SINGAPOR E
A GLOBAL TR ANSPORT SHOWCASE in association with
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F OR E WOR D
A TRANSPORT PIONEER small island with a population of 5.5 million people and a highly developed economy, Singapore has long been a pioneer in the sphere of urban transport, implementing the world's first congestion pricing scheme in 1975. It continues to innovate, and recently implemented a new bus franchising regime. This special publication from Passenger Transport examines the policies, projects and initiatives that are being implemented in this influential city state. It features an article on nine steps that Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) is taking towards sustainable transport. Meanwhile, Sue Chan, Head of UITP Asia Pacific, explains how public transport is playing a key role across the Asian region. We hope you find it an interesting read and we welcome all feedback.
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MAKING A DIFFERENCE London-based Tower Transit has created a stir with its capture of the first bus franchising contract
5 SUSTAINABLE STEPS Singapore's LTA is taking forward an exciting range of sustainable transport projects
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ACROSS ASIA Public transport is playing a key role across the Asian region, writes Sue Chan, Head of UITP Asia Pacific
12 LOND ON TO LOYANG September sees Go-Ahead Singapore begin running bus routes from its new Loyang depot
Editor: Robert Jack / Deputy Editor: Andrew Garnett / Designer: Keith Simpson Passenger Transport Publishing Limited, Adelaide Wharf, 21 Whiston Road, London E2 8EX, UNITED KINGDOM t: +44 (0)20 7749 6909 / e: editorial@passengertransport.co.uk / w: www.passengertransport.co.uk
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L A N D T R A N SP ORT AU T HOR I T Y
A preliminary concept visual of the North-South Corridor. This 'conversion' project will create Singapore's first integrated transport corridor
NINE STEPS TO SUSTAINABILIT Y Singapore is already a global transport showcase but LTA is taking forward an exciting range of projects ingapore has long been a global transport showcase. Due to the island’s limited land space, it is not possible to continue to build more roads to manage traffic demand. As it is, 12% of Singapore’s land is currently used for its road network, compared to the 14% allocated for housing. As population and economic activities continue to increase at a steady pace, Singapore’s long term aspiration is for walking, cycling, public
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transport and shared transport services to become the way of life for commuters, instead of relying heavily on private vehicles. This vision is overseen by the Land Transport Authority (LTA), a statutory board under the government’s Ministry of Transport. This transport co-ordinating authority covers bus, rail and road. Public transport is key to meeting Singapore’s long term land transport needs. Over the last few years, the government has ramped up rail and bus services to make public transport more attractive by helping commuters reach their destinations quickly and conveniently. Over the next
few years, more resources will be provided to further improve commuters’ travelling experience. There are plans to double the size of the rail network and commuters will also see numerous improvements to the bus network. Here are nine developments which will help Singapore achieve its sustainable transport vision.
1 Expanding the rail network The Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) network forms the backbone of the Singapore public transport. Today, the size of the network is about 200km of MRT and
Light Rapid Transit (LRT) lines and there are plans to expand this to about 360km. There will be a new train line or extension opening almost every year from now to 2025. When completed, the new lines and extensions will bring eight in 10 households within a 10-minute walk of a rail station. Two lines - the Downtown Line (DTL3) and Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) – are currently under construction. Separately, LTA is also adding four more stations on the Tuas West extension. Half of the 42km DTL with 34 stations is now in operation. The final stage, DTL3 will link commuters from the eastern parts of the island to the Central Business District (CBD) and developments in the Marina Bay area from 2017. The Thomson-East Coast Line is a 43km underground line that will be fully completed in ➢
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2024. It will have 31 stations and seven interchange stations. The Tuas West Extension will serve the heavy industrial district in the western part of Singapore. The area’s workers who currently rely on public buses to get to work will be able to shave as much as 35 minutes off their commute when the MRT line opens this year. Looking further ahead, two new major MRT lines and three extensions have also been announced. The 50km Cross Island Line (CRL) and the 20km Jurong Region Line (JRL) will support Singapore’s long term development and ensure that the rail network will have more than the capacity needed to meet the expected increase in public transport ridership. In addition, three more lines, the Circle Line, North East Line and the Downtown Line, will be extended.
