Transport In Singapore Research Articles

ARTICLE A Review and Case Analysis of the Impact of Weather Factors on Public Transportation in Singapore

As one of the most popular modes of public transportation around the world, taxi services often see their effectiveness impeded by weather elements such as rainfall, which makes it difficult for people to get a taxi. Existing literature has examined the relationship between taxi demand and rainfall, revealing a lack of understanding of the connection between rainfall and taxi supply. Moreover, Singapore remains underrepresented in studies on this relationship. This study contributes to the literature by providing nuance to the commonly held belief that rain value is negatively correlated with lower taxi availability. Further research may consider exploring the alternative causes of decreased taxi availability and incorporating private ride-hailing services in their investigations.

Understanding the mobility patterns of Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) passengers amid COVID‐19 in Singapore using smart card data

The Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) is one of the major modes of public transportation in Singapore. Understanding the mobility patterns of MRT passengers has implications for improving transportation efficiency. As a city‐state with a high population density, Singapore provides a representation of balanced urban dynamics that informs smart urban planning. In this paper, we investigated and visualized (using both static maps and dynamic web map applications) the spatiotemporal characteristics of Singapore's MRT commuting patterns before the COVID‐19 pandemic (January 2020) and during the first outbreak (May 2020) and the Omicron wave of the pandemic (February 2022), using MRT smart card data. We also investigated the relationship between the passenger flows of individual MRT stations and the nearby land use types. Our results showed that the spatial patterns of Singapore's MRT commuters match the polycentric urban structure. In addition to central areas, several regional centres were identified as passenger hotspots in multiple time periods. Furthermore, during the outbreak of the pandemic, especially in the period of the ‘circuit breaker’, there was a major decline in MRT passenger flows and a decrease in average MRT commuting distances during weekend/holiday peak hours. Lastly, correlations between passenger flows of MRT stations and the proportion of nearby land use types have been identified.

Exploring the Potential Impact of Crowdshipping Using Public Transport in Singapore

Because of increased urbanization and a rise in e-commerce activities, the demand for freight transport in cities is growing. E-retailers and logistics companies face the challenge of making timely, cost-effective, and reliable deliveries. To address this problem, the concept of crowdshipping has gained interest. Crowdshipping enlists members of the public to pick up and drop off parcels, ideally en route to their pre-committed destination. Individuals, such as commuters using public transport, can be engaged to fulfill deliveries as “crowdshippers.” This research explores the potential impact of crowdshipping using public transport in a congested city, focusing on Singapore as a case study. First, an online survey was conducted to investigate the willingness of transit passengers to act as crowdshippers. Then, a parcel allocation model was developed to match parcels with public bus journeys. In the case of there not being enough crowdshippers available, the remaining parcels will be delivered using the carrier’s delivery vans, which are subject to a vehicle routing problem. Using real-world data, we compared the performance of an e-commerce carrier with and without crowdshipping. The results show that crowdshipping can reduce vehicle kilometers traveled and associated air emissions by up to 17%. The carrier’s delivery cost can be reduced by up to 29% per parcel. These savings can be realized even if crowdshipping is limited to off-peak travel hours only. In a congested city with an extensive transit system, crowdshipping using public transport has the potential to be a sustainable means of moving goods in urban areas.

MARINE TRANSPORTATION ACROSS INDONESIA AND SINGAPORE IN TRANSNATIONAL CHINA BATAM TRANSPORTASI LAUT INDONESIA- SINGAPURA DALAM JARINGAN TRANSNASIONAL

Batam City, which is part of the Riau Islands province, is a connecting city between Indonesia and Singapore. Batam City is located in a very strategic location in the border region between countries, neighboring one of the world's business centers, namely Singapore. For this reason, marine transportation has a very important role in maritime countries like Indonesia. The high intensity of Batam and Singapore transportation cannot be separated from the Chinese population of Batam which is a community group in the city of Batam. The existence of Batam Chinese has been going on for centuries, since they came from mainland China using boats. With tenacity, social networks and geographical proximity to Singapore, Batam Chinese people become dominant in the economy in Batam. This study seeks to show maritime aspects and shipbuilding technology and their relationship with social society through transnational concepts. With globalization, and to develop networks, people really need sea transportation to support the transnational process. For all that, maritime safety is needed which greatly affects the sustainability development efforts, especially sea transportation activities.

