Yishun, but things will get better, I am quite sure. As to whether we should include rail reliability into the formula, first of all, this formula is not set by me. It is by PTC. PTC, after consulting their members, consulting Singaporeans, came up with this formula. They did think about whether to include rail reliability.”
“Indeed, Government funding to subsidise public transport is a significant one, about $9 billion and – I am relying on memory here, and this is a 66-year-old memory; but then again, a 92-year-old memory can be equally sharp as a young one – I think bus subsidy is about $1 billion a year. So, over five years, that is about $5 billion. That is for buses. For trains, over the next five years, we need to spend about $4 billion replacing existing old assets. So, that is where this $9 billion comes from. But actually, that is not the full story because, as I have just mentioned just now, over the next five years, we will be spending another $20 billion on new public transport infrastructure, as we are going to continue to expand this network. So, these are huge amounts of money coming from taxpayers and I think it is only fair that part of it must be borne or shared by commuters. I have regularly compared and looked at the fares charged here versus Hong Kong, Taiwan, New York, London. Our rates are not outrageous at all. I think Singaporeans, in their heart, when they travel, they know. PTC told me they do fairly frequent focus group discussions with the commuters, and they find our fares reasonable, and most of them say so.”
“That is why both the Senior Parliamentary Secretary and I repeated that point, which I hope Singaporeans appreciate, that over the last 10 years, the lower-income group, when we look at how much they spend out of their household income on transport, it has been going down. It used to be above 4%; now it is below 3%. So, over time, in fact, affordability has improved. Whatever we do, we will do what is necessary, including pumping in more resources in order to raise the standard of our public transport systems, so that people do not need to drive, but we need an adequate level of funding. And funding comes from where? Either taxpayers through subsidy, or commuters through fare. To load it on one or the other is wrong, so it is a matter of co-sharing. PTC is given that task of doing this balancing act, finding a way to balance the interests of both sides. At the end of the day, remember, too, that many taxpayers are commuters and many commuters are also taxpayers.”
“Service level may not be picked up directly through the fare formula, but the sentiments will be picked up by me very quickly because Er Dr Lee Bee Wah will make sure that I fully understood what is happening on the ground. I am very attentive to this not just in Yishun but the whole of Singapore. Let me assure you, we have set up PTC, a multi-individual council with people from all walks of life – media, academia, unions and so on, and I know each one of them. They have their hearts in the right place. That is the reason why you may remember, I hope people remember, the last two, three rounds, fares have actually gone down. But what I have said in Parliament several times is not that fares will definitely go up; that is not what I said. What I said is fares sometimes go down and sometimes go up. It cannot be always going down, that is not possible, because a big part of our operating cost is manpower, unless you say, "Sorry, bus drivers, train drivers, your salary will forever be going down". With productivity, sometimes we can achieve some of this. But there is a limit. You heard me many times in this House, in the last two and a half years, we are ramping up, intensifying maintenance, recruiting many more engineers, mechanics, technicians, and all those require money. I really hope that Singaporeans understand that I want to do my job well, so that we can have a first-class transport system, and we will get there. But I do need money because it is not realistic to hope that you get a good first-class reliable train with no need for any injection of resources.”
“On the other hand, if the network is not expanding but demand is growing in a big way, more uncomfortable ride, then PTC will be asking for a fare reduction to counter this reduction in service level. So, it is being handled but indirectly. The first point by Er Dr Lee Bee Wah baffles me, I do not quite follow. We expand our bus and rail network precisely so that we can facilitate car-lite. So, more buses, more trains and, hopefully, more people making use of public transport, less need to drive. Then, we have an easier congestion problem on the roads.”
“Sir, I totally subscribe to transparency. Our polices are argued thoroughly and sometimes debated in this House. Formulas are formulated and factors thoroughly explained. If there is a lack of understanding, we will continue to explain and publish them on the website, and so on. NCF it is a new factor, so I am not surprised that there may be some ignorance about it and people will need time to understand it. We will continue this education process but there is nothing opaque about it. The formula, the definition and how it is computed, it is all up there on the website. In due course, towards the end of this year, when PTC has to evaluate the proposals coming in from the operators, and when the Fare Formula has to be quantified, I am quite sure they will go to great lengths to explain and justify how the factors are changing over the years, whether it is positive or negative. So, that part I can give the Member the assurance. The service standard component, in a way, is indirectly included in this Network Factor. As I have explained a few minutes ago, for example, if we do not expand the rail network but demand grows, as it happened a few years back, resulting in crowded trains, then the Factor will be negative. That means everything being equal, PTC will be asking for a reduction in fares. I think that is how PTC intends to make use of this Factor. So, it is neutral. If things improve through more comfortable ride, costs go up, then the Factor is positive. That means there may be a need for fare adjustments. Otherwise, the operators will find a gap in how to cover their operating costs.”
