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Public Transport Policy in Singapore
Paul BarterDirector, Reinventing Transport
and Adjunct Professor, LKY School of Public Policy, National University of [email protected]
www.reinventingparking.org www.reinventingtransport.org
Summary
Transit-oriented planning
Constraint of cars
Bus improvements history
Urban rail
Public transport integration efforts
Paul Barter, Reinventing Transport
POLICY CONTEXT: TRANSIT-ORIENTED PLANNING
3Paul Barter, Reinventing Transport
Forty years of transit-oriented strategic planning
Paul Barter, Reinventing Transport
The transit-oriented plan predated mass transit
A 1969-71 planning process resulted in the highly transit-oriented 1971 Concept Plan
Dense New Towns along major corridors and a strong city centre
But final decision on MRT only in the early 1980s after a debate
Arguably, MRT became essential because of the Concept Plan
Paul Barter, Reinventing Transport
1991
2001
1971
POLICY CONTEXT: TDM AND CONSTRAINT OF CARS
6Paul Barter, Reinventing Transport
Singapore has had a tough TDM ‘bargain’ that faced up to the spatial constraints
• to keep the arteries moving for commerce
• cars remain out of reach of ~60% of households
Since 1974, strict policies to slow car ownership
and traffic growth
• speed and convenience for motorists• improving public transport
In return for this ‘sacrifice’ (either
expensive car or no car)
Paul Barter, Reinventing Transport
Usage-based tools played a
role: But ownership restraint has been more significant
Vehicle Quota System (VQS)
Parking unbundled in HDB
ARF, excise duty and road tax
Fuel tax
Parking restraint (for a time)
ALS then ERP
Archives and Oral History Department Singapore
ALS = Area Licence Scheme (manual cordon pricing system)
ERP = Electronic Road Pricing (congestion charging with variable prices)
ARF = additional Registration Fee (currently 100% of cost of car)
HDB = public housing
Paul Barter, Reinventing Transport
Strict constraint of car ownership and pricing of usage predate mass transit by 12 years
Late 1960s: congestion; unreliable buses; pirate taxis; rapidly rising car ownership
1972: vehicle purchase & ownership taxes raisedmotorisation drastically slowed
major bus improvements (govt. intervention)
1974: Manual cordon pricing + bus lane network debate over MRT versus bus
1980s: Further tax hikes; Expressway network very small until mid
1980s Very high bus ridership; MRT opens 1987
Paul Barter, Reinventing Transport
Slowed traffic growth had many benefits
Revenue
Road space to allocate to alternatives
Time to gradually improve infrastructure without traffic crisis
Less urgency on road capacity (just one short section of expressway in Singapore until 1980s)
Retain and grow the market for buses and metro
Political power of motorists limited and delayed
Paul Barter, Reinventing Transport
But troubling side-effects of car constraint too
Sunk cost effect for motorists
Some tendency to take public transport customers for granted
Paul Barter, Reinventing Transport
BUS IMPROVEMENTS 1970S - 1990S
12Paul Barter, Reinventing Transport
Bus Regulation in SingaporeSingapore’s bus system has always been privately owned and has been shifting slowly (step-by-step) to the left on this diagram
Bus regulatory options (diagram by Paul Barter)
Public monopolies
Proactive planning
with service contracts
Well-regulated
Franchises
Passive franchises
Deregulation
Government takes much responsibility
for outcomes
Compatible with ambitious integration
Government takes little
responsibility for outcomes
Incompatible with integration
Competition for the market possibleCompetition in
the marketPaul Barter, Reinventing Transport
Singapore’s buses pre 1935
Singapore Traction Company (STC) – private but initially with monopoly in urban core (trams until 1926 then trolley buses and diesel buses until bankruptcy in 1971)
‘Mosquito buses’ (1910 or so to 1935) - 7-passenger vehicles
- little or no regulation until mergers in 1935 into 10 ‘Chinese’ bus companies
- initially served rural areas beyond STC domain
Paul Barter, Reinventing Transport
Source: Archives and Oral History Department Singapore
Singapore’s buses 1935 - 1973
Ten ‘Chinese’ companies (1935-1970) – route monopolies with fare regulation but weak and little-enforced service obligations (“passive franchises”)
Pirate taxis (especially in 1960s and 70s) - illegal, unregulated; - cherry-picking opportunity due to poor bus service, which further undermined it
Three consortia (1970-1973) - merged Chinese bus companies, still under “passive franchise” arrangements (and STC went bust)
Paul Barter, Reinventing Transport
A Changi Bus Company Limited bus. Image credit: Yeo Hong Eng (via http://wwwyeohongeng.blogspot.sg/2012/11/buses-of-singapore-in-50s-60s-and-70s.html)
Singapore’s buses 1973 - 2008
1973 - : SBS regulated bus monopoly
1982 - : SBS and TIBS (now SMRT) – monopolies serving distinct regions
– regulated by Government (by quasi-
independent Public Transport Council since 1987)
• Fare regulation (balanced)
• Quality of Service Standards
• PTC approved route change requests
Successful approach for almost 4 decades but now reaching its limits?