2 upgrading the current rail network There are continuous improvements and enhancements to the current network. The signalling system for the North South East West Line (NSEWL) has been undergoing a major upgrading programme since 2012. This upgrade will allow trains to run at intervals of 100 seconds at peak periods, compared to the existing intervals of 120 seconds - delivering an improvement to the existing capacity of up to 20%. LTA and public transport operator SMRT have been working together to progressively replace rail sleepers along the NSEWL, as part of an overall system upgrading plan to achieve a more reliable train network. New concrete sleepers will replace timber sleepers, allowing trains to
move along the tracks smoothly and passengers can look forward to safer, smoother and faster train rides. Between 1.30am to 4.30am, after the end of service, over 300 concrete sleepers are installed before train services resume the following morning. Works are expected to be complete by the end of this year. Works to replace the third rail system along the tunnel stretch of the EWL began last year. Replacing the third rail will further improve the reliability of the system. The replacement works are due to be completed next year. More trains will also be arriving every year on the existing lines until 2019. 57 new trains have been ordered for the North South East West Lines (NSEWL), 18 for the North East Line (NEL) and 24 for the Circle Line (CCL). This will increase the train fleet of the existing network by 40% for NSEWL, 70% for NEL and 60% for CCL.
3 kuala lumpur-singapore high speed rail The Kuala Lumpur-Singapore HSR is a strategic project between the governments of Malaysia and Singapore that aims to facilitate seamless travel between the two capital cities. The governments of both countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 19 July 2016 which captured the key points of agreement on the project, including the technical parameters, commercial model, customs, immigration & quarantine clearance, safety and security matters, regulatory framework and project management approach. As part of the next phase in project preparations, the Malaysia and Singapore governments have tasked the MyHSR Corporation Sdn Bhd and Land Transport Authority, Singapore respectively to implement the project.
Map of Singapore's rail system, the backbone of Singapore's public transport
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“ LTA has stepped up efforts to encourage safe and gracious sharing of paths as more people take up active modes of commuting, such as walking, cycling and using personal mobility devices.” 4 bus service enhancement programme (bsep) LTA is putting more buses on the road to help commuters get around. Under BSEP, LTA works with bus operators to significantly increase bus capacity and enhance bus service levels to benefit commuters. From the original 550 buses, the BSEP has expanded by another 450 buses. The expanded BSEP will also provide more resources for more new routes. Bus crowding and waiting times will also be progressively improved, especially during peak periods. Since BSEP was launched in September 2012, 800 new government-funded buses have been added on the road. This will be increased to 1,000 buses by 2017. To improve bus connectivity, 63 new BSEP bus services were introduced over the last three years. The new bus services improve local connectivity to transport nodes and amenities and serve new housing developments, while the City Direct Services (CDS) provide a direct connection between residential estates and the city, as an alternative to trains during the peak periods.
5 bus contracting In the second half of 2016, the bus industry began its transition to a new bus contracting model. Under this model, the government will own all bus infrastructure such as depots, as well as operating assets such as buses and the fleet management system. LTA says that this new industry model will enable the government to make public bus services more responsive to changes in ridership and commuter needs, as well as inject more competition into the industry, thereby raising service levels for commuters over time. With the transition to a bus contracting model, the government also intends to raise bus service levels to beyond those of the expanded Bus Service Enhancement Programme
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TOP and ABOVE LEFT: Concept visual of Ang Mo Kio - Model Walking and Cycling Town. ABOVE RIGHT: The bus industry has begun to transition to a new bus contracting model
(BSEP). All bus services will have scheduled headways of no more than every 15 minutes during both the morning and evening peak periods, with at least half of the bus services having even shorter scheduled headways of no more than every 10 minutes, and of these, the feeder services will run at even shorter intervals of every six to eight minutes. As a result, an estimated 45% of bus services will have shorter intervals during peak periods when compared to the expanded BSEP service levels. For a start, three packages of bus services, comprising about 20% of existing buses, have been contracted out through competitive tendering. Tower Transit has started operating the Bulim bus package since May 2016, and operation of the Loyang bus package by Go‐Ahead will start in September 2016. The Seletar bus package, which was put out for tender in June 2016, will continue to be operated by SBS Transit and SMRT Buses under the bus contracting model, until it is taken over by the successful tenderer in the first half of 2018.
Excluding the three tendered bus packages, Singapore’s remaining public bus services have been reorganised into 11 packages. From September 1, 2016, SBS Transit and SMRT Buses has begun to operate these 11 packages under the bus contracting model, with contract durations ranging from two to 10 years. When these negotiated contracts expire, they will also be put out for competitive tendering.