“PTC designed the Network Capacity Factor (NCF) specifically to address the limitation in the old fare formula. NCF is a neutral factor. It may be positive or negative. It will be positive where demand grows slower than capacity. Conversely, if capacity remains stagnant in a given year and demand grows faster than capacity, resulting in more crowded trains, NCF will be negative. PTC's mission is to ensure the long-term sustainability of our public transport system, while keeping fares affordable. Meanwhile, the Government will continue to bear the full development cost of public transport civil infrastructure. This is estimated to be around $20 billion over the next five years. As for our public transport fares, as Members have just heard from the Senior Parliamentary Secretary, the PTC will ensure that they remain affordable. Over the past decade, monthly expenditure on public transport as a proportion of household income for the lower-income group has come down from 4.2% to 2.7%. In other words, transport fares are becoming more affordable. PTC will also continue to review and, if necessary, enhance concession schemes to provide targeted help for specific groups like senior citizens, low-income individuals and persons with disabilities.”
“Sir, the Public Transport Council (PTC) developed the fare formula to objectively track the changes in the running cost of our public transport operations. This helps inform their deliberations when they evaluate proposals from operators for fare changes and decide on the annual fare recommendations. The running costs of public transport operators are affected by a number of factors, including the price and quantity of the resources deployed. For example, their expenditure on electricity in a particular year will depend on the quantity of electricity consumed during that year, and the prevailing electricity tariffs. While the old fare formula adequately measured the changes in the price of resources consumed, it did not measure the changes in the quantity. When the capacity of the public transport network is quite stable from year to year, the limitation of the old fare formula is not material. However, as we aggressively expand the capacity of our public transport network, the inadequacy in the old fare formula will have a material impact on the sustainability of our public transport system. In the last five years, we have added more than 1,000 new buses and 200 new trains to our public transport network. This has increased the capacity by around 25%. But over the same period, commuter demand increased by less than 10%. The limitation of the old fare formula has, therefore, contributed to a widening gap between fare revenue and operating costs. So far, the yearly operating shortfall has been covered by Government subsidies. But, going forward, we need a fair way to take into account changes in the capacity of our public transport network relative to commuter demand.”
“The average monthly number of Green Man Plus activations by seniors has increased from 53,200 in 2015 to 69,600 in 2017. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will continue to promote the scheme through exhibitions and public events. LTA will also work with grassroots leaders to reach out to seniors in their constituencies to increase awareness of the scheme.”
“Based on the Household Interview Travel Surveys in 2012/2013 and 2016/2017, the peak period public transport mode share for Bukit Panjang increased from 56% to 58% after Downtown Line 2 opened in December 2015.”
“Currently, commuters can travel between Boon Lay Place and Jurong West via a direct public bus service, that is, Service 99, or within one bus transfer. Given that there are existing bus services which serve these commuters, there are no plans to roll out new services to provide additional direct connections there.”
“I will ask LTA to discuss with the Traffic Police. I happen to be quite familiar with Alexandra Road; my office is along that stretch. My experience so far has been relatively pleasant. I do not encounter speeding and noisy exhaust, as related by the Member. But I, too, dislike motorists with noisy exhausts. If, indeed, there are many such incidents, we will try to fix it.”
“Sir, the main objective of regulating traffic speed is to enhance safety of road users. For roads serving residential estates, LTA would set lower speed limits. LTA would then implement traffic speed regulating measures to remind motorists to keep to the speed limits. Such measures include warning signs or markings, speed regulating strips and road humps. To further enhance the safety of vulnerable roads users, such as school children and elderly pedestrians, LTA would also implement special schemes. All Primary and Secondary schools have School Zones along their frontage. School Zone features include speed regulating strips and red-textured road surfaces to alert drivers to slow down. Silver Zones are implemented in residential areas with a large elderly population and a relatively higher accident rate involving the elderly. Silver Zone features include pinch-points to narrow, and chicanes to curve the road, to get motorists to slow down. In addition, accident statistics are monitored on an ongoing basis to assess the adequacy of the speed regulating measures. LTA also conducts a review whenever there are substantial changes to the built environment around the road. Such infrastructural speed regulating measures are complemented by the Traffic Police's speed enforcement cameras and regular enforcement operations.”
