The Land Transport Authority is working with the NUS
High School of Mathematics and Science, and Nanyang Polytechnic, to
design a restraint system for prams on buses.
"Once the prototype of the proposed restraint system is
available, LTA will work with the (public transport operators) as
well as pram users to trial it on our buses," the LTA said.
The move is in response to recommendations from the
Public Transport Council to make Singapore's buses and trains more
inclusive and user-friendly.
To this end, the LTA said on Monday (Sept 26) that all
new bus interchanges and integrated transport hubs - such as those
at Bukit Panjang, Outram, Sengkang, Shenton Way and Tampines - will
have a standalone nursing room.
"On the rail network, all stations along the future
Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) and Circle Line 6 will have
family-friendly washrooms, comprising a diaper changing station,
child-size toilet seat and barrier-free facilities, alongside the
main toilets in the unpaid area," the LTA added.
To cater to young children and the elderly, dual-speed
escalators and travellators will be implemented on all new rail
lines starting from TEL during off-peak hours.
With this feature, escalators move at 0.75m per second
during peak hours and 0.5m per second during off-peak hours.
"This feature will be progressively rolled out to the
North-South and East-West Lines during SMRT's escalator
refurbishment programme and eventually to existing escalators in
North-East Line, Circle Line and Downtown Line stations," the
authority said, adding that it was working with rail operators to
trial reduced escalator speeds at selected existing stations that
are frequently used by children and the elderly.
There will also be priority queues for the elderly,
pregnant women, people with disabilities and parents travelling
with prams by the end of next year (2017).
These queues will also be implemented at existing bus
interchanges where space permits, the LTA noted.
The authority is also looking to introduce buses with
three doors and two staircases to aid commuter flow and encourage
commuters to move to the rear of the bus. It is also working to
improve the design of 800 bus-stops across the island by
commissioning a study that will be completed by 2019.
And starting on Monday, the MyTransport.SG smartphone
app will have a new "Find-My-Way" function that will allow
commuters to look up information on station exits, nearby bus-stops
and bus services to other MRT and LRT stations.
"Such information will be especially useful for
commuters during train disruptions, so they can make their way to
operational train stations or continue their journeys via bus
services," the LTA said.
ST