6 integrated transport hubs LTA is building more integrated public transport hubs where air-conditioned bus interchanges and MRT stations are co-located with developments to improve connectivity. Besides the existing integrated transport hubs at Ang Mo Kio, Boon Lay, Clementi, Sengkang, Serangoon, Joo Koon, and Toa Payoh, LTA will build more at Bedok, Bukit Panjang, Hougang, Jurong East, Marina South and Yishun. These will be completed over the next 10 years together with developments in these areas.
walking and cycling LTA has a wide range of initiatives to increase the appeal of active travel modes, walking and cycling, in order to meet its sustainable transport objectives: Q Ang Mo Kio - Model Walking and Cycling Town: LTA has been developing the first model walking and cycling town in Ang Mo Kio – with the first phase of 4km of dedicated cycle path completed in July. Besides dedicated cycle paths, residents enjoy a series of enhanced features – such as a linear park under the MRT viaduct – making it safer and more pleasant to cycle and walk within the town. Besides Ang Mo Kio, LTA is also working with the community and other agencies to explore such model towns in other areas. Q Bike sharing: LTA will also look at how bike sharing can help improve first and last mile connectivity. LTA will implement a pilot in the Jurong Lake District in 2017 and will learn from this pilot to see how it can be extended to other residential areas. Q Promoting safer cycling and sharing of paths: LTA has stepped up efforts to encourage safe and gracious sharing of paths as more people take up active modes of commuting, such as walking, cycling and using personal mobility devices. A Safe Rider campaign and a Cycling Education Programme were introduced to promote safe riding habits as well as to educate participants on safe cycling skills, practices and the proper use of cycling-related facilities in Singapore. To complement education efforts, LTA has introduced a dedicated team of Active Mobility Enforcement Officers to deter reckless behaviour. At the same time, LTA has been actively partnering community groups to roll out the Active Mobility Patrol (AMP) scheme – a volunteer programme to foster a more harmonious sharing culture amongst residents. ➢ Q Walk2Ride: Under the
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Doubling Rail: Singapore relies on fast and connected rail travel as its transport backbone. So LTA is doubling the length of the network to 360km by 2030. Here’s how: 2024 Downtown Line 3 extension and Thomson-East Coast Line; 2025 Jurong Region Line and Circle Line 6; 2030 Cross Island Line and North East Line extension.
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Service First: In the second half of 2016, the bus industry began to transition to the new bus contracting model. The contracting model requires higher operator service levels. All bus services will operate every 15 minutes, or more frequently, at peak times.
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All Under One Roof: Combining rail, C bus and retail under one roof makes urban journeys easier and more appealing. LTA is building three more integrated transport hubs in Joo Koon, Bukit Panjang and Yishun by 2019. Over the next 10 years, there will be more hubs in Hougang Central, Jurong East and Marina South. Two Wheels: Cycling is free and healthy and many urban commuters are making the shift. LTA is too. By 2030, all HDB towns will have a cycling network, which means a total of 700km of cycling paths across the island. Some will be elevated and many will be sheltered from the elements.
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Looking After Pedestrians: Streets are our lifeline. So safer longer crossings for those who may need more time, plus motorist alerts, are a great idea. Our Silver Zones, Green Man Plus, LOOK crossings and school zones keep us all on our toes.
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We’ve Got You Covered: Walking is the best way to get around, but in the tropics, sun and rain can take a toll. LTA is building another 200km of sheltered walkways to keep citizens cooler and drier and even adding some benches for when a break is welcome.
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On Equal Footing: LTA will plan streets so pedestrians, cyclists, buses and cars can co-exist. Trials will enable people to see just how inclusive streets will work. Occasionally, LTA will let streets rule and close them off to cars, just as it did with Haji Lane.
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The Future of Transport: LTA is transforming transport so citizens can cycle, walk, take a bus or train - or even hop onto a small, electric shuttle that drives itself. Year on year, more of these features will be in place. LTA says that "sustainable mobility means less stress and more fun".
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Pick and Park a Bike: Bike sharing will be a reality so commuters can pick up and drop off when they need a bike. LTA is also building new underground bike parks at selected Thomson-East Coast Line stations so that owners can park their bicycles before taking the train.
Smart Travel, Smart Mobility: Smart urban mobility sees commuters seamlessly connected with their transportation system, interacting through innovative, state of the art technologies that provide real-time smart travel information to the elderly, mobility-challenged and cyclists by allowing them to travel more efficiently and safely.
