LAND TRANSPORT INTEGRATION

Abstract

Traffic Congestion is a major problem in many cities in the world. It is basically the result of disequilibrium between the supply of transport infrastructure and the increasing demand for its use. To keep pace with the growth of traffic, much effort has been put in by the Singapore government to develop new roads. However, it is impossible to continue building roads to accomodate an unlimited number of motor vehicles as land in Singapore is scarce. At the same time, accessibility is vital to the survival and continued prosperity of the city. The dilemma, then is, how to deal with the negative external effects of transportation while providing the community with transportation systems and services. The obvious approach is to alter the travel behaviour of the car owners by providing an efficient public transport system as well as restricting the use of private vehicles. Policy makers have responded with a range of measures to restrict the use of vehicle such as quota system, high road taxes, Area Licensing Scheme (ALS) etc. In terms of providing an efficient public transport system, a new system was implemented recently and that is the integration of the bus and MRT system. The main objective of this study is to determine the efficiency of this integrated system and whether the efficiency has led to the car owners' decision to switch to public transport so as to reduce the congestion level in Singapore. It also serves to point out the component, advantages and disadvantages of the integrated system. Alternative measures that the government is going to implement to make Singapore congestion-free will also be mentioned.