But this only works if real-time operations data, like next train timings (and locations if better) can be provided to online services. And of course, whether LTA can build the systems - not just implement procedures - to facilitate such communications.
(5/5)
Read more in the blog:
They're also more granular on whether lines are closed for engineering work, or serious incidents requiring operations to halt or shuttle trains to run; and where this is happening, if not along the entire line.
It may not always be fully accurate, but more information is better than less.
(4/5)
Minor delays may still mean service levels are largely maintained, even if trains aren't running to schedule - which can feel like no change to the lived experience from "good service".
(3/5)
This still allows passengers to decide whether they want to take their chances or completely reroute. But when London errs on the side of service outcomes, it means different things.
(2/5)
Could this be the new normal for Singapore?
As part of efforts to deliver more "relevant" data to passengers, train operators in Singapore no longer give additional travel time estimates.
That's what I saw in London, where only similar information is shown.
(1/5)
Then more people may feel the rail network can fit their needs, instead of asking for costly express trains, or express buses further stretching limited - and now costly - bus manpower.
(5/5)
Pull factors must also exist as well.
Better management and service outcomes on the rail network is also needed, to attract riders off buses. Investments into maintenance and network renewal should lead to improved service outcomes such as more frequent and faster trains.
(4/5)
Some bus routes can charge express fares, pricing the value of a seat and more direct travel compared to local buses.
Intratown routes connecting different parts of HDB estates should also be viewed as regular bus services; instead of the first and last mile feeder services they outgrew.
(3/5)
This must be done to manage the cost of living and avoid runaway fare increases.
Those who demand more, can also pay more. It's high time for a thorough reassessment of the role of every bus route in Singapore, and its role in light of a massively expanded rail network.
(2/5)
Raising salaries to attract more locals to be bus drivers should help.
But not everyone should have to bear the cost of better buses. After all, one man's pay raise is another's increased cost of living.
Mode shift to rail for longer distance travels is now non-negotiable.
(1/5)
We can perhaps start with the Downtown Line trains. Being a medium-capacity system with a popular CBD sector, every inch of space counts.
(4/4)
Placing more hand grips further inside the train cabin. such as multipurpose space near gangways, also encourages people to move into the centre and make full use of the space in the train car.
These can allow us to get more capacity out of our trains.
(3/4)
More hand grips give more commuters a better ride experience, as they have something to hold on to, especially if we want to make our trains faster. A bare metal bar only works if you're tall enough to reach it.
(2/4)
A way to make better use of the space we have inside trains is to provide more hand grips - more than what we currently have. Yes, we already have multipurpose spaces to create more standing room, but how can we use them better?
A thread:
(1/4)
We need to build more inclusively, to let more Singaporeans play a part in rail expansion.
Recent budget surpluses put us in a position to pay for all this.
So why not do it?
More in the blog:
medium.com/from-the-red...
I welcome progress on the rail expansion plans announced last year.
But it's not enough. It doesn't address project timelines dragging on, or reliance on foreign labour.
So I think we need to go further. We must build smarter, bringing in more technology to improve built environment productivity.
However, I've almost never seen it in use, whether it may be for technical or public morality reasons. Dynamic art like this is also a maintenance cost.
Perhaps it may be worth removing this and commissioning a new art piece for the station? That could come alongside JRL related station expansion.
This is not a critique of art.
But perhaps we may need to be a bit more circumspect about how our public transit spaces intersect with public art.
This installation at Kent Ridge Station was initially meant to let people text messages to a certain number and it would be flashed up on the screen.
And far busier, too - with an average of around 800k daily passengers in 2019.
To make our rail lines faster and more attractive, the Victoria line perhaps provides a good example to follow.
Read more in the blog on what we can do in Singapore:
medium.com/from-the-red...
The Victoria line off peak service also comes every 2 minutes - better than peak hour in Singapore!
And while the Victoria line is around the same length as the NEL, it is about 10% faster, a full trip taking half an hour.
Shorter wait times and faster trains makes overall journeys quicker.
The Victoria line is an example of what Singapore's MRT should aspire to be.
While the trains have the same top speeds as in Singapore, they accelerate and brake much faster. Station stop times are also reduced thanks to the very wide doors.
4 years later, they're still not in service. And probably not for a while yet, as SMRT completes final tests on these trains. Now they're running as test train during service hours - the final step towards taking passengers.
More in the blog on why these new trains are so important:
4 years ago, the first of 23 C851E trains were delivered to Singapore.
These trains are not only for Circle Line Stage 6, but also to allow more service on the line, to run trains more frequently and relieve crowds on the northern half of the Circle.
Technological progress gives us not only new ways to do old things.
Perhaps we can bring back some old ideas, that may not have worked with the tools we had back in the day, but are worth revisiting with what we have now.
medium.com/from-the-red...
Those who demand higher levels of service such as point to point express services, should pay more. Fare policy must be used to encourage modal shift to rail, as new projects increase connectivity of the rail network.
(5/5)
Read more in the blog:
medium.com/from-the-red...
With 57% of drivers being work pass holders, more must indeed be done. What will be enough?
And who will pay for it? Someone's salary raise is another's increasing cost of living. Little has been done to cushion the significant fare increases across the board, and I think that must change.
(4/5)
Yet politicians and enthusiasts alike all lobby for more and better buses, but how many of them will actually sign up as bus drivers, now that push has come to shove? Or to attract gig economy workers, stuck in an illusion of freedom, working 16 hour days to pay off debts and operating costs?
(3/5)
Their hands are clearly forced, with new bus route after bus route in the northeast, where transport must pick up after urban planning failures, and we can't build the CRL and Seletar Line fast enough.
Our bus network today is already overstretched, according to the bus safety taskforce.
(2/5)
The bus driver shortage is now enough of a concern at the highest levels of government, with the minister himself now hinting at increasing salaries to attract more locals.
It's clear that in some cases, passion doesn't go far enough.
A thread on what's happening:
(1/5)