Walk2Ride programme, LTA has been working to add more than 200km of new sheltered walkways by 2018 to bring added comfort for those who walk to their ride on the public transport network. This expands the coverage of Singapore’s sheltered walkway network so that there is sheltered connectivity within a 400-metre radius from all MRT stations to schools, health care facilities, residential developments and public amenities and within a 200-metre radius from all LRT stations and bus interchanges. The Walk2Ride programme will also connect about 100 existing bus shelters with high usage to trip generating hubs within a 200-metre radius of these bus shelters. To improve mobility for seniors and the less mobile, MRT and LRT stations have at least one barrier-free
route to the train platforms while all bus interchanges are barrier-free. Q Safer roads for pedestrians: To make it even safer for vulnerable pedestrians, especially in estates with high numbers of elderly pedestrians, LTA introduced the Silver Zone programme in 2014, where road safety enhancements are implemented to make the zone a safer environment. These include signs to demarcate the zone, speed humps to slow down vehicles, centre dividers with railings to deter jaywalking, special markings on footpaths to guide the elderly to the nearest pedestrian crossings and transport amenities, as well as installing lifts at pedestrian overhead bridges where needed and feasible. A total of eight Silver Zones have been completed in residential estates island-wide, and LTA aims to
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expand this programme to a total of 50 locations island-wide by 2023. Q Conversion projects: Beyond these ongoing efforts to improve first and last mile connectivity, LTA is planning signature ‘conversion’ projects, where road space will be taken away to facilitate better connectivity for commuters cyclists and pedestrians. One such project is the re-configuration of the North-South Expressway into North-South Corridor, which will be Singapore’s first integrated transport corridor featuring continuous bus lanes and cycling trunk routes. Another project is the rejuvenation of the existing Bencoolen Street, where LTA will reclaim road space, and convert two of the four original car lanes into public spaces that are conducive for walking and cycling.
8 future mobility: shared transport services LTA is facilitating research and trials in anticipation of the future adoption of self-driving vehicle technology, which will form the technological base for future mobility concepts, such as point-to-point, mobility-ondemand services. Trials have been launched for shared autonomous mobilityon-demand services, which are envisaged to comprise a fleet of shared self-driving vehicles that commuters can book through an app, to potentially bring them from their doorstep to the train station or neighbourhood amenities, etc. LTA signed separate partnership agreements with Delphi Automotive Systems and
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“ Since the Bus Service Enhancement Programme was launched in September 2012, 800 new government-funded buses have been added on the road. This will be increased to 1,000 buses by 2017.”
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nuTonomy on August 1, 2016, to trial their shared autonomous mobility-on-demand concepts. Delphi and nuTonomy were shortlisted from several participants which submitted proposals under the Request for Information (RFI) issued by LTA in June 2015. In addition, Singapore plans to trial self-driving buses which operate on fixed routes and scheduled timings during peak hours, with the flexibility to be deployed dynamically during off-peak hours based on commuter demand. The technology also holds great potential for the freight transportation and utility services sectors. Truck platooning technology and self-driving utility vehicles such as for waste collection and road sweeping will also be trialled to determine if they can overcome the shortage of
drivers for the logistics industry. To enable Singapore to move closer to its goal of deploying SDVs for shared transport, LTA and JTC, Singapore’s principal developer and manager of industrial estates, have teamed up with the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) to launch the Centre of Excellence for Testing & Research (CETRAN) of autonomous vehicles, and the Test Circuit at CleanTech Park. CETRAN will spearhead the development of testing requirements for SDVs and evaluate prototypes to be tested in Singapore according to their ability to manoeuvre in local conditions. CETRAN will also drive collaborations with international testing, inspection and certification bodies, research institutions and industry partners, on global standards and test requirements.