Facilitating independent commuting among individuals with autism – A design study in Singapore

IntroductionIn the hope of designing concepts for future transport systems, we would like to understand more about the barriers and challenges faced by individuals with autism when taking public transport in Singapore. However, the limited research studies exploring this topic were all conducted abroad with different transport systems. This paper thus investigates the barriers to public transport in Singapore's context for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). MethodsIn collaboration with a special needs school, parents of students with ASD were invited to complete the questionnaire online about their children's travel experiences. From a total of 25 parents, details of their children's frequency of travel, independent public transport experiences (if any) and challenges of independent commuting were examined. Based on the survey findings, a requirement list was compiled as a basis for creating a design concept to address public transport barriers of individuals with ASD. ResultsKey requirements summarised from the survey include quiet environments, assistance in alighting, assistance in boarding, predictable travel routines, simplified ways to ask for help, supervision or support, more visual aids, emergency buttons, learning to ask for seats and priority seating. ViCo, a Virtual Companion at bus stops and in buses and trains is proposed in the current paper to address the requirement list of individuals with ASD as highlighted in the survey findings. ConclusionThe proposed implementation of ViCo is expected to improve the commuting experience of individuals with ASD, but can be extended to serve individuals with diverse disabilities as well as people without disabilities.

Spatial super-spreaders and super-susceptibles in human movement networks

As lockdowns and stay-at-home orders start to be lifted across the globe, governments are struggling to establish effective and practical guidelines to reopen their economies. In dense urban environments with people returning to work and public transportation resuming full capacity, enforcing strict social distancing measures will be extremely challenging, if not practically impossible. Governments are thus paying close attention to particular locations that may become the next cluster of disease spreading. Indeed, certain places, like some people, can be “super-spreaders”. Is a bustling train station in a central business district more or less susceptible and vulnerable as compared to teeming bus interchanges in the suburbs? Here, we propose a quantitative and systematic framework to identify spatial super-spreaders and the novel concept of super-susceptibles, i.e. respectively, places most likely to contribute to disease spread or to people contracting it. Our proposed data-analytic framework is based on the daily-aggregated ridership data of public transport in Singapore. By constructing the directed and weighted human movement networks and integrating human flow intensity with two neighborhood diversity metrics, we are able to pinpoint super-spreader and super-susceptible locations. Our results reveal that most super-spreaders are also super-susceptibles and that counterintuitively, busy peripheral bus interchanges are riskier places than crowded central train stations. Our analysis is based on data from Singapore, but can be readily adapted and extended for any other major urban center. It therefore serves as a useful framework for devising targeted and cost-effective preventive measures for urban planning and epidemiological preparedness.

Assessing the impacts of automated mobility-on-demand through agent-based simulation: A study of Singapore