“The intent is yes. In my recent visit to our newest depot in Tuas, we deliberately invited quite a number of our local companies, particularly from the Singapore Technologies (ST) Group because they have real experience doing modern maintenance, preventive maintenance, predictive maintenance in the aviation sector. Transporting the expertise over to land transport should not be too difficult. They, in fact, used the exhibition to demonstrate to some of us how it could be done. I certainly hope that they will be able to strengthen the skillsets and then export the ideas overseas. I have mentioned this point before in this House that among the three transport sectors, the most advanced in terms of technology and applying engineering technology to maintenance, is aviation, followed by maritime, and the rail is really slow. My job is to try to see how we can help accelerate their adoption, catch up with aviation, close the gap and, along the way, build up local capabilities that we can sell overseas.”
“Some are medium-term and long-term projections ‒ I cannot remember ‒ but the huge increase, much of it is capital expenditure (capex). Capex is one-off, not recurring. Unfortunately, the one-off can last several years, because the projects are so huge, especially T5. It will really be our largest integrated project for the Government in the history of modern Singapore. It may take more than a decade. Likewise, my other MRT projects are also multi-year projects. So, it imposes a heavy responsibility on us to make sure that we spend every single dollar very carefully and, at the same time, be on a constant lookout for ways and means to save money. For example, the Changi East Coast integrated depot that we highlighted a few days ago was one of those efforts. It saves a few billion dollars. Remember when implementing a $50-billion project, even a 1% saving means saving half a billion dollars.”
“The roads and carparks will be freed up. Another very important positive impact is a significant drop in casualties and road accidents because a well-programmed robot is safer than human beings. Much of the accidents are due to human errors. It will change our quality of life. Do flip through the Economist's special report this week to have a glimpse of this brave new world. Is it a dream or will it be a nightmare? Hard to say. We can never guarantee how the future will be like. But the articles in the Economist's special report offer good advice. It is in our hands to shape this future to make sure that it will not be a nightmare; it will be a good dream, provided our policies remain pro-innovation, pro-market and also, very importantly, right pricing of limited resources. The quality of life of our children will definitely be better than ours. This, I am confident.”
“We will also work with Government agencies, industry champions and service providers to identify other areas of employment growth outside the land transport industry for affected workers to transition to. LTA, SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG), our public transport operators and NTWU are jointly developing the Skills Framework for Public Transport, and we will launch this very soon in May. It will provide our transport workers with a clearer picture of what skills they should develop as well as the programmes available, if they want to upgrade. As we expect to create 8,000 new jobs in the public bus and rail sectors by 2030, we will also enhance talent management and engagement efforts for the sector to attract a pipeline of skilled workers and retain more in-service staff. 10.30 am Mr Chairman, the future transport scene is truly exciting. We are lucky to be living in Singapore, and at this time. For example, AVs, combined with the sharing economy and improvements in mobile telephony, have made on-demand point-to-point transport service a reality. And when it comes about, who needs to own a car? No need to. If you want to go anywhere, use your mobile phone, call up. Likely, it would not be a car. It will be a driverless pod. Why should a car look like a car? Once you have driverless vehicles, there is no need for steering wheel, brakes and pedals, the car does not need to look like a car. Some of these autonomous pods in the trials do not look like cars at all. And they can be reconfigured very easily to take one passenger or two passengers, if you want greater intimacy. Or if you have a family of five children, it can be reconfigured too, much like Hollywood’s transformers. Most exciting. This will have a huge impact on city planning.”
“Mr Melvin Yong asked if we have the necessary infrastructure and legislative framework. We are not yet fully ready. In fact, no cities are. But the AV trials have given us insights into the gaps which we will fill. We have amended the Road Traffic Act to facilitate our AV efforts, and we will make further amendments if necessary. We have also launched a Request for Information to seek inputs from industry and other experts. This week's Economist magazine had a special report on AVs. Several pages of this developing technology are worth a quick flip through. It spells out possibilities, an exciting world of transport. Singapore was mentioned in the article as an example of pro-innovation regulation. It is so easy to snuff out innovation. If you regulate too tightly, too early, nothing will happen. If you maintain a light touch for too long, as has happened in the bike-sharing situation, then you have disamenities. This reminded me of what Laozi said 2,500 years ago on the art of frying a small fish: too much fire and you burn the fish. It becomes carcinogenic, you may get cancer. Too little fire, the fish remains uncooked and you may get a stomachache. Although it is difficult to predict the timing of widespread AV adoption, the potential for such technologies to disrupt the livelihoods of transport workers is undeniable. I, therefore, agree with Mr Melvin Yong and Mr Ang Hin Kee that we should help our transport workers adapt early. The Government is working closely with unions and the transport operators to upskill, reskill and to transition some of them to adjacent vocations. This is being done through our Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs), as well as the Bus Academy and Singapore Rail Academy.”
