SINGAPORE: An incentive scheme to manage congestion on public transport during the morning rush hour will be expanded to more bus services and to parts of the MRT network.
The Travel Smart Journeys programme will also provide greater discounts of up to 80 per cent of the fare. This is on top of the existing 50-cent discount for MRT rides that start before 7.45am.
The expansion of the scheme was announced by Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat during an interview with the media on Tuesday (Dec 3).
The programme currently gives incentives to North-East Line (NEL) commuters who usually take the MRT but switch to taking certain buses between 7am and 9am on weekdays.
Commuters receive 150 points per ride upon reaching their destinations in Tai Seng, MacPherson, Paya Lebar, Parkway Parade, Shenton Way or Marina Boulevard.
The points can be redeemed in 500-point blocks, equivalent to S$5 (US$3.70), on the SimplyGo app.
From early January next year, more bus services will be included in the initiative.
Commuters who start their journeys from Punggol, Sengkang, Buangkok and Hougang MRT stations on the NEL or Punggol and Sengkang LRT stations can get up to 80 per cent of fare discounts if they shift their travel times to avoid the morning peak.
“We hope this can help to spread the peak load on the system,” Mr Chee told reporters. “It is a win-win outcome for everyone, so … we want to share some of the cost savings with our commuters.”
He said the Land Transport Authority will announce further details when ready.
The Travel Smart Journeys scheme is not available from Nov 25 to early January next year for a system upgrade.
Mr Chee also shared updates on Singapore’s aviation and maritime sectors.
In 2024, traffic at Changi Airport recovered, and is projected to exceed pre-COVID levels next year, he said.
The airport is connected to 165 cities as of December, with 16 of those cities added this year, including Brussels in Belgium, Iloilo in the Philippines, Guiyang in China and Vancouver in Canada.
A Changi Airport Group spokesperson said the airport handled 61.2 million passenger movements from January to November this year, up 15 per cent from a year ago.
“The steady growth throughout the year has been driven by several developments such as the visa-exemption arrangement between Singapore and China,” the spokesperson said.
Mr Chee said Changi serves around 100 airlines, 10 of which are new.
“We will continue to push for greater connectivity to Changi, including to key markets like China, India and Southeast Asia,” he said.
Minister for Transport Chee Hong Tat speaks to members of the media during a year-end press conference at the Ministry of Transport on Dec 3, 2024. (Photo: CNA/Wallace Woon)
He also said that the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) will be the regulator and overall lead agency for drones. It will look into potential use cases such as incident surveillance at sea, transporting of equipment to ships and inspection of port waters.
CAAS has done a review of altitude restrictions on drones, and decided to allow them to fly up to 400ft (122m) on both weekdays and weekends, said Mr Chee.
At the moment, operations above 200ft are only allowed on weekends. Industry players gave feedback that being allowed to fly drones above 200ft on weekdays can increase their flexibility and reduce labour costs.
In the maritime sector, Singapore’s port is on track to break several records.
Container throughput – which is the number of containers handled by a port – has grown 6.2 per cent in the first 10 months of the year compared with the same period last year.
That growth brought throughput to 34.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), the highest on record for the first 10 months of a year, said Mr Chee.
“For November and December, it looks like the momentum has remained strong, so we are on track to having a record year for our container throughput this year,” he said.
Bunker sales volumes are set to hit a new record as well, after increasing 7.5 per cent in the first 10 months of the year.
Following the launch of the Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme in July, Mr Chee said there will be more improvements and new bus services next year.
From Jan 2, LTA plans to start four new City Direct Services for residents staying in the northeast region to travel to the central business district.
“We will also introduce a new service in Woodlands to enhance connectivity to nearby transport nodes and local amenities,” he said. Bus 967 will serve residents staying along Woodlands Avenue 1 and some who stay in Marsiling and Admiralty. It will be introduced on Jan 12.
Bus 230 will be extended to Toa Payoh Lorong 7 and 8, and to Caldecott MRT station, by February next year.
“We will continue to look at what are some of the additional bus services that we can introduce to enhance bus connectivity in different towns – both new towns and existing towns,” said Mr Chee.