9 electric-vehicle fleet trials Singapore concluded the first phase of the Electric Vehicle (EV) testbed in 2013. The testbed has shown that EVs are technically feasible for mass adoption in Singapore and that the near-term opportunity lies with EV fleets, which have the potential of reaping economies of scale with higher daily mileage and potentially lower running costs as compared to privately-owned EVs. As part of the second phase of the EV testbed, LTA and Economic Development Board (EDB) will launch a one-way EV car-sharing programme in collaboration with BlueSG, a subsidiary of the Bolloré Group, by mid-2017. EVs will be deployed in every single Housing & Development Board (HDB)
town by 2020. The EV car-sharing programme will be rolled out progressively across Singapore, with the first batch of 125 Bluecars and 250 charging points to be introduced in HDB towns such as Ang Mo Kio, Jurong East and Punggol by mid-2017. Apart from the EV car-sharing programme, HDT Singapore Taxi, a local taxi operator, will run a fleet of 100 e-taxis commercially as part of an eight-year trial from 2017. LTA is also exploring e-bus trials as part of the focus on EV fleets. The first six–month e-bus trial is scheduled to commence by end 2016 using BYD’s e-bus. Q Q The Singapore International Transport Congress and Exhibition (SITCE), 19th-21st October 2016, will showcase the above initiatives. Visit www.sitce.org to register.
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TOW E R T R A N SI T
Tower Transit launched a high profile recruitment campaign that aimed to end the problems that were traditionally associated with bus operator staff recruitment in Singapore
TOWER TRANSIT MAKES A DIFFERENCE IN SINGAPORE The London-based operator has created a stir with its capture of the first contract offered as part of Singapore’s new bus contracting model few months ago, Adam Leishman, chief executive of Tower Transit, took a cab with some colleagues from the London-based operator’s new depot facility in Singapore, shortly before operations commenced in June. “The response from the driver was amazing,” laughs Leishman. “He asked if this was the new bus garage and whether we were from Tower Transit. When we confirmed it he erupted into delight. He knew all about us and he was so excited to meet us in person and just kept saying, ‘Wow, Tower Transit!’ I have never experienced anything like it.” The response from that cab driver demonstrates the impact that Tower Transit has had in Singapore over the last 18
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months. The winner of the first contract to operate part of the city state’s bus network, as part of a new franchising model, has subconsciously entered the national psyche. Leishman jokes that it feels like being a rock star. But that public response came about as a result of a simple, yet fundamental, need. “The Singaporean government, from the very start, was committed to quality,” he says. “They needed and wanted a transformation.” Leishman explains how Singapore wanted to rejuvenate its bus network, the standards of which were not meeting government expectations, despite the city-state’s booming economy and heavy local restrictions on car ownership. The new contracting model, a hybrid of the successful bus franchising systems of London in the UK and Perth in Australia, customised for Singapore conditions, aimed to address those
issues. Key to that was staff. “They wanted a high quality system, but it was also obvious the industry was underpaying drivers, so we had to factor that into our bid, given that we had to recruit 750 bus captains” he says. “The historical impression of bus companies, staff-wise, was low. So drivers were often looked down on. There was a real perception problem and the government wanted to do something about it.” Leishman feels that these perceptions of bus industry jobs were probably the biggest challenge for Tower Transit’s successful bid for that first contract, a package of 26 routes and 380 vehicles operating out of a brand new, 10-hectare, government-owned site at Bulim in the west of Singapore. That contract also came with tough human resourcing targets for 60% of all staff to be Singaporean within three years. It was a potential pitfall for a
new entrant in an industry that had historically been reliant on migrant workers in a bid to curb a perceived skills shortage. “We had a big challenge and we jumped in aggressively to address that challenge,” he says. “We did a number of things - we had very strong engagement with the community thorough social media and directly we did things like a public voting on uniform designs.” Tower Transit, Leishman says, made a “big thing” out of that public vote, swamping social media in a bid to gain public involvement. Meanwhile, the team took to the streets with placards and billboards. “It was a lot of fun,” he adds. “And we picked a stunning uniform out of that process.” Meanwhile, the company also opened its doors to the public with an open day at the Bulim depot. It was the first time ever that a bus operator in Singapore had held such an event. In total, 2,500