“What if the market consolidates and you end up with only one player or a very huge dominant player? I am quite sure that pricing will change drastically overnight, both for taxi drivers as well as commuters. So, as regulators, we have to anticipate such possible outcomes and try to pre-empt them. Second Minister Ng Chee Meng will discuss this very important issue later on. Finally, we are harnessing technology to transform land transport. Last month, we launched the Land Transport Industry Transformation Map (ITM). Emerging technologies are unsettling, but the opportunities to transform land transport for the better are compelling. The ITM will help the industry and its workers move up the value chain and serve commuters in new and better ways. Mr Melvin Yong and Mr Ang Hin Kee spoke about Autonomous Vehicles (AVs). AVs have the potential to transform transport, reinvent transport. We are working with some of the best in the world and in Singapore to tap on this exciting technology which is still developing. We are keenly watching where this technology will take us next and the benefits that it will bring to commuters. It is too early to say how widely adopted AV technology will be by 2030, but the progress of AV trials overseas and in Singapore is very encouraging. Waymo of Google has tested their AVs on public roads in the United States (US) without a safety driver. This is what we call Level 4 or 5 of a driverless vehicle. It intends to launch a commercial AV ride-sharing service later this year. Here in Singapore, we expanded our AV testbed at one-north last year to about 70 km. As we gain experience and expertise, we will expand trials to other precincts and also pilot the use of other vehicles, like AV buses and AV shuttle services in Punggol, Tengah and Jurong.”
“I heard such complaints from my wife, too. Not every night, but very often. Every time when she drives around our estate and sees such yellow, rainbow-coloured bicycles parked indiscriminately, blocking the footpaths, believe me, I would get an earful. So, clearly this is a hot topic among many people on the ground! Senior Minister of State Lam Pin Min will address this topic in full later. I hear Mr Pritam Singh's call to significantly tweak the Certificate of Entitlement (COE) system to favour families with young children and also low-income motorcyclists. COE is a sound market-based mechanism to allocate limited vehicle supply. Favouring one specific group would inevitably disadvantage others. Far more correct is to keep the COE system pure and formulate separate specific policies to encourage couples to have babies and to help low-income Singaporeans. Meanwhile, we are committed to making public transport the preferred mode for all Singaporeans. This applies not just for new families, but also for the elderly and persons with disabilities. Senior Minister of State Lam Pin Min will also elaborate on this later on. We also facilitate the introduction of car-sharing services, such as BlueSG, and welcome the growth of private hire car services. They have provided commuters with more on-demand and point-to-point alternatives to owning a car. We will make car-lite Singapore a reality. But the point-to-point industry is rapidly consolidating. How it consolidates can have serious implications on contestability and the welfare of commuters and drivers. In other words, will the industry remain open and contestable? Today, we have choices between Grab and Uber, and that is why service level improved.”
“We will continue to work closely with the public bus operators and National Transport Workers' Union (NTWU) to ensure that such shuttle services are sustainable, and that we maintain strong morale amongst our bus captains. Besides our oldest MRT Lines, enhanced maintenance and renewals are also underway for all the other MRT and Light Rail Transit (LRT) lines, which are at different stages of their lives. The Bukit Panjang LRT, in particular, is reaching the end of its useful life. After evaluating all possible options, LTA has decided to work with the original equipment supplier, Bombardier, to renew the entire network. We will also try out a new service support arrangement whereby SMRT will engage Bombardier through a long-term maintenance contract for spares, training and technical expertise. Bukit Panjang residents can look forward to more reliable rides in due course. Fourth, a seamless public transport experience. Commuter perception of public transport is often shaped by their first- and last-mile experience. Is it convenient? Is it pleasant? Is it safe? We are helping pedestrians by providing more covered walkways to transport nodes. Shared bicycles and PMDs have also provided commuters with a new option for shorter journeys. However, disamenities, specifically indiscriminate parking and reckless behaviour, are a growing irritation. I remember Mr Sitoh Yih Pin's reservations on e-bikes and PMDs when the Act was debated in this House last year. This year, I noticed, out of the 33 cuts for MOT, 14 were on shared bicycles and PMDs. That is a high percentage. Yesterday evening, I heard all the passionate pleas from the Members who spoke. So many spoke, including Ms Foo Mee Har, despite her loss of voice. Let me share with Members a little secret.”
