SINGAPORE:

TACKLING FUTURE MOBILITY

DEMAND

WAQAS CHEEMA

LKY CENTRE FOR INNOVATIVE CITIES

SINGAPORE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND DESIGN

The Journey

• For the first 30 years, road and public transport systems

managed separately

• In 1995, Land Transport Authority as one major

governing body

The White Paper (1996) identified 4 key strategies:

1. Integrating transport and land use planning

2. Expanding the road network and maximizing its capacity

3. Managing demand for road usage

4. Providing quality public transport choices

‘..convinced that Singapore is well

placed to create a world class system’(Hasegawa et al, 1997) –

Independent International Audit Panel

Road Development

• Over last 19 years, road network has been expanded by

about 16%

0 5 10 15 20

Singapore

Hong Kong

London

New York

Tokyo

Road density (km/sq. km)

Road Development

• 1995 to 2010, rate of total vehicle population growth outstripped

growth of road development

Vehicle growth - 3% p.a. Road growth - 1% p.a.

Vehicles to Road length ratio

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014

Veh

icle

s/k

m (

#)

Year

Cars/km

Vehicles/km

Road Management

Maximize Capacity Regulate Vehicle Use

Intelligent Transport Systems

i-transport

EMAS

GLIDE

J-Eyes

TrafficScan

MyTransport.sg

i-Transport System

• Integrated and unified platform that centralizes the

management of all Intelligent Transport Systems

• 24/7 ITS operating centre

• Includes:

- Traffic signal control

- Traffic monitoring

- Incident management

- Provision of real-time traffic advisory information

Expressway Monitoring and Advisory System

(EMAS)

• Intelligent incident management tool that manages traffic

along Expressways

• Detects accidents, vehicle breakdowns and other

incidents promptly, ensuring fast response to restore

normal traffic flow

- Recovery crew arrives within 15 minutes

• Provides real-time information of travelling time from the

entry point of Expressway to selected exits

Green Link Determining (GLIDE) System

• Controls all traffic signals in Singapore

• Wire sensors beneath the road surface of junctions to

sense the presence of vehicles

• Adjust ‘green time’ in response to changing traffic flow

• Also, links adjacent traffic signals to allow vehicles to

travel from one junction to another with minimal stops

Traffic Scan system & Junction-eyes (J-Eyes)

• TrafficScan - provides updated travel information on

roads to motorists

- Taxis equipped with GPS give information on their locations and speeds as

they ply along roads

• J-Eyes - system of surveillance cameras at strategic

signalized junctions for traffic conditions monitoring

purposes

MyTransport.sg

• App empowering commuters, motorists and cyclists to make informed decisions and better plan their journeys

• Features include:

- Public transport journey planner

- Search nearby bus stops and arrival times

- Search nearby taxi stands and book taxis

- Report road defects via crowdsourcing

- Get real-time parking lots availability

- Traffic news

- Explore cycling towns, routes, and parking facilities

Regulate Vehicle Use

1. Congestion pricing

• In 1999, Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system to

charge vehicles

in central zone

Regulate Vehicle Use

2. Demand management

• Previously, mechanisms such as import fee worth 130%,

and an excise tax of 20%

• In 1990, Government cut the growth of car population

from 6% to 3% a year. And further to 1.5% in 2009, 1% in

2012, and 0.5% 2013 onwards

Vehicle Quota System - prospective car owners to bid for

Certificate of Entitlement (COE)

Number of Cars / 100 persons

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Singapore

Hong Kong

London

New York

Tokyo

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014

Av

g.

Sp

eed

(km

/h)

Year

Expressway (km/h)

CBD (km/h)

Average Speed of vehicles on roads

Taxi network

• 18000 taxis carrying around 1 million passengers a day

• Liberalized market with few operators

• Quality of Service Standards by the government

• Highest number of taxis per million population among

Hong Kong, London, and New York

At one of the lowest fares

Bus Network

• By 1990s, two multi-modal Public Transport Operators –

ComfortDelgro, the parent of SBS Transit, and SMRT

Corporation

• In 2008, Land Transport Authority (LTA) took the role of

centralised bus planner

• Today, buses dominant public transport mode –

over 3.6 million journeys per day

290

295

300

305

310

315

320

325

330

335

2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014

Peo

ple

/bu

s (

#)

