Analysis of a Singapore’s transport system

For both

Visitors and locales

Name/Fin

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Executive Summary

Tourism has long been declared to local communities as a big foreign exchange earner and is
now considered one of the biggest global industries. Therefore, many countries look to tourism
as a key source of income generation, particularly international tourists bringing in additional
foreign exchange to the country. However, an appropriate transport network is a necessary
condition for obtaining, hosting and handling such tourists, and the creation of a tourism
destination may be dependent on a well-designed infrastructure. With the aid of improved
transportation and infrastructure facilities, tourism continues to grow. The aim of this report is to
analysis how well transportation infrastructure and systems are organized for both visitors and
locals in Singapore.

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Content

1. Introduction;

2. Analysis of how well transportation infrastructure and systems are organized for both
visitors and locals

3. Quality of terminals

4. Public/private transportation mix and coordination

5. Environmental issues and sustainable management

6. Local and visitor satisfaction levels

7. Future tourism transport strategies

8. Summary and Recommendations

9. References

Appendixes

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Introduction

Singapore is a metropolitan area-state country with a limited region of roughly 710 square
kilometers and a large population of 5 million with faster economic development and denser
trade. It is also remembered on their urban streets for its very strong and smartly controlled
immense and steady traffic movement. Tourism industry has been a primary engine of
Singapore’s economy. Being a popular tourist city in Southeast Asia, Singapore draws more than
10 million international tourists per year, with receipts of billions Singapore dollars in tourism.
The government is implementing ongoing efforts to encourage and develop Singapore's tourism
industry into a main economic engine. The living conditions, the locations visited and the visitor
travel habits are valuable details for both public and private sectors to plan and develop their
facilities in the tourism industry. Given the availability of hop-on hop-off tour systems,
Singapore's public transport, including MRT and bus, remains the first option for tourists
(Singapore Tourism Board, 2014; Hassan, 2000).

Analysis of how well transportation infrastructure and systems are organized for both
visitors and locals

There are various transport options in Singapore that can be used by locals and tourists on
holiday. The MRT is one of the most effective ways to travel around town because it is quick
and has no traffic jams. Fares are also relatively cheap taking into account the cost of living.
MRT stations are also within walking distance of virtually most of the tourist attractions
including Marina Bay, Chinatown, Little India, Kampong Glam and Orchard Lane. However,
certain attractions such as the Zoo or Bird Park which are far from the city center need to get off
the MRT network and take a bus, taxi or other form of transport to the final destination (Dwyer
and Forsyth, 1997)

Singaporeans prefer to depend on buses to carry them to and from MRT stations if a station is
not within walking distance of their starting points or destinations. The bus stops are still
sheltered and clearly labelled with the amount of bus services open. Additionally, there are large
bus interchanges that serve as a terminus at some MRT stations. However, if somebody had to
pay on board, the bus drivers would not be carrying any change.

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Taxis will also be in limited supply, for example during a peak hour, a downpour, or in the half
hour before midnight locks in the late night surcharge. Due to the extremely effective public
transit network, points of interest that are commonly located in Singapore Island are easily
reachable at very reasonable rates through public transport; time a local or visitor boards a bus or
MRT, the device gathers a record detailing the date, place, fare and other details (Singapore
Tourism Board, 2014).

Quality of terminals

Singapore has one of the strongest and most accessible public transportation networks, relative to
the 24 big cities across the world. Singapore has developed a best in class, competitive,
affordable, secure, easy and sustainable public transport network. As a result, the new schemes
benefitted more than one million passengers in public transport. Another outstanding feature is
the convenience and flexibility of Singapore's ticketing system, using an EZ-Link card. The
development of a smarter bus management system has also played a crucial role in optimizing
bus services and keeping them on schedule. It also had the highest public transport safety
ranking, with lower rates of fatalities in the public transit per one million people compared with
other cities (Zhu, 2018).

Public/private transportation mix and coordination

In Singapore, the train and bus subsystems are used in the public transit network. The subway
network is also split down into the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) network and the Light Rail
Transit (LRT) system, based on rail and train types. LRT uses light rails and small trains, and
acts as a feeder to MRT for short-distance rail transportation in the neighborhood. As the MRT
and LRT use the same ticketing scheme to simplify the introduction, we use the name MRT only
to describe the Singapore subway network (Dwyer and Forsyth, 1997).