“Many made personal sacrifices. During one Sunday closure, this was in December, along the North-South and East-West Lines, many members of SMRT's track circuit replacement team were unable to attend the wedding of their teammate, Mr Mohammed Idris bin Zakaria. The team managed to send him a photo and message from the worksite, which read: "Hi Idris, we are working at Jurong due to ECLO, hot sun and rain are a big challenge here. In fact, it is going to rain, but we know today is your big day, we all just want to say, Happy Marriage". There are many such examples. We are determined to make our system among the best in the world. It can be done. Until all the ageing assets are fully replaced and upgraded, we may still encounter some delays or disruptions. But we are doing our best to eliminate such risks and, should they happen, to minimise inconvenience to commuters. To accelerate the renewal of the ageing assets, we will reinforce our bus network to provide some back-up capacity. We will be deploying 450 buses to bolster capacity along existing bus routes which support critical stretches of the rail network undergoing renewal. These are new buses. They were ordered to meet growing ridership demand and to replace our ageing bus fleet. We are opportunistically bringing forward their purchase and deployment to strengthen the resilience of our public transport network in the interim. Like Mr Melvin Yong, we, too, are concerned about staff fatigue. Planned closures are generally over the weekends, when bus services are thinner, so we have been able to tap on the existing pool of bus captains for these shuttle services. To manage driver fatigue, bus captains are rostered to ensure that they have sufficient rest.”
“For residents living next to MRT tracks, this is a welcome development – my residents as well as residents of Er Dr Lee Bee Wah. 10.15 am Extended engineering hours have also allowed us to step up preventive maintenance and repairs. To answer Miss Cheng Li Hui’s question, we require our rail operators to fulfil stringent Maintenance Performance Standards (MPS). If they fail to comply, we will impose regulatory action and financial penalties. More importantly, after several years of interacting with them, my sense is that our two rail operators themselves have already internalised the importance of maintenance and they have accepted their responsibility to regain public confidence in our MRT system. I am optimistic they will not fail us. They are ramping up the number of maintenance staff. Over the past five years, our maintenance workforce has grown by over 1,500 staff, a 50% increase, with plans to further increase this by more than 600 over the next three years. I thank commuters for allowing us to close earlier and open later – Early Closure, Late Opening (ECLO). To answer Mr Melvin Yong’s question, ECLO will continue, especially for the older lines where we have to juggle limited engineering time between maintenance and the renewal of ageing systems. We have learnt to manage such planned closures with an extensive shuttle bus arrangement so that affected commuters have convenient travel options. During the recent planned closures along the entire East-West Line, we mobilised 350 buses and 700 bus captains to support the shuttle services. I thank all our transport partners and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) for their commitment to this effort. It was Team Singapore at its best. Many readily adjusted their work schedules to accommodate the additional works.”
“But we will get there; we just need time. I asked for five years when I took over this portfolio two and a half years ago. So, I am at mid-point. Mr Melvin Yong asked for an update. We are making good progress. I have set yearly targets. My target is for the MRT network to achieve a Mean Kilometres Between Failures (MKBF) of 400,000 train-kilometres (km) this year, 600,000 train-km next year and one million train-km by 2020. These are not soft, easy targets. They are very difficult targets to achieve. That is why very few metros in the world have achieved that. After a painful 2017, the new signalling system in the North-South Line has finally stabilised. I am pleased to report that the MKBF of the MRT network, for January and February this year, has exceeded next year’s target of 600,000 train-kilometres. In fact, the North-South Line hopes to cross its 150th consecutive day of no disruption today. This is the good news. The bad news is that we will soon start testing of the new signalling system on the East-West Line with passengers. We have been testing it without passengers; that means, at midnight. We will soon be testing it with passengers on board. I will be spending many days and nights briefing the MPs along this stretch of East-West Line to explain to them what re-signalling is all about, why we need to re-signal, why it is good for Singapore and the commuters and what to expect, especially the unpleasant experience of the North-South Line. Do expect glitches and delays. So, please bear with us. Extended engineering hours have been very useful to our engineering team. They allow us to speed up the renewal of ageing assets, as well as the installation of noise-barriers around the island.”