Year

Population – Buses Ratio

One of the highest in comparison

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200

Singapore

Hong Kong

London

New York

Tokyo

Bus fleet / million persons

At one of the lowest fares

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

1.4

1.6

1.8

Singapore Hong Kong London New York Tokyo

Avg. Bus fare ($/pax-trip)

Rail Network

• Realized in 1972 that buses alone would not be able to

cater for all Singapore’s public transport demand

• Construction began in 1982

• First line opened in 1987

• Today, 153km of MRT line (tube) and over 2.6 million

passengers a day

Strategy – Connect Regional, Sub-Regional, and Central Area

Population – Rail length Ratio

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015

Rail

de

ns

ity (

km

/mil

lio

n p

eo

ple

)

Year

Rail density (km/million people)

In comparison to other metropolitans

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Singapore

Hong Kong

London

New York

Tokyo

Rail Length (km) / million persons

At one of the lowest fares

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

Singapore Hong Kong London New York Tokyo

Avg. MRT fare ($/pax-trip)

Recent years & Future

• GDP 28% higher in 2012 as compared to 2008

• Expected to grow 3-4% every year over the next 10-15

years

• Population grew from 4.8 million in 2008 to 5.3 million

in 2012

• More than 12.5 million journeys today. Expected to reach

to 14.3 million by 2020

Changing dynamics

Areas of focus

1. More Connections

- 8 in 10 homes to be within 10-min walk to MRT

- Integrated Hubs to make transfers easily

- Majorly Public Transport dependent

2. Better Service

- Ramp up capacity to reduce over crowding

- Improve reliability and provide information on arrival and journey times

3. Liveable and Inclusive Community

- Make public transport system barrier free

- Promote lower emissions and green vehicles

Road Development

• Already 12% for road as compared to 14% for housing

• Slower growth of road development in future as limited capacity -

prioritization of new roads for bus lanes

• Innovative methods – Reversible flow on expressway

Dip because of faster growth in private transport as compared to public transport

50%

55%

60%

65%

70%

75%

80%

Public Transport Share

1997 2004 2008 2013 2030

Bus Network

• Bus Service Enhancement Program (BSEP) in 2012

- Increase fleet by 20% (800 new buses) over 5 years

- Government to fund 550 of them, rest by operators

- Decrease waiting time - 4 in 5 bus services run every 10 minutes or less during

weekday peak hours, improvement from every 15 minutes in 2008

• Other advancements:

- Bus priority schemes: Mandatory Give-Way on more than 350 bus stops

- Bus-triggered signal priority system in test-bedding

- Premium Bus Service scheme - commuters willing to pay higher fare for better service

- Fast Forward Bus service - fewer stops between long distances

Rail Network

• Between now and 2021, a new train line or extension to open every

year – even more between 2020 and 2030

• Double rail network from 138km to approximately 280km by around

2020

• More trains to existing lines to increase capacity by 110%

• Upgrade signaling system by 2018 on two major existing lines –

20% increase in capacity

Trains will run at 100-second intervals down from 120 seconds today -

6 trains every 10 min instead of current 5

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Singapore 2030

Singapore

Hong Kong

London

New York

Tokyo

Rail Length (km) / million persons

MRT system by 2030

Taxi Network

• Taxi standards revised in 2013

- 80-85% of the taxis to be on the road at peak periods by 2015, as

compared to 65-70% today

- 85% of the taxis to achieve daily minimum mileage of 250km as

compared to 70% today

• Innovative private Taxi Apps – Uber, GrabTaxi,

EasyTaxi, allowed in the market

Cycling

• Recent shift towards cycling

• As of 2012, 6.4km of cycling path in 5 out of 26 residential districts

• By 2015, 100km of cycling path

• By 2020, 190km in all of 26 districts

• Paths will lead to neighboring areas around districts e.g. schools, MRTs, and shopping center