• Assessed impacts of AMOD through high-fidelty activity and agent-based simulation. • Captured future demand using ABM that draws on data from smartphone-based SP survey. • Modeled operations of AMOD fleet within multimodal mesoscopic traffic simulator. • Simulated and evaluated future scenarios using a model of Singapore 2030. • Introduction of AMOD may result the cannibalization of PT and increase congestion. The advent of autonomous vehicle technologies and the emergence of new ride-sourcing business models has spurred interest in Automated Mobility-on-Demand (AMOD) as a prospective solution to meet the challenges of urbanization. AMOD has the potential of providing a convenient, reliable and affordable mobility service through more competitive cost structures enabled by autonomy (relative to existing services) and more efficient centralized fleet operations. However, the short and medium-term impacts of AMOD are as yet uncertain. On the one hand, it has the potential to alleviate congestion through increased ride-sharing and reduced car-ownership, and by complementing mass-transit. Conversely, AMOD may in fact worsen congestion due to induced demand, the cannibalization of public transit shares, and an increase in Vehicle-Kilometers Traveled (VKT) because of rebalancing and empty trips. This study attempts to systematically examine the impacts of AMOD on transportation in Singapore through agent-based simulation, modeling demand, supply and their interactions explicitly. On the demand side, we utilize an activity-based model system, that draws on data from a smartphone-based stated preferences survey conducted in Singapore. On the supply side, we model the operations of the AMOD fleet (including the assignment of requests to vehicles and rebalancing), which are integrated within a multimodal mesoscopic traffic simulator. Comprehensive simulations are conducted using a model of Singapore for the year 2030 and yield insights into the impacts of AMOD in dense transit-dependent cities from the perspective of the transportation planner, fleet operator, and user. The findings suggest that an unregulated introduction of AMOD can cause significant increases in network congestion and VKT, and have important policy implications that could potentially inform future deployments of AMOD.

Understanding Autonomous Road Public Transport Acceptance: A Study of Singapore

This study examines the perceptions of concerns and benefits surrounding autonomous road vehicles deployed for public transport, their relationships with public acceptance, and what the public prefers during its implementation. Surveying 210 participants in Singapore, we found a general acceptance of the deployment of autonomous road public transport in Singapore with agreement that introducing them would be beneficial, particularly in improving public transport reliability and accessibility. However, they reported concerns in the areas of technical-related issues and legal liability. Participants who perceived greater benefits were also likely to report greater acceptance, even after taking into account their concerns and sociodemographic backgrounds. Participants also reported preferences for human operators to continue playing an active role, the government to test the autonomous vehicles extensively before making them available for public use and greater clarity on the legal liability when accidents involving autonomous vehicles occur when autonomous road public transport is eventually implemented.

ICT-based border detection between Indonesia and Singapore

The high intensity of Batam and Singapore transportation cannot be separated from the Chinese population of Batam which is a community group in the city of Batam. The existence of Batam Chinese has been going on for centuries, since they came from mainland China using boats. With tenacity, social networks and geographical proximity to Singapore, Batam Chinese people become dominant in the economy in Batam. This study seeks to show maritime aspects and shipbuilding technology and their relationship with social society through transnational concepts. With globalization, and to develop networks, people really need sea transportation to support the transnational process.

Re-imagining urban movement: at the intersection of a nature reserve, underground railway and eco-bridge


 In 2013, the Singapore government announced a plan to build the Cross Island Line (CRL), the country’s eighth Mass Rapid Transit train line. Since its release, the proposal has caused ongoing heated debate as it involves going underneath Singapore’s largest remaining reserve: the Central Catchment Nature Reserve. Following extended discussions with environmental groups, the transport authority later stated that they would now consider two route options: a direct alignment running underneath the Central Reserve, and an alternative route that skirts the reserve boundary. The authority warned that the skirting option could increase the construction cost significantly and cost commuters an extra few minutes of travel time. Intriguingly, in contrast to the underground rail project that threatens to further fragment the Central Reserve, another, more visible, repair work is taking place at the edge of the same reserve, aiming to reconnect fragmented habitat through an eco-bridge. Through these two seemingly contrasting yet intimately related case studies in a highly developed city-state, this article explores the complexity and ambivalence of urban movement and its entanglement with development, techonology and urban natures. How are the discourses of urban mobility directed by the desire for ‘velocity’, the politics of invisibility, and a fixation on certainty? What might it mean to reconfigure contemporary practices and ethics towards multispecies movements in an increasingly urbanised environment? Amid the growing expansions of infrastructure and public transportation in Singapore and around the world, often in the name of sustainability and liveability, this article unsettles some taken-for-granted, velocity-charged and human-centred approaches to urban movement and explores the serious need to craft new possibilities for a more inclusive and flourishing urban movement.

