Could water transport be a plausible future option for commuters
in Singapore?
That question is being explored by the Urban
Redevelopment Authority (URA), which on Tuesday
put up an open tender for two water taxi operators to provide boat
bridging services across two different routes along the Singapore River.
One route, it says in an 18-page tender document detailing its
requirements for potential operators, will ply between the Jiak Kim
Bridge, near Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel and the Marina
Barrage. It will pass through landmarks like Liang Court, Raffles
Place, Clifford Pier, Marina Bay Sands and the Singapore Flyer,
said the authority.
The other will start at Rivergate, near Riverview Hotel, and end at
the Barrage, passing through Clarke Quay, Boat Quay, Merlion Park,
the Esplanade, Marina Bay Sands and the Singapore Flyer. Each
successful operator, said the URA, will take control of one route
each, stopping its boats at a total of 13 landing points per route,
including their start and end-points.
Electric-charged and environmentally-friendly boats, it says, will
arrive at either 10 or 15-minute intervals — depending on whether
you choose the regular or express service, the latter of which goes
to passenger-designated stops, during peak hours of the day. The
proposed water transport service will also be expected to have
minimum daily operating hours of 7am to 10pm, to be extended where
URA deems necessary.
Fares will be fair, says the URA, pitting a ride on a regular ferry
service to cost at most three dollars, and one on an express
service to cost at most four. It also proposed the implementation
of smaller taxi-like services, which can be booked in
advance.
And why now? The URA says it is high time to employ our
three-kilometre Singapore River, which extends to a new freshwater
reservoir called the Marina
Reservoir. This, it says, offers opportunities
for transportation services, sightseeing and entertainment cruises,
leisure boating, recreational water activities and even water
sporting events.
“Also, the increasing number of residents and growing number of
hotels (along the) Singapore River and Marina Bay means that there
is a larger captive market, while the finite capacity of the road
transport system offers new opportunities for water transportation
to serve as an alternative commuting mode,” it added.
The URA has opened its tender to all local and foreign companies,
and all interested parties are required to submit
their applications by the end of January next
year. It says it will award licences to its successful bidders by
February, and they kick in at the beginning of 2013, giving the two
operators a little less than a year to build up stations, shelters,
lighting, charging points, ticketing booths and possible retail
spaces along the route as well. Licences will last for three years
and can be extended for a further two terms of three years
each.
Currently, Singapore has two companies that operate water transport
services, but mainly run sightseeing trips for tourists. Singapore River Cruise as well
as Duck
and Hippo, which operates Singapore’s Duck Tours,
have expressed their interest in submitting bids to The Straits
Times, which first reported news of the tender.
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Anyone want to throw keys and be water taxi driver???