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“ The staff love the way we’ve treated them with respect. I don’t think that’s what they were used to. We’ve also got a very different ethnic profile that more mirrors the local society in Singapore.” people visited the facility that day, where they could check out the staff accommodation, inspect vehicles and even take a ride through the bus wash. “The idea was that anyone who was thinking about coming to work for us could come and look at the facilities, be educated and understand what the environment was like,” notes Leishman. “They could show their kids, so there was a bit of pride. It was wonderful and every time we did one of these things we just had this huge glut of applications for jobs. “So by December last year we basically had everybody that we needed. Bear in mind that we were awarded the contract in May 2015 and didn’t start the first phase of the contract until June 2016. I admit that we were very worried about those timescales, but by December 2015 we had about 6,500 applications for 900 roles. We were massively oversubscribed!” Of those 900 or so roles, 364 were transferred from the incumbent operator with a 60:40 split of non-Singaporeans versus Singaporeans. “Of the balance, we’re at 100% Singaporean three years early,” he enthuses. “We also have a waiting list of 600 more. We’re massively ahead of the target on the staffing mix. I don’t think anyone expected us to do that. They thought they had a bus staffing crisis, but we showed how that could be solved by attracting new people to the industry.” So how was it done? Leishman says that it was a mix of high volume public relations, better pay and by changing the profile of the job. Traditionally in Singapore, bus drivers would drive all day and then return the bus to the depot where they were tasked with washing and fuelling their vehicle and then parking it up. “But we thought, hang on, they’re professionals,” he says. “They should be driving. They’ve had a long day on the road, they want to get away from work and they want to go home. So we’ve employed depot shunters to do those fuelling, washing and
parking tasks. Traditionally the driver did everything and they had a shortage of drivers. We’ve professionalised the role and the drivers just love that.” The facilities for staff at the Bulim depot aim to reflect the upskilling of the drivers’ role. In many ways these facilities would not be out of place in the offices of a tech company. The quality of the fit-out is such that it featured in an extensive photo shoot for a leading Asian architectural magazine. Meanwhile, in a first for Singapore, the company’s maternity leave policy is well ahead of the legal minimum at 26 weeks. That decision, says Leishman, created a stir, even being labelled the best employer of mums by one magazine and a lot of goodwill as a family-friendly employer. All of these initiatives
mean that the median age of bus captains at Tower has fallen by 10 years compared to the industry. “They [the staff] love the way that we’ve treated them with respect,” adds Leishman. “I don’t think that’s what they were used to. We’ve also got a very different ethnic profile that more mirrors the local society in Singapore. We’ve got a good mix of Malaysian, Indian and Chinese Singaporean backgrounds. They’re more educated too. Statistically we’ve a 16% increase in female participation and 63% of nontransferred staff are completely new to the transport industry.” The transition of the routes operated out of Bulim began in May, followed by two further transitions two weeks apart. In each case around 100 buses were
TOP: Tower Transit has worked hard to improve interchanges, including refurbished toilets that have humorous slogans. MIDDLE: The company has won plaudits staff facilities at Bulim. BOTTOM: The Tower Transit uniform was chosen by a public vote.
involved with engineers from both the incumbent operator and Tower Transit processing vehicles as they arrived at Bulim. As Leishman notes, it was a process that ensured that come the next morning, the buses involved were ready to hit the road as Tower Transit vehicles. Bus users have also seen improvements with the start of the contract. Tower Transit took on responsibility and management of a number of transport interchanges and the company has invested in refurbishing the facilities, in particular, the toilets. “They were pretty grungy before,” says Leishman. “Now they are much better and a bit interesting.” And improvements are also being rolled out on the engineering side of the business with staff from Tower Transit’s business in London seconded to help train local staff to reach the required standards. That means changing the mentality of the engineers to work in teams rather than in a traditional hierarchy in a bid to foster problem-solving techniques. He continues: “Almost everything that we’ve done or we’re doing is different to the way things were traditionally done. We’re bringing transformation, we’re lifting standards and we’re lifting quality. That’s what the Land Transport Authority wanted, so on that metric I think it has been a great success. And statistics recently released show the first few months' performance has been significantly better for customers compared to before we took over, with much less bus bunching and customer wait times.” Leishman, who confirms that his company will be actively pursuing Singapore’s third package of bus routes, ties the experience that Tower Transit has had in Singapore with the deregulated bus market in the UK outside London and Northern Ireland. “I think Singapore is a great example of how effectively franchising can deliver transformation to the customer experience,”he adds. “I know many cities in the UK are keen to see this first hand also.” Q
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T H E G O - A H E A D G RO U P
FROM LOND ON TO LOYANG On September 18, Go-Ahead Singapore will have begun operation of 24 bus routes from its new Loyang depot e talk about being part of a family and we take every opportunity to explain to all audiences, internal and external, why we believe every journey matters,” says Nigel Wood, managing director of Go-Ahead Singapore. He’s undertaking his morning tour of the expansive Loyang depot, based in the east of the island, close to busy Changi International Airport. He conducts a morning and afternoon walk-around to engage with staff, especially new colleagues. Wood explains: “The business is a fusion of British and Singapore know-how. Both sides have learned from each other and we’re very much a single team now, focused on delivering high quality bus services. We intend to be here for the long-term.”
