Integrated public transport in Singapore and Hong Kong

Road & Transport Research, Dec 2003 by Luk, James, Olszewski, Piotr

With a single fare card, it is also easy to encourage using public transport by introducing rebates for intermodal transfer. Using the EZ card and the earlier TransitLink card, a rebate of up to S$0.25 is given to an individual passenger who transfers from an MRT station to a bus within 30 minutes. Fare integration and rebates are powerful tools to achieve a high transit modal share.

Information Integration

A service company, TransitLink, was formed in 1989 to produce a transit travel guide and coordinate transit travel information such as routes, timetables and multi-modal data at interchanges. The TransitLink Guide provides coordinated and comprehensive information on all aspects of travelling on bus, MRT and LRT in a single book. It is updated every year and remains in use today. An electronic version is also available through the Internet.

With an expanding MRT/LRT network, it becomes necessary to employ a good signage system to facilitate multi-modal travel. New colour coding for MRT/LRT lines has recently been introduced. Each MRT/LRT station employs consistent new alphanumeric codes. The signage system will also be progressively extended to bus interchanges, bus stop and taxi stands. It provides a consistent identity for all public transport modes.

In future, real-time information could be provided through an 'i-Transport platform'. This is an IT platform that integrates traffic information from roadbased ITS measures (signal system, freeway monitoring system, road pricing system) and transitbased measures (GPS-equipped taxis and buses, MRT/ LRT locations). A traveller would be able to use this real-time information to make decisions on modal choices, trip start times and route planning.

Institutional Integration

The formation of a service company such as TransitLink in 1989 was a first step towards institutional integration. In 1995 the Land Transport Authority was formed which combined the functions of a planning agency and regulatory body for both public and private transport. The publication of its White Paper (Land Transport Authority 1996) outlining the policy of promoting public transport was a major milestone.

The process of institutional integration takes many years, in Singapore as in many other cities. Singapore began with a large number of small private bus companies. As shown in Table 4, the latest institutional integration takes the form of two key operators: SBS Transit operating the North-East Line, the Senkang and Punggol LRT's (also in the north-east sector of the island), and the majority of island-wide bus services. The other operator is the SMRT Group, which has most of the MRT lines: North-South Line, East-West Line, the Circle Line that is under construction, and the Bukit Panjang LRT Line in the north-west sector. Another bus company, TIBS, operating on the north side of the island, is now part of the SMRT Group.

There is some overlap of the bus networks of SBS Transit and TIBS and hence some competition. The rail networks are quite well segregated geographically. Each operator is thus in a good position to provide integrated services within its designated territory.