• Long term vision - Island-wide cycling path of 700km

• Test-bedding bicycle sharing scheme in one district in 2015

EZ-link card

• One card for all public transport modes

• Since 2010, fare calculated based on total distance,

irrespective of number or modes of transfers

• Extension of services to other lifestyle elements such as

shopping payments

Decentralization of Commercial Centers

• Decentralize commercial and other economic activities

through the development of regional, sub-regional and

fringe centres at MRT stations

• Reduce the needs to travel by locating employment

centres near to residential areas

• These ‘Integrated Hubs’ becoming fun and convenient

lifestyle places for commuters to embark on their journey,

or meet, live, work and play

ITS Vision for 2030

“Moving towards a more connected and

interactive land transport community”

Smart Urban Mobility of the Future where people and the

transportation system are seamlessly connected,

interacting through innovative, state-of-the-art

ITS technologies

Vision 2030

Real-time Information

Smart Agent

Interactivity

Shared Vehicles

Satellite tracking

Autonomous Vehicles

Green Vehicles

Real-time information of everything

• Includes:

- Travel times

- Crowdedness in buses / trains

- Arrival times of buses, trains, and taxis

- Queue lengths at junctions and stations

- Parking availability

• Achieved by embedded sensors, satellite trackers, HD

cameras, and crowd sourcing

Smart Agent

• A mobile App or a device able to:

- Interact with various modes of transport for locating shared

vehicles, booking taxis, etc

- Provide smarter information of journey planning with combination of

choices

- Take care of logistics e.g. making payments

Interactivity V2V

• Communication between nearby vehicles wirelessly,

sharing useful information on surroundings

Interactivity V2I

• Communication with infrastructure on signals, traffic

availability, and road conditions

Shared Vehicles

• Intelligent vehicle-sharing system - users to locate

vehicle on their smart devices and drive to destination

without having to return it to its original location

• Vehicle will subsequently be picked up by another user

from the previous location

Shared Vehicles

• Ride-sharing to provide smarter way of car pooling and

maximizing capacity

• Such smart on-demand vehicle sharing mobility solution

can reduce vehicle ownership and congestion drastically

Satellite-based tracking & ERP

• GNSS technology to provide next generation Electronic

Road Pricing (ERP)

- overcomes the constraints of physical gantries

- allows more flexible distance-based congestion charging

Autonomous Vehicles

• Autonomous driving signifies a paradigm shift

• Driverless buses to provide greater connectivity for the

first and last mile travel, mitigate driver shortages and

improve productivity

Autonomous Vehicles

• Driverless cars to maintain a safe distance from other

vehicles and comply with speed limits automatically,

hence eliminating human errors

• Driverless vehicles can move in platoon formation in

compact and systematic manner to optimise road capacity

Green Vehicles

• 20% of the total carbon emission & 75% of air pollution

attributed to motorised traffic

• Electric powered vehicles and diesel-hybrid systems

more energy efficient and less harmful to the environment

Metric for

Ideal Future City

Objective is to highlight areas each city should focus on

developing in order to reach the vision by 2030

Integrated System

• seamless integration of multi-modal transportation services; taxis, AVs, shared vehicles, buses and trains

• 100% penetration of smart card

Mass Public Transport

• Modal split of at least 75%

• Coverage to every residential and commercial district

• No over-crowding (high frequency) and reliable information on arrival and journey timings

• Less fare in comparison to the same journey by private transport

Interactivity

• No boards, traffic signs, and other physical hardware to communicate with drivers. Instead in-vehicle communication

• Both V2I and V2V communication

Telepresence

• Employees can work from mobile locations, children can attend real-time classroom sessions, and any person can virtually walk through lanes of shopping mall

• Holographic rather than online

Smart Agent

• Able to interact and integrate with all the transportation modes

• Provide intelligent information and assistance

Shared Vehicles

• At least 50% of the total non-mass public transport journeys via shared vehicles

Autonomous Vehicles

• At least 50% on road vehicles to be Autonomous

Bicycles

• At least 10% share in the modal split

Mass public transport

Shared vehicles

Intergrated system

Bicycles

Smart Agent

Autonomous vehicles

Telepresence

Interactivity

Metric for Future City

Mass public transport

Shared vehicles

Intergrated system

Bicycles

Smart Agent

Autonomous vehicles

Telepresence

Interactivity

Metric for 'City X’

WAQAS CHEEMA

LKY CENTRE FOR INNOVATIVE CITIES

SINGAPORE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND DESIGN

waqas_cheema@sutd.edu.sg