“Over the next five years, we will provide subsidies of about $5 billion for public bus services and $4 billion to renew our rail operating assets. Another $20 billion will be invested in infrastructure to further expand the public transport network. The Government will continue to subsidise public transport to keep fares affordable. However, every dollar spent on transport is a dollar less for other expenditure, like schools, healthcare and security. The Public Transport Council (PTC) is currently reviewing the fare formula, and I agree with Miss Cheng Li Hui that the current formula is inadequate. It can be improved to better track total costs. I am confident that they can work out a fair and sustainable arrangement. Please support the PTC when they make their recommendations. Meanwhile, we need to be prudent about where and when to inject new services, especially in low ridership areas, so as to not overburden taxpayers. I hear Mr Zaqy Mohamad’s call, on behalf of Mayor Low Yen Ling, for better rail connectivity in Bukit Gombak. Mayor Low is a good Member of Parliament (MP). She is reflecting her residents’ demands. I have to be a good Transport Minister. I have to balance the needs of all Singaporeans in a fair manner. We are committed to opening Hume MRT station eventually. But the exact timing of this will depend on the pace of developments and ridership growth in the area. I seek Mayor Low's patience and understanding. Third, a reliable public transport system. We do not need the story of the New York City subway to remind us of the importance of reliability. The Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (SMRT) has its own bad experience of past neglect and, hence, its fair share of reliability problems in recent years. Correcting these problems is a multi-year effort.”
“So, if you earn $1,000, less than $20 is spent on public transport. While transport fares must be affordable, we must be careful that they are not priced too cheaply, as maintaining a high-quality transport system requires resources. Cheap fares are popular, but they are not sustainable. The story of the New York City subway is instructive. A recent New York Times article, reproduced in our local media, which chronicled the woes of the New York City subway. It was once an engineering marvel. It is now a broken system with many safety issues. It is estimated that over US$100 billion is needed just to fix the subway’s most pressing needs. The investments we are making to improve the transport system are huge. MOT’s budget is now the second biggest amongst Ministries, after the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), and ahead of the Ministry of Health (MOH), the Ministry of National Development (MND) and the Ministry of Education (MOE). Miss Cheng Li Hui has observed an alarming spike in public transport subsidies. She is right. And we should all be alarmed. She is in business. She knows that rising cost against declining revenue has only one outcome – a disaster. What are the facts? Over the past five years, improvements to public transport services have increased operating costs by about 60%. One major contributing factor is the huge increase in network capacity as we opened new lines and added more buses and trains. This huge cost increase has been borne by the Government, namely, taxpayers. Against such rising cost, fares have gone down by 2% over the same period. So, 60% rise in operating costs but fees reduced by 2%. That is the past five years. But what about the future?”
“These new Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) lines will help to catalyse the development of the Jurong Lake District and Punggol Digital District and transform them to enable an exciting car-lite lifestyle for more Singaporeans. Besides the MRT, we have also enhanced bus services significantly, as noted by Mr Melvin Yong. Through the $1.1 billion Bus Service Enhancement Programme (BSEP), we have added 1,000 new buses to our fleet and introduced 80 new routes. Through the Bus Contracting Model, we have raised service standards by injecting additional capacity for more than 100 services. To support the expansion of our bus fleet, four new depots as well as seven interchanges and terminals have been built or upgraded over the past five years. We have also incorporated an incentive-disincentive framework in the bus contracts. For the first service year, the operators have already earned incentives of about 1.5% of their total service fees. This is nearly $20 million of incentive payment. The more they improve their services to commuters, the more incentives they stand to gain. This has aligned their corporate objectives with ours. Together, these measures have contributed to greater bus connectivity, less crowded rides and shorter waiting time for commuters. Commuters have felt the difference. It showed up in the Public Transport Customer Satisfaction Survey. I see this as a vote of confidence by commuters for BSEP and the new Bus Contracting Model. Second, an affordable public transport service. Our transport fares are affordable. To measure affordability, we track the percentage of income that lower-income Singaporeans spend on public transport. In other words, out of your monthly salary, how much do you spend on public transport? It is low, below 2%.”
