A STUDY OF RESILIENCE IN THE PUBLIC TRANSPORT SYSTEM IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

The performance of the MRT system has consistently received unwanted attention from the public due to the numerous service disruptions which have been occurring since December 2011. The long duration taken to resume the MRT services along the affected MRT line reflects a deeper issue, which is related to the resilience of the MRT system in Singapore. The lack of resilience in the MRT system is rather worrying, given that the LTA has plans to further develop and expand the MRT network infrastructure in the next fifteen years. It is now high time to re-examine the resilience of the MRT system, given the frequent service disruptions which often persists longer than 30 minutes, affecting thousands of commuters in their journey. As such, this study aims to understand how the resilience of the MRT system can be improved by first understanding the current situation occurring in the public transport system. A survey was conducted with two separate groups of respondents: Group A, which consist of undergraduates and working adults; Group B, which consist of the MRT staffs employed by SBST or SMRT. The factors which are believed to be effective in affecting the resilience of the MRT system will be generated and analysed statistically. An interview was also conducted with a senior project engineer working at the LTA.

From the results obtained, there were eight factors which are statistically significant. For ease of reference, the factors are individually referred to as “Resilient Factor”, or RF. These eight factors are: 1. RF 2: Regular testing of the software used to ensure performance of the MRT system. 2. RF 6: Release an investigation report after the MRT service disruption has occurred. 3. RF 7: Conduct regular scheduled maintenance on the MRT trains and its related components (ie: train tracks) to ensure its optimal working conditions. 4. RF 8: Implement an online system used to reach and call the shuttle buses, taxis and public buses to come to the affected MRT station. 5. RF 9: Proper usage and adaptation of Information Technology (IT) by the respective public train operators. 6. RF 10: Whether the fault detection system and alarms used by the respective train operators is easily recognized by the MRT staff. 7. RF 11: Having clear guidelines and procedures for the MRT staff to refer to during the MRT service disruption. 8. RF 12: The ability of the MRT staff to take informed action during the MRT service disruption. The eight factors will be effective in improving the resilience of the MRT system when it is implemented. To aid in the decision of which factor should be given a higher priority during its implementation, the factors were ranked using the Weighted Sum Model (WSM). The results of the WSM suggest that RF 7 should be given a higher priority. A correlation analysis was also conducted to examine whether the factors could be implemented consecutively to shorten the duration required to improve the resilience of the MRT system in Singapore. The results suggest that RF 2 and 9 had the highest correlation with RF 7 and could be implemented consecutively to improve the resilience of the MRT system.