To order to control the traffic community, the Singaporean Government implemented a complex
mix of car allocation schemes and road rates. Public transportation has been a easy choice and

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relaxing. For the Singaporeans, quality, frequency and diversity have made the public transport
system a viable alternative to private car transport (Singapore Tourism Board, 2014).
Public transport accounted for an average of 4.4 million passenger journeys a day in 2014. Public
transport has a combined rail range of 183 km, with 106 MRT and 38 LRT stations.
Additionally, there are 4 684 bus stations and 277 taxi stands on the island-state. Furthermore,
the taxi is a major type of public transport that crosses the gap between private and other public
transport offering customized services. Singapore is built to provide essential as well as high-end
services that shape alliances between public and private initiatives. Because of low rates, low-
income travelers might prefer public transit as the most accessible mode of travel, whereas others
could be attracted by quick journey times. ("Sustainable Transport in Singapore – Pollution at the
Crossroads", 2020)

Environmental issues and sustainable management

Urban transport affects global environment mainly by emitting Green House Gases (GHG) from
vehicles. Carbon Dioxide is the most significant contributor to transport GHG. With one of the
world's highest CO2 emissions per capita, climate change remains a problem for Singapore. The
per capita CO2 emissions in Singapore are 9.2 tonnes, while the world average is only 1.3
tonnes, making Singapore the top fourth largest carbon-emitting country. Singapore is beginning
to take much needed climate change mitigation and adaptation steps with its Green Initiative and
Global Change Policy.

Furthermore, air pollution is another growing issue in Singapore. Emissions from vehicles is one
of the key contributors to Singapore's level of air quality. Close to the MRT stations the noise
rates are higher. When more train journeys are introduced to the MRT tracks, the noise level
around the MRT stations decreases, with SMRT receiving objections from citizens.

Currently, MRT / LTA has installed low noise barriers near few MRT stations to reduce noise
levels and plans to spread this to other stations. In turn, LTA will install large barriers lined with
noise-absorbing fabrics such as rock fabric.

In Singapore, sustainable waste management is becoming increasingly relevant in urban

transport. The recently introduced 'Green Rail Transit Program' introduces modern steps to

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conserve power in MRT Stations. Energy use in public transport is high in Singapore. However,
a healthy government's economic and political idealism allowed Singapore to both introduce a
safe, affordable and attractive public transport network, and to build an infrastructural base for
potential development and prosperity (Rahman & Chin, 2011).

Local and visitor satisfaction levels

From previous studies, it is revealed that the satisfaction of the citizens with their travel would
affect their subjective well-being and overall quality of life. Public transit passengers are less
happy with their trips than drivers of cyclists, motorcycles and cars (Lunke, 2020). According to
annual Public Transport Customer Satisfaction Survey (PTCSS), conducted by the Public
Transport Council (PTC), commuters appeared to be satisfied with Singapore's public transport
in 2019. The annual survey was carried out from September through October 2019. Overall
satisfaction with public transport remained high, with a mean public transport satisfaction score
of 7.8 (out of 10) in 2019. In 2017, it was 7.7, in 2018, then 7.9. The satisfaction of commuters
with the MRT services stayed strong in 2019, with a mean satisfaction rate of 7.7 out of 10. Bus
services ran well in 2019, maintaining a mean satisfaction score of 7.9. The mean satisfaction
rate for waiting period was slightly increased, from 7.4 out of 10 in 2018 to 8.0 in 2019. This
may be the product of the increased quality of operation through the Bus Service Continuity
System , which allows operators to reduce unnecessary waiting times for commuters. The survey
's goal is to consider the perceptions and desires of commuters, as well as define priorities for
development (Public Transport Council, 2020).