“No point being able to fly or sail into Singapore easily, only to be stuck in traffic jams. This is a common phenomenon in many other cities around the world. Singapore must never be like that. The key is to ensure our land transport matches the standard of Changi and PSA. Our approach is to make public transport the preferred mode of transport within Singapore. This is a continuing work-in-progress. As Mr Sitoh Yih Pin put it, there will be growing pains, but I am confident we will get there. Our target is to have 75% of all peak hour journeys made on public transport by 2030. We are on track to achieve this target. To answer Mr Ang Hin Kee's question, the peak hour public transport mode share last year was 67%: with bus at 34%, rail at 28%, and taxi and private hire car at 5%. With the introduction and growing popularity of personal mobility devices (PMDs), we can be increasingly confident. We are clear that for public transport to be the preferred mode, it must be extensive, affordable, reliable and seamless. First, an extensive public transport network. A well-connected and resilient rail network forms the backbone. Eight in 10 households will live within a 10-minute walk of a train station by 2030. That is why we are expanding our rail network to 360 kilometres (km). We will also increase the number of stations to 270. This will put our rail network density ahead of Tokyo and New York City today. This is hard work, patient work over many years and several Transport Ministers. When we fully opened the Downtown Line last year, we took a giant step forward. The next giant step will be the opening of the Thomson-East Coast Line. The project is on schedule. We have also started planning the Jurong Region Line and Cross Island Line.”
“Mr Chairman, our excellent connections to the world provide huge advantages for our businesses, create good jobs for Singaporeans and raise our quality of life. They make Singapore a global city and a vibrant economic hub. The role played by Changi Airport and PSA is well-understood. But remember these are not permanent strengths. As the Chinese saying goes, "一 山 还 有 一 山 高". There is always a taller mountain elsewhere. Many airports and seaports in the region are working hard to replace us. Changi Airport and PSA are working even harder to make sure we are not easily replaceable. The Ministry of Transport (MOT) is fully behind them, together with other Government agencies. That is why we are expanding Changi Airport, even though we have just opened Terminal 4 (T4). This is not just about building another terminal in Changi. We are actually building a second airport, complete with a third runway, an extensive underground network of tunnels and a mega terminal to serve up to 50 million passengers per year in the first phase of development. By adjoining the current airport, it will almost double our overall airport capacity. More importantly, we can synergise both airports to make the entire Changi an unbeatable air hub. Likewise, the capacity of our seaport at Tuas will be double our current container throughput. But more than physical size, the new seaport will leverage the latest technology and help create new innovative solutions. As the operator of the new seaport, this will set PSA apart from its rivals. It will help make PSA’s customers even more efficient and cost-effective in their operations. While the external connectivity dimensions of Changi Airport and the seaport are obvious, the role played by land transport is also crucial.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, I beg to report that the Committee of Supply has made further progress on the Estimates of Expenditure for the financial year 2018/2019 and ask leave to sit again tomorrow.”
“Mr Chairman, I cannot wait to reply to all the cuts. I shall beg to move that progress be reported now and leave be asked to sit again tomorrow.”
“Anecdotally, there were some who tried it and felt it was still difficult. So, they came back and we helped them. We take a very flexible and patient approach. My philosophy is quite simple: technology must help us and help consumers. We should not try to get consumers to change in order to fit technology, especially if it is difficult. But, at the same time, I think consumers do need some nudging. If you do not nudge people along, we would still be using bullock carts.”
“Mr Speaker, commuters can use cash to top-up their travel cards at the ticketing machines found at every Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station. What is gradually being withdrawn is the cash top-up service at the Passenger Service Centre (PSC). To help commuters make adjustments, some 150 service agents are deployed at MRT stations to help commuters with the ticketing machines. The service agents helped a few hundred commuters per day in the beginning, but the number has since come down significantly. Based on our sample count, the estimated breakdown of these commuters who needed help is: 42% seniors, 35% working adults, 19% foreign workers and 4% others.”
“The average cost of constructing a signalised pedestrian crossing is about $250,000. When assessing the need for a pedestrian crossing, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) evaluates whether the crossing would enhance connectivity to key amenities and major transport nodes and also takes into account factors, such as traffic volume and road geometry. If providing an at-grade pedestrian crossing would be dangerous or cause serious traffic congestion, LTA will consider other types of crossing facilities, such as pedestrian overhead bridges or underpasses.”
“A pair of lifts at a pedestrian overhead bridge (POB) can cost up to $4 million to install and about $40,000 a year to maintain. POBs are selected for retrofitting based on factors, such as their proximity to major transport nodes, the level of pedestrian demand, and the availability of existing barrier-free alternatives nearby. The Land Transport Authority has retrofitted 26 POBs near public transport nodes, healthcare institutions, homes for the aged, and schools for special needs children, and will retrofit another 21 POBs by the end of 2018.”