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The Travel Smart Journeys programme will also provide greater discounts of up to 80 per cent of the fare. This is on top of the existing 50-cent discount for MRT rides that start before 7.45am.
The expansion of the scheme was announced by Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat during an interview with the media on Tuesday (Dec 3).
The programme currently gives incentives to North-East Line (NEL) commuters who usually take the MRT but switch to taking certain buses between 7am and 9am on weekdays.
Commuters receive 150 points per ride upon reaching their destinations in Tai Seng, MacPherson, Paya Lebar, Parkway Parade, Shenton Way or Marina Boulevard.
The points can be redeemed in 500-point blocks, equivalent to S$5 (US$3.70), on the SimplyGo app.
From early January next year, more bus services will be included in the initiative.
Commuters who start their journeys from Punggol, Sengkang, Buangkok and Hougang MRT stations on the NEL or Punggol and Sengkang LRT stations can get up to 80 per cent of fare discounts if they shift their travel times to avoid the morning peak.
“We hope this can help to spread the peak load on the system,” Mr Chee told reporters. “It is a win-win outcome for everyone, so … we want to share some of the cost savings with our commuters.”
He said the Land Transport Authority will announce further details when ready.
The Travel Smart Journeys scheme is not available from Nov 25 to early January next year for a system upgrade.
RECOVERY AT CHANGI, GROWTH AT PORT
Mr Chee also shared updates on Singapore’s aviation and maritime sectors.
In 2024, traffic at Changi Airport recovered, and is projected to exceed pre-COVID levels next year, he said.
The airport is connected to 165 cities as of December, with 16 of those cities added this year, including Brussels in Belgium, Iloilo in the Philippines, Guiyang in China and Vancouver in Canada.
A Changi Airport Group spokesperson said the airport handled 61.2 million passenger movements from January to November this year, up 15 per cent from a year ago.
“The steady growth throughout the year has been driven by several developments such as the visa-exemption arrangement between Singapore and China,” the spokesperson said.
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Mr Chee said Changi serves around 100 airlines, 10 of which are new.
“We will continue to push for greater connectivity to Changi, including to key markets like China, India and Southeast Asia,” he said.
Minister for Transport Chee Hong Tat speaks to members of the media during a year-end press conference at the Ministry of Transport on Dec 3, 2024. (Photo: CNA/Wallace Woon)
He also said that the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) will be the regulator and overall lead agency for drones. It will look into potential use cases such as incident surveillance at sea, transporting of equipment to ships and inspection of port waters.
CAAS has done a review of altitude restrictions on drones, and decided to allow them to fly up to 400ft (122m) on both weekdays and weekends, said Mr Chee.
At the moment, operations above 200ft are only allowed on weekends. Industry players gave feedback that being allowed to fly drones above 200ft on weekdays can increase their flexibility and reduce labour costs.
Related:
In the maritime sector, Singapore’s port is on track to break several records.
Container throughput – which is the number of containers handled by a port – has grown 6.2 per cent in the first 10 months of the year compared with the same period last year.
That growth brought throughput to 34.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), the highest on record for the first 10 months of a year, said Mr Chee.
“For November and December, it looks like the momentum has remained strong, so we are on track to having a record year for our container throughput this year,” he said.
Bunker sales volumes are set to hit a new record as well, after increasing 7.5 per cent in the first 10 months of the year.
NEW BUS SERVICES
Following the launch of the Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme in July, Mr Chee said there will be more improvements and new bus services next year.
From Jan 2, LTA plans to start four new City Direct Services for residents staying in the northeast region to travel to the central business district.
“We will also introduce a new service in Woodlands to enhance connectivity to nearby transport nodes and local amenities,” he said. Bus 967 will serve residents staying along Woodlands Avenue 1 and some who stay in Marsiling and Admiralty. It will be introduced on Jan 12.
Bus 230 will be extended to Toa Payoh Lorong 7 and 8, and to Caldecott MRT station, by February next year.
“We will continue to look at what are some of the additional bus services that we can introduce to enhance bus connectivity in different towns – both new towns and existing towns,” said Mr Chee.
Continue reading...