User-centred design of autonomous mobility for public transportation in Singapore

Abstract The paper presents a set of methods for user-centred design of autonomous mobility for public transportation in the context of a multi-disciplinary research programme in Singapore, called TUMCREATE. While traffic engineers plan the operation of the new mobility system, the Industrial Designers of TUMCREATE take on the role of designing the autonomous vehicles (AVs) and infrastructure for greater comfort and a positive travel experience for users. Tasks have been identified to promote user acceptance and facilitate the operation of autonomously driven vehicles for public transport. To fulfil these tasks, conventional design methods have been enhanced with Virtual Reality (VR) technology and with simulations developed by the computer scientists of TUMCREATE. Since public transportation is a complex and broad area, it cannot be investigated with a single design method. First results showed that conventional methods that consider the Universal Design principles guarantee the accessibility, usability and understandability of AVs and stations. VR has been identified as a suitable tool for Industrial Designers to evaluate communication concepts between AVs and pedestrians. This confirms that digital tools (i.e. VR) enhance conventional design methods, especially with regard to technologies that are not available on the market yet (e.g. AVs

Towards sustainable urban transport in Singapore: Policy instruments and mobility trends

In this study, we review a series of policy instruments for sustainable transport in Singapore, a city-state with significant land constraints and rapid population and economic growth. We analyze three pillars of Singapore's approach to sustainable transport: reducing car dependency, promoting public transport, and integrated land use and transport planning. We summarize three directions guiding the evolution of transport policies in Singapore: smartness, inclusiveness, and greenness. Drawing on official annual transport statistics, we evaluate the effect of transport policies on mobility patterns of Singapore residents. We find that the policy package of the government has successfully constrained car dependency, promoted public transit use, mitigated road congestion, and maintained affordable transit fares in Singapore. The research findings have significant policy implications for Singapore to meet its mobility needs in the future, and for other cities to develop their own strategies for sustainable transport, especially for high-density, rapid expanding Asian cities.

Smart card data-centric replication of the multi-modal public transport system in Singapore

This paper proposes an innovative method of replicating the multi-modal public transport system in Singapore with high precision using smart card database. It replicates the operation of public transport system with known exogenous passenger demand and provides many operational details, including passenger inter-modal trip chains, operational timetable, and detailed transfer behaviour. The paper elaborates on the methodology of the replication including data cleaning, filtering, processing and converting the collected data to meaningful information such as bus journey trajectories and metro system timetable. Thereafter, actualised passenger trip chains are directly assigned to the replicated public transport supply. The resulting replication covers almost 96% of trips made in public transport in Singapore. It provides solid quantitative information on several aspects to support decision making, including precise temporal and spatial travel demand analysis, transfer pattern analysis, traffic condition investigation and bus utilisation analysis.

Sources, Drivers and Barriers of Innovation in Singapore's Electronic Road Pricing

Innovation in land transport management has revolutionised public and private transport in Singapore. The Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) is a good case study for this. Using Albury’s framework of public sector innovation, this paper investigates the sources, drivers, barriers and risks of the ERP system in Singapore. Innovation, as studied by different scholars, is atypical in public sector and as such the lessons that can be learned from the ERP case study has an important added value to existing literature. The findings also reveal that sources of innovation can be classified to social, economic and technological factors which depends heavily on the societal context. Barriers and risks to successful innovative public policy, on the other hand, can also have both intended and unintended consequences. Supported by the literature review and stakeholder interviews, this paper concludes that ERP aside from its effectiveness of this to curb traffic congestion, it can also be considered as an innovation in the public sector that has successfully diffused within and outside Singapore.