“E-payments will bring greater convenience to commuters by eliminating the hassle of doing cash top-ups. It will also allow us to remove cash facilities at Mass Rapid Transit stations and buses eventually, freeing up space, manpower and other resources that the Government and the Public Transport Operators (PTO) can dedicate towards enhancing our public transport system and commuter experience. For example, any cost savings from the streamlining of ticketing infrastructure can be channelled towards building of new transport infrastructure. Instead of handling cash transactions, PTO staff can better focus on managing rail operations.”
“In 2017, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the Traffic Police caught about 460 personal mobility device (PMD) riders for the offence of riding PMDs on roads, and issued about 1,800 advisories for unsafe riding behaviours on public paths. About a quarter of these persons were over 50 years old. LTA has launched several campaigns to raise awareness amongst cyclists and PMD users on safe riding habits and the active mobility rules and code of conduct. The campaign messages have been translated into vernacular languages and disseminated widely. In addition, LTA also works with Active Mobility Patrol volunteers to engage and educate the public, including the elderly, on safe riding practices. Elderly PMD users can also learn more about safe riding behaviours, proper use of active mobility infrastructure, and PMD regulations from the Safe Riding Programme jointly developed by LTA and the Singapore Road Safety Council, which is available at designated community centres.”
“Where space permits, such shelters will be built, with priority given to the most heavily utilised bus stops, especially those connected to Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) stations. More than a quarter of the bus stops at MRT stations have cantilever shelters.”
“The Marina Bay and Downtown Mass Rapid Transit stations will be connected via an underground link. The Land Transport Authority will work with the Urban Redevelopment Authority to provide for the underground link as part of its future plans.”
“None of our public bus operators penalises bus captains for using emergency brakes. Bus captains are trained on defensive driving, which includes exercising caution and discretion when applying emergency brakes to avoid accidents and ensure commuter safety. Bus captains who are assessed to brake hard frequently and indiscriminately may be sent for refresher training.”
“This Parliamentary Question was addressed in a combined reply on bicycle-sharing on 5 February 2018. [Please refer to "Measures to Reduce Indiscriminate Parking of Shared Bicycles", Official Report, 5 February 2018, Vol 94, Issue 58, Oral Answers to Questions section.] My Ministry will be proposing legislative amendments later this month to put in place a licensing framework for bicycle-sharing operators.”
“The Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the Singapore Road Safety Council (SRSC) have jointly developed a Safe Riding Programme (SRP), which was rolled out earlier this month. SRP teaches safe riding practices, proper use of active mobility infrastructure, and the rules and code of conduct for riding. SRP is conducted through classroom lessons and a "hands-on" segment carried out in a training circuit. While SRP is not compulsory for students, a number of schools, especially those with cycling as an elective module or cycling interest groups, have expressed interest. LTA also disseminates the SRP video to schools to educate students about the key active mobility rules and safe riding practices. Apart from schools, LTA and SRSC are also working with various Government agencies, non-profit organisations as well as interest groups to make the programme available at various community clubs, schools, migrant worker dormitories and shopping malls.”
“The table below indicates the number of reported cases of Outrage of Modesty (OM) on public transport over the past five years. The Land Transport Authority (LTA), the Public Transport Security Command of the Singapore Police Force (TransCom), and the Public Transport Operators (PTOs) have taken steps to educate commuters about OM, including several public education campaigns over the years. Commuters are encouraged to report such cases, and every report is treated seriously. LTA, TransCom and the PTOs will continue to work together to tackle OM on public transport and improve the safety and security of our commuters.”
“As the rail operator, the Singapore Mass Rapid Transit has reimbursed and will continue to reimburse the injured passengers' medical and other related expenses.”
“As of 31 December 2017, there were approximately 47,000 cars that are registered to offer private hire car (PHC) services. We will continue to monitor the situation and review our regulations regularly. Currently, these cars have to be affixed with tamper-evident decals. In addition, PHC drivers are required to hold a Private Hire Car Driver’s Vocational Licence and are subjected to the same demerit point system that applies to taxi drivers.”
“The road widening works along Clementi Road between Jalan Anak Bukit and the junction of Clementi Road with Ulu Pandan Road was completed last December. A second phase of works between Commonwealth Avenue West and the Ayer Rajah Expressway will be completed later this month. The last phase of the Clementi Road widening works between Ulu Pandan Road and Commonwealth Avenue West will be completed by March 2018.”