Milestone of Singapore Public Transport (2006 - 2007)

sbskidz SG

Hello guys.

This is a continuation to "Do You Know" posted by me on Jan 12 2007.

#1. Introduction of the Wheelchair Accessible Buses (WAB) by SBS Transit.

copyrighted(c) tamago.

SBS Transit Ltd was the first bus company in singapore to introduce the first wheelchair-accessible bus service in Singapore. From 27 June 2006, 10 buses in the existing Service 21 fleet will come with wheelchair-friendly features such as a manually operated ramp for boarding and alighting, and a single wheelchair parking space.

LTA has required all new public buses registered in Singapore from 2006 to be wheelchair-accessible. These buses will be introduced progressively to replace the existing fleet of non-wheelchair-accessible buses. The decision to introduce wheelchair-accessible buses was made following a review by the Ministry of Transport and LTA, and is in line with the recommendation from the Committee on Ageing Issues. MOT has approved the funds for the incremental cost for the wheelchair-accessible buses at $6,000 per bus for 3,550 buses over the next 17 years.

#2
Introduction of new set of Quality of Service (QoS) standards for basic bus services by the Public Transport Council (PTC). [The PTC earlier established a comprehensive set of bus service standards and specifications to regulate the performance of the basic bus operators in 1994.

#3. Commencement of upgrading of road facilities within a 400-metre radius of MRT and LRT stations to enhance barrier-free accessibility by LTA

#1. Opening of the Fort Canning Tunnel

The FCT project was based on the Urban Redevelopment Authority's plans for the Museum Planning Area. Over 3,000 vehicles pass through Stamford Road every hour during peak periods. With the old traffic scheme, motorists stopped at 2 traffic lights at slow speeds, which made the area prone to congestion. In view of increased traffic from new developments in Marina Centre and Marina South to the Orchard shopping area, design plans for the tunnel were drawn up to allow motorists to bypass several traffic junctions. The tunnel cuts journey times from 5 minutes to as fast as 18 seconds.

The construction of the FCT would form a grid pattern, resulting in more efficient land use for the adjacent Singapore Management University (SMU) campus. The realignment of Stamford Road would make also the journey to Bras Basah and Little India smoother. By cutting through Fort Canning Hill, the historical and environmental significance of the area would still be preserved. (from wikipedia)

#2
Extension of the full-day bus lane scheme to five locations in the CBD, namely Eu Tong Sen Street, Hill Street, Victoria Street, Bras Basah Road and Somerset Road.

[Full+Day+Bus+Lane+Plate.jpg]

http://sgtransport.blogspot.com/

#3
Approval by the Singapore Government for the building of the 40km Downtown Line, which is scheduled to complete by 2018

The Downtown Line (DTL) will be the fifth Mass Rapid Transit line in Singapore and is currently under construction and planning/evaluation. The line will be about 40 km long with 33 stations. It will be a fully automatic and driverless system similar to the North East Line and the Circle Line, and will be mostly underground. The line will serve the Bukit Timah region and the Eastern region and bring commuters to the New Downtown area. The line is tentatively coloured brown in the rail map.

#4. Approval by the Singapore Government for the construction of the 5km Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE), where there will be a 3.5km long underground tunnel and a 1.5km long above-ground road structure.

The 5 kilometres (3.11 miles) MCE will connect the southern end of the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) and its junction with the East Coast Parkway to the eastern end of Ayer Rajah Expressway. This links the eastern and western parts of Singapore to the New Downtown, currently being developed in the Marina Bay area. The MCE, with five lanes in each direction, would handle the large number of commuters to be drawn to the offices, homes and recreational attractions there. It will also open access to the proposed Marina Cruise Centre in Marina South and the existing Marina South Ferry Terminal

#5. Introduction of a 6-month trial for both the Real-Time Bus Arrival Information panels and the Key Bus Services Map (around Orchard Road area)

Copyrighted: http://sgtransport.blogspot.com/

Commuters will have the convenience of knowing how long more their buses will take to arrive at these bus stops, as these will be progressively fitted with LED panels by end August 2007. The panels will display the bus services that call at a particular bus stop, the arrival times of the next and subsequent buses for each bus service, and a symbol to indicate whether the bus is wheelchair-accessible.

#6. Further tightening of the Quality of Service (Qos) standards for basic bus services by the Public Transport Council

#7. Implementation of a 3-month trial on Electronic Bus Journey Planner by the LTA and Transit Link

#8. Opening of Phase 1 of the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) - the section from ECP to PIE

Connecting the East Coast Parkway and the Tampines Expressway in the north-east, the 6 lane expressway will extend twelve kilometres, with approximately 8.5 kilometres (5.28 miles) of main cut and cover underground tunnels running some 10 metres underground when fully completed. Built at a cost of approximately S$1.8 billion (US$1 billion), it will be the longest subterranean road tunnel in Southeast Asia. The KPE is also believed to be the world's sixth longest underground road project under construction. In all, the dual-carriageway expressway with three lanes in each direction will have eight interchanges, eleven on-ramps, and twelve off-ramps.

#9. Extension of morning ERP hours on the southbound CTE ERP gantry and installation of new gantries at the southbound BKE (between Diary Farm Road), northbound CTE (before exit to PIE) and the eastbound ECP (before Rochor Road exit and from Ophir Road slip road)

#10. Appointment of an International Advisory Panel (IAP) by the LTA, to advise them on their transport policies and strategies, and to help keep the LTA abreast of the latest global trends and developments in land transport. The IAP held its inaugural Meeting in Singapore

#11. Taxi Fare Hike

(www.asiaone.com)

The taxi fare hike follows what it says was an 'in-depth review' of the taxi industry to address commuters' concerns, simplify the fare structure and encourage call bookings 'to better match the demand and supply of taxis'

Under the new pricing structure, ComfortDelgro says, the bulk of its passengers who travel during off-peak hours will pay 10 per cent more in fares.

All other passengers will be expected to pay between 18 per cent and 49 per cent more.

The biggest jump in fares will affect those who take cabs from the city from Mondays to Thursdays, between 8pm and midnight. Instead of $7.65 currently, they'll have to fork out $11.40.

#12. Increase in the number of taxi stands

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) today announced the location of 15 new taxi stands to be installed within the Central Business District (CBD), bringing the total number of taxi stands in the downtown area to 95.

The taxi stands will be installed by the end of December this year, and will bring a taxi stand to within 300 metres or a five-minute walk from buildings within the CBD.

A statement from LTA said that it would be coordinating with taxi companies and taxi driver associations to encourage cabbies to pick up passengers from taxi stands.

LOCATIONS OF THE 15 NEW TAXI STANDS

- Amoy Street
- Armenian Street
- Clemenceau Avenue
- Robinson Road
- Kreta Ayer Road
- Neil Road
- Old Parliament Lane
- Peck Seah Street
- Penang Road
- Purvis Street
- Sago Lane
- Short Street
- Stamford Road
- Tan Tye Place
- Waterloo Street

#1. Public Transport Review

The land tansport review was announced by transport minister, Mr Raymond Lim on January.

Several measures and objectives were put in place. financing

Refer to post on Public Transport Review for more information.

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sbskidz