Channel NewsAsia - 1 hour 29 minutes
ago
SINGAPORE: A combination of rising costs — fuel, parking and
Electronic Road Pricing — has made senior sales executive Darrell
Choo think twice about turning the ignition key in his car.
While he still drives to his office at Suntec City, the
30—year—old has turned to public transport, especially trains, when
going out to meet clients. "My trips are usually short so I can
still stand the crowded trains and buses," said Mr Choo.
Rising costs for motorists is partly why rail ridership hit
record levels for the second time in less than six months. SMRT,
which operates the North—South and East—West lines, saw commuters
making 41,964,448 train trips last month — a 0.08—per—cent increase
from its previous all—time high in January.
SBS Transit, which runs the North—East line, saw some 10,540,700
passenger trips last month. It has seen ridership climb from a
daily average of about 285,000 last April to over 340,000 last
month.
Both operators say the hike can be attributed to many factors,
such as a change in travel patterns, population growth, employment
growth and the government’s push for more people to take public
transport. "The rise in petrol prices could also be a contributing
factor as some motorists switch to public transport," added SBS
Transit spokeswoman Tammy Tan.
With more passengers, have train rides and loads become
unbearable? SMRT says the addition of over 500 train trips last
month on weekdays — just before and after the morning and evening
peak hours, lunch hours and evenings — has been effective in
reducing the average train load to "not more than 1,200
passengers".
Regular train commuters that TODAY spoke to say the increased
frequency would be more useful during the peaks themselves. They
also suggested more train trips during weekends and holidays.
With taxi fares rising, store manager Liu Zheng Yi noticed that
trains are "quite crowded" with families heading out at weekends.
He said: "While we may not pay for the extra comfort, you also
don’t want trains to be packed, and with kids crying loudly."
Some relief could be in sight. From Saturday, commuters
travelling on weekends can expect SMRT trains to arrive every five
minutes. This means up to 106 more train trips on Saturdays and up
to 65 more on Sundays, SMRT added.
