LTA begins feasibility study on installation of CCTVs in
public buses
SINGAPORE : The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has begun a
feasibility study on the installation of closed circuit televisions
(CCTVs) in public buses.
The measure is part of enhancing security in the country's public
transport system.
The LTA says it has learnt much in this area from its counterpart
in London, and a memorandum of cooperation was signed on Tuesday to
further entrench this cooperation.
Nearly 3,550 buses are currently plying Singapore's roads.
The feasibility study is now on to test out the CCTV capabilities
on
some of the bus routes.
The LTA declines to give details of the costs involved, saying only
that buses in London are fitted with between five and nine cameras
each, and that the scale would vary between single and double deck
buses.
Brigadier-General (NS) Yam Ah Mee, Chief Executive Officer of LTA,
says: "In fact, London shared with us a lot of details of what they
do in this area and we have hence incorporated some of these
experiences into our MRT system, as well as into our bus
system.
"For MRT, we are looking at enhancing beyond the operational CCTV
capabilities to security capabilities for the trains and stations,
and the recording capabilities."
Mr Jay Walder, Managing Director of Finance and Planning, Transport
for London, says: "We are also very much investing in closed
circuit television, investing more on our buses and tube
system.
"As you will know, the CCTV cameras were very important in
understanding what actually had happened on the tube and bus
system, and we think it is a very worthwhile thing to do."
The LTA says it wants to implement CCTVs on buses quickly once the
feasibility study is done, with the major part of the
implementation expected in the next one or two years.
BG Yam says: "From our overseas experience of the different places
we visited, these capabilities need not necessarily translate into
higher costs because it requires public education instead."
Enhancing the security of Singapore's public transport system has
been a major concern of the government these days.
In fact, a large exercise was held in January this year to test the
resilience and coordination of various agencies in the event of
incidents in the public transport system.
The agreement signed between LTA and the Transport for London will
provide opportunities for officials to exchange visits to better
understand the various facets of each other's transport systems and
how the security element is incorporated in them. - CNA
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