Singapore haven for pedestrians

Singapore haven for pedestrians

In contrast with the gridlocks common to Jakarta, Singapore is
less congested thanks to various measures to reduce the number of
cars on the road. In this second article, The Jakarta Post's
Damar Harsanto observes how Singapore manages its transportation
system during a three-day visit to the city last week on the
invitation of the Far East Organization Singapore Pte. Ltd.

What is the difference between the word "underpass" in
Singapore and Jakarta?

Sylviana, 25, a property agent who visited Singapore recently
was quick to quip: "In Singapore, an underpass is built for
pedestrians, while in Jakarta, it's only for cars."

Beyond the joke, however, Sylviana pointed out the clear
difference between the policy taken by the Singapore government
and the Jakarta administration to handle urban transportation
problems.

Spacious sidewalks, lush city parks, clean and free public
toilets, air-conditioned underpasses equipped with elevators are
all provided for pedestrians in Singapore.

With traffic lights which feature digital countdown boards to
show how much time is left for pedestrians to cross the street or
the city maps placed nearby the Mass Rapid Transit stations or
bus shelters, pedestrians are the virtual kings of the road.

During the visit, the Post experienced traversing the bustling
Orchard Road on foot for three hours without fear of being
accidentally hit by motorcyclists or being forced to move off the
sidewalk onto the road because the sidewalk is occupied by
streets vendors.

The basic idea of an urban transportation system is the
provision of infrastructure that enables people to move from one
point to another comfortably, easily and, of course, affordably.

To make that possible, the Singapore government built a mass
rapid transit system in 1987, the second such system in the
Southeast Asian region after Manila, the Philippines.

The MRT network which forms the backbone of the railway
system, serving more than a quarter of Singapore's population of
four million with a network spanning the entire city-state has
grown rapidly ever since.

A white paper, titled: A World-Class Land Transportation
System, published by the Land Transport Authority shortly after
its formation in 1995, detailed how the authority intended to
develop a comprehensive rail network and reduce dependency on
road-based systems such as buses.

Although the daily ridership on the bus network is currently
still well above the MRT network, or 2.8 million as compared to
1.3 million per day, the gap is narrowing as the rail network
expands.

In Singapore, there are two bus operators - SBS Transit and
the SMRT Buses. SBS Transit, formerly known as Singapore Bus
Services, operates services on about 190 routes with a fleet of
about 2,500 buses. The buses serve 16 interchanges, 19 bus
terminals and more than 3,000 bus stops. SMRT Buses, formerly
known as Trans-Island Bus Services, has more than 800 buses on 65
routes mainly in the northern part of Singapore.

The construction of the public transportation network is also
supported by policies to encourage people to switch from private
cars to public transportation, like the implementation of
electronic road pricing (ERP), vehicle quota system (VQS),
certificate of entitlement (COE) and high parking fees -- S$1.50
for the first hour and S$1.10 per subsequent half hour or part
thereof.

"Only the super rich can afford to use a car," said Wawan, an
Indonesian who has been working for two years in Singapore.

Before hitting the road, car owners have to pay much more for
a car (as high as three times the cost of a car in Indonesia)
owing to the imposition of annual road taxes, which are based on
engine capacity, vehicle type and fuel type and tendering process
for vehicle ownership where the highest bidder willing to pay the
highest premium quota will get the COEs.

Jakartans have long been spoiled by policies that encourage
people to buy a car rather than taking public transportation
thanks to low vehicular taxes, no car ownership quota, low
parking fees and the mildest restrictions on car usage, the
three-in-one traffic policy.

It is almost certain that Jakarta traffic will get worse day
by day as new cars enter the limited roads, while no significant
measures to solve the existing problems are in sight.