Paul Barter, Reinventing Transport
On-road priority efforts
Kerb-side bus lanes since 1974
All-day bus lanes (7.30am-8pm) since 2005
Now 23km of full-day bus lanes and 155km of normal bus lanes
Since 2008: Give way to buses exiting bus bays (extending gradually to more and more bus bays)
Singapore has both all-day (as here) and peak-only bus lanes
Paul Barter, Reinventing Transport
Image credit: Flickr user Merlijn Hoek
Image credit: http://www.oneshift.com/articles/news.php?artid=4839Paul Barter, Reinventing Transport
URBAN RAIL: MRT SINCE 1987
18Paul Barter, Reinventing Transport
Image source: Wikimedia Commons user Vsion
Singapore urban railThe initial MRT system opened in 1987. This is the 1989-1996 system.
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons user Calvin Teo
Paul Barter, Reinventing Transport
Singapore urban railMRT system (and “LRT”) today and near future
Originally from http://www.lta.gov.sg/projects/proj_maps_rail_l.htmPaul Barter, Reinventing Transport
Singapore’s funding of public transport
(oversimplifying a little)
MRT investment from taxation general revenue (but large % of land is state-owned so significant land value increment captured presumably)
MRT operations from fares (This is also a criterion for construction decisions. But there has been a recent shift: now achieving operating cost-recovery for the whole network is the test.)
Bus investment AND operations from fares (so arguably bus system is underfunded relative to rail. However, recent overcrowding in both rail and bus has prompted a “one off” injection of S$1.1billion)
Paul Barter, Reinventing Transport
Urban Rail proposed for 2030
Paul Barter, Reinventing Transport
PUBLIC TRANSPORT INTEGRATION EFFORTS AND REGULATORY DILEMMAS
23Paul Barter, Reinventing Transport
‘Connective’ versus ‘Direct’ Public Transport Networks
• More frequent with SAME resources (in this example, 3 high-frequency lines versus 9 low-frequency lines)
• Connections are a feature not a bug
• Lower total travel time, despite connections!
• Simpler network: easily understood and remembered
The Connective
Network achieves
Based on a diagram in the excellent book, “Human Transit” by Jarrett WalkerPaul Barter, Reinventing Transport
Strong Integration Efforts
Bus interchanges co-located with MRT stations (gradually improved)
Ticketing (stored value) and information integration (from 1989 via TransitLink joint venture)
Transfer rebate (initially S$0.25 then transfer penalty eliminated in 2010)
Covered walkways from bus stops to MRT stations and such like
Paul Barter, Reinventing Transport
Tampines: a significant walk between bus interchange and MRT
Woodlands: bus interchange directly below MRT station (Image credit: Flickr user xcode)
Remaining integration shortcomings
Operators’ reluctant to offer information on rival’s services (now partially rectified by LTA)
TransitLink progress stalled
No system-wide season passes until recently (and still limited)
Long bus headways and poor bus-stop locations make bus-bus transfers unattractive
Lack of readable bus maps
Paul Barter, Reinventing Transport
Singapore’s bus network is complex Difficult to convey connections on a map
But difficult to improve further
with this regulatory approach
Simpler, connective
network
Bus headways need to be
shorter
Waiting time is huge
influence on passenger trip speed
Connective network
forces more transfers
Short headways
make transfers less
painful
Simpler network enables shorter
headways!
Paul Barter, Reinventing Transport
Singapore’s buses since 2008 and looking ahead
2007 review was critical of half-hearted integration
Elimination of transfer penalty
LTA took over bus line planning
Towards competitive tendering?
Moving to the left on the diagram above (in order to more easily enable ambitious integration and a connective network approach)
… but how far will Singapore go and how fast?Paul Barter, Reinventing Transport
?
Connective networks for buses too?
“Competently designed transit networks often consist of trunk lines with frequent service and separate feeders, even when both sections are served by buses…”
Vukan Vuchic, Transportation for Livable Cities, 1999, p. 210
Paul Barter, Reinventing Transport
A major intersection in Hamburg’s suburbs
(Kollau Strasse and Vogt Wells Strasse)
Bus stops close to intersection
Easy to make bus-bus connections here
30
Bus stop 1 Bus stop 2
Bus stop 3
Bus stop 4
Bus stop 3Bus stop 1Bus stop 2
Paul Barter, Reinventing Transport
Singapore bus stops far from intersectionsWithout bus stops close to corners it is difficult to create a grid of bus lines
31Paul Barter, Reinventing Transport
Towards a London/Scandinavian/Seoulmodel for Singapore?
This is my preferred option but time will tell
Government agency plans bus lines and schedules
High level of ‘system unity’ (connective network aim)
Government takes revenue risk (gross-cost contracts with performance incentives)
London. Photo by David Hawgood and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons LicencePaul Barter, Reinventing Transport
Why is public transport regulatory
reform important for
Singapore?
I advocate a shift to a London/Scandinavian
model
In Singapore
case, NOT
about getting
small gains in
efficiency
To allow more ambitious
connective networks
Paul Barter, Reinventing Transport
Overview of Singapore public transport improvements
1970s and since
• Transit-oriented Concept Plan 1971• Bus consolidation (SBS) 1973• Professional management for SBS 1973• Bus lane network 1974
1980s and since
• MRT opens 1987 then expands• Efficient bus franchise system is consolidated (two operators for benchmarking)
1990s and since
• Strong integration efforts circa 1995 (eg common ticketing)• Bus service standards raised• North East Line MRT
2000s and since
• New bus priority initiatives• Circle line and further rapid MRT expansion underway• Distance fares (eliminating transfer penalty)• Land Transport Authority (LTA) takes over bus line planning from operators
Paul Barter, Reinventing Transport