Cover Feature: Electrification of Road Transport in Singapore and its Integration into the Power System (Energy Technol. 1/2018)

Cover Feature: Electrification of Road Transport in Singapore and its Integration into the Power System (Energy Technol. 1/2018)

Electrification of Road Transport in Singapore and its Integration into the Power System

AbstractBeing a small well‐organized city state, Singapore appears to be an ideal place to establish a fully electric road transport system. To analyze the challenges and potential of electric mobility (or “electromobility”), TUMCREATE Ltd., a company funded by Singapore's National Research Foundation, was launched in 2011 as “Centre for Electromobility in Megacities”. During the first five years, the research at TUMCREATE covered everything “from the molecule to the megacity”, that is, from fundamental research on new materials for energy storage systems to battery cells, battery packs, vehicle technology, in‐vehicle electronics to road infrastructure and the power system. One outcome was a prototype for an electric taxi for tropical megacities called EVA with a battery capacity of 50 kWh and fast charging capability of 160 kW. This paper presents a review of past and ongoing activities in the field of integration of electromobility into Singapore's power system. The focus of this publication lies on charging of electric vehicles (EVs). Results show that the integration of EVs into the power system is feasible, leads to lower emissions, and can even offer new services and support integration of renewable energies.

The effect of continuous improvement capacity on the relationship between of corporate social performance and business performance in maritime transport in Singapore

Drawing on organisational learning theory, this study argues that shipping firms with high continuous improvement capacities have better success in transforming corporate social performance (CSP) into business performance. Survey data were collected from 223 shipping firms in Singapore and analysed using multi-sampling analysis, hierarchical regression modelling, and simple slope analysis. The results support the study’s argument and show that business performance is maximised when continuous improvement programmes targeted at CSP are carried out at a gradual pace and at regular intervals. This implies that shipping firms should adopt a dynamic, value-driven approach to improving CSP.

Welfare Perceptions of Public Expenditure on Environmental and Non-Environmental Goods

Increasing research shows that income growth has a less than substantial impact on people’s well-being. In contrast, environmental factors are found to have non-negligible impact on people’s well-being. The research raises the question of whether more can be done to improve the well-being of the public through government spending on the environment. We conducted pair comparison surveys using the variance stable rank method on preferences for public expenditure on education, environment and transportation in Singapore. Both aggregate preference rankings as well as rank ordered logitregression analysis on individuals’ rankings reveal that respondents perceive larger improvements in well-being from increasing public expenditure on environment goods compared to an equivalent increase in public expenditure on education goods.

Land Transport Policy and Public Transport in Singapore

Singapore has a sophisticated and efficient system of land transport to serve a growing demand for transportation. Constrained by limited space, a comprehensive set of land transport policies has been in place to balance the growth in transport demand and the effectiveness and efficiency of the land transport system. A multi-pronged approach has been used to achieve the objective of a world-class transportation system. These include integration of urban and transport planning, expansion of the road network and improvement of the transport infrastructure, harnessing the latest technology in network and traffic management, managing vehicle ownership and usage, and improvement and regulations of public transport (Ministry of Transport (MOT) (2003) Policy and Regulations, Land Transport, Available: www.mot.gov.sg, Date of Access: 15 September 2003). Singapore was the first country in the world to introduce various new techniques, notably the Area License Scheme (ALS) in 1975 and the Vehicle Quota System (VQS) in 1990. An Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system replaced the ALS in 1998 to take the role of congestion management, the experience of which has also drawn particular attention from many large cities in the world. In 2003, the world’s first and only fully automatic heavy rail Mass Rapid Transit system was opened to the public, marking a new chapter in Singapore’s innovative approach to solving its land transport problem. This paper reviews the land transport policy implemented in Singapore and pays special emphasis to its public transportation systems.

Sustainable urban transportation: abatement and control of traffic congestion and vehicular emissions from land transportation in Singapore

This paper uses Singapore as a case study to examine different strategies to handle the negative externalities caused by land transportation. Policies that influence fuel consumption and air quality and policies targeted at the source of externalities are investigated. Singapore regulators have implemented a mixture of economic and command and control measures. The prescription in relation to the problem of scarcity has largely been solved through three means: (1) the use of pricing or user charges, which is only effective when information on demand and social costs is available; (2) the employment of command and control measures where social costs are not readily quantifiable; and (3) the introduction of bidding for permits for controlling vehicle ownership. The success of these measures is due in part to the parallel implementation of other complementary measures.