Future tourism transport strategies

Advances to Singapore's transportation industry have profoundly modified the way people travel.
However, in the coming years, more changes are anticipated to reach the shores. The government
has already made plans to introduce autonomous and driverless vehicles. The trials are scheduled
to begin in 2022. So it'll be the first large-scale experiment in Singapore for driverless so electric
commercial cars.High-speed train ambitious project to link Kuala Lumpur is taking form in
Singapore. Just a final flourish date: 330 km long by 2020 rail service pledges to cut present
voyage time of six hours to 90 minutes, just. The Premiers of in Singapore and Malaysia to boost

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travel by February 2013 and company relations originally proposed the initiative. The proposed
system will connects to Penang, Bangkok and China (Neoh, 2019; Imran, 2020).

Summary and Recommendations

Singapore has shown a comprehensive approach to introducing a set of multi-modal

transportation initiatives and profits from a comparatively modern public transit network (MRT
and LRT) and policy support. Singapore needs to pay heed to the bus network's position in
promoting rail travel. A further area of attention is the aging population 's needs within an
integrated public transport system. Inclusion requires time and energy. Throughout the near term,
a cost-effective approach is incorporation of information – in the context of improved signs,
easier-to-use transportation directions, both in written form and across the Internet.

There seems to be confusion as to how much public transit systems can be strengthened to be
successful in growing car usage. The investment needed to affect major modal changes may be
very large. In addition to strong public transit facilities, Singapore still depends on high vehicle
ownership and cost of usage. Implementation of additional steps, such as further bus and rail
lanes and maybe even congestion pricing.

Extra bus services can be introduced seasonally for popular routes; advertising can be targeted at
MRT stations and bus stations where tourists transit through. Unless the moving behavior of
travelers could be tracked and analyzed, these programs will be much sooner enhanced. Public
transportation data includes tourism information in the local documents. Knowing the
perceptions of tourists is of great benefit for the government and industry sectors.

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References

Dwyer, L., Forsyth, P. (1997). Measuring the benefits and yield from foreign tourism.
International Journal of Social Economics, 24(1/2/3), 223-236.

Hassan, S. S. (2000). Determinants of Market Competitiveness in an Environmentally

Sustainable Tourism Industry. Journal of Travel Research, 38(3), 239-245.

Imran, A. (2020). The Future of Transport in Singapore. Retrieved 23 May 2020, from
https://carro.sg/blog/future-transport-singapore/

Lunke, E. (2020). Commuters’ satisfaction with public transport. Journal Of Transport & Health,
16. doi: 10.1016/j.jth.2020.100842

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Neoh, N. (2019). TIC 2019: Singapore tourism readies for the future: Travel Weekly Asia.
Retrieved 22 May 2020, from https://www.travelweekly-asia.com/Travel-News/Trade-Shows-
and-Events/TIC-2019-Singapore-tourism-readies-for-the-future

Public Transport Council. (2020). Satisfaction With Public Transport Stays High In 2019
Retrieved 20 May 2020, from https://www.ptc.gov.sg/newsroom/news-releases/newsroom-
view/satisfaction-with-public-transport-stays-high-in-2019

Rahman, M., & Chin, H. (2011). Sustainable Urban Transport in Singapore: A Balanced
Scorecard. International Journal Of Sustainable Development, 2(10). Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228322299_Sustainable_Urban_Transport_in_Singapo
re_A_Balanced_Scorecard

Singapore Tourism Board (2014), Navigating The Next Phase Of Asia’s Tourism. (2014).
Retrieved 22 May 2020, from
https://www.visitsingapore.com/content/dam/MICE/Global/bulletin-board/travel-rave-reports/
Navigating-the-next-wave-of-Asias-Tourism.pdf

Sustainable Transport in Singapore – Pollution at the Crossroads. (2020). Retrieved 22 May

2020, from http://blog.nus.edu.sg/transportpollution/2016/10/08/equitable-access-to-sustainable-
transport-facilities-in-singapore/

Zhu, M. (2018). Singapore's public transport system among best in the world: McKinsey report.
Retrieved 23 May 2020, from https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-
public-transport-system-among-best-in-the-world-10637978

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Appendixes

1. Singapore MRT/LRT map

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2. Mean Rail service level rate

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 3. Mean score on MRT satisfaction

4. Mean score of satisfaction for bus sector

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