Tuesday June 19, 12:17
PM
Many rides, one
fare?
SINGAPORE: Fancy paying a flat fee as you hop from buses to trains
to get from Ang Mo Kio to Clementi? That could be a reality, if the
Government takes up a suggestion mooted to make public transport
more attractive to Singaporeans.
The flat fee or through fare allows commuters to make multiple
transfers between buses and trains, saving travel time and
cost.
Describing it as a suggestion to be considered, Minister of State
for Transport Lim Hwee Hua said a multi-pronged approach is
needed in the ongoing land transport review, in which the Transport
Ministry and the Land Transport Authority have organised
brain-storming sessions to elicit suggestions.
And ideas, ranging from the routine to the radical, have poured in
from various stakeholders, including members of the public, over
the past two months.
Some suggested raising Electronic Road Pricing surcharges further
to ease congestion in the city, while others wanted the Government
to build a brand-new expressway over the current Central
Expressway.
On the latter, Ms Lim cautioned against building more roads to
accommodate the projected 6.5 million population. Ms Lim said the
review still has a few more months to go and that all the
feedback obtained will be looked into.
More roads, she said, would create a latent demand, especially in
city areas. Roads may seem congestion-free at first and this may
lead to even more cars using them. This will, in the end, create
further congestion, she said at the wrapup session yesterday.
Associate Professor K Raguraman, an expert on transport policy at
the National University of Singapore, agreed with Ms Lim. Building
more roads will only serve a small target group, he said.
Instead, Assoc Prof Raguraman suggested that more rail lines be
laid. He cited Hong Kong and Seoul, where the high public transport
usage has led to a developed train network that is the preferred
mode of transport.
Last night, participants also debated the vehicle growth rate
which has been 3 per cent annually for the past 10 years.
Dr Paul Barter, an expert on public transport at the Lee Kuan Yew
School of Public Policy, previously suggested that a Certificate of
Entitlement should expire when a vehicle clocks a certain mileage,
rather than when it is 10 years old. People would then drive
judiciously and minimise congestion, he said.
Others said taxes for car owners should be revised. Rather than
paying a flat road tax, car owners should be taxed according to
mileage, they argued. Taxes should also be increased for those who
own second or third cars.
Perennial complaints of long waiting times for buses and taxis also
cropped up. Mrs Lim said the review will examine the allocation of
resources during peak periods.
But she disagreed that taxis should pay lower ERP charges. Taxis,
she said, are similar to cars as they, too, contribute to
congestion. Instead, taxi fares and surcharges can be raised to
reduce the demand for them during peak periods, she added.