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bid background Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) decided to open the bus market to competition for much the same reason as the UK liberalised large parts of its service sector - it wanted fresh ideas and competition to stimulate the network. Having considered various models, it ultimately decided on a regime very similar to that of London. Martin Dean, Go-Ahead Group’s managing director of bus development was instrumental in preparing the company’s successful tender for a network based in the east of Singapore. “Our experience in London, where we’re the largest bus operator, was vital as it meant access to many experienced people whose skillset and knowledge easily
transferred to the Singapore bid. “Just as Transport for London (TfL) understandably requires a lot of detail from interested parties when they’re bidding for work, the same applies with the LTA and although many of the principles are the same, there are also differences. For example, all buses must run with air conditioning and use digital route displays, rather than conventional blinds. Like London, the LTA incentivises the operator to deliver quality and there are tough penalties if that doesn’t happen.” The tender bid process involved a detailed analysis of the 24 bus-route network that was available and this could only be achieved on the ground. Chris Peaker, Go-Ahead’s transition director explains: “Like a TfL tender or a UK rail contract, the regulator makes a raft of information available and from this we construct a foundation for our bid. That said, there’s no substitute for actually riding services and observing behaviour. For example, the bid team monitored passenger loadings at all times of the day
and noted the prevailing traffic conditions. But you can’t do this over just a couple of days - it’s really important to dig into the detail over a period of time. That meant mobilising a group of colleagues in Singapore and establishing a structured report mechanism that fed back to group headquarters.” The groundwork proved all important. Go-Ahead was awarded a contract by the LTA in November 2015 to run a network of 24 routes from September this year, with a 25th service to follow in 2017. mobilising the team Nigel Wood takes up the story. “I was closely associated with the bid team. Back in London I was a service delivery manager and responsible for running arguably Britain’s busiest buses - routes such as 11, 12, 14, 22, 36, 68 and 88 are all heavyweights that ply their trade along heavily congested corridors. London’s buses have seen enormous patronage growth in the last 15 years or so and the last couple of years have been
particularly challenging as we’ve had to contend with a lot of road works all at the same time. “As the bid developed I became more involved in different areas, such as scheduling, finance and service planning. These were matters I had experience of in the UK, but I soon found myself leading these and it was a great personal development experience. So I was thrilled to be offered the role as managing director when we won the contract. I never lose sight of the fact that I joined Go-Ahead London as a bus driver just over 20-years ago and it is proof that the company, and the wider industry, is very good at bringing people on.” Having arrived at Loyang depot in January 2016, Wood quickly set about creating a senior team and getting on with the task in hand, namely to recruit around 700 drivers, 60 engineers and other support staff. John Trayner, Go-Ahead London’s managing director explains. “The Singapore system is like London. It was obvious, and appropriate, that my colleagues and I should contribute to the mobilisation effort. In addition to Nigel, we promoted Catherine Booth, one of our general managers, to be Go-Ahead Singapore’s operations director. A team of driving instructors
Go-Ahead Singapore was tasked with recruiting around 700 bus drivers, 60 engineers and other support staff
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“ It’s important to say that this isn’t Go-Ahead London on tour. Far from it. We believe in a devolved structure, which means local managers make local decisions.” from Camberwell have also been deploying their skills there for much of this year and they have done a fantastic job in helping hundreds of new colleagues in Singapore pass their bus driving test. In addition to this, our IT and schedule departments have been on-site for a number of months. It has been a wonderful team effort. “But it’s important to say that this isn’t Go-Ahead London on tour. Far from it. We believe in a devolved structure, which means local managers make local decisions. The senior team in Loyang is populated with Singaporean directors filling the engineering, finance and HR positions and over 60% of the driving workforce are local. I know from visiting Loyang there are some learnings to take back to the UK. We know the LTA are closely monitoring our output and this is a crucial period as we’re bidding for more work from them. We like the model and we understand it is ultimately about delivering on our promises, which is something we are confident about.” loyang bus package Known as the ‘Loyang Bus Package’, the 24 services transferred in two tranches. 13 routes commenced on September 4, with a further 11 following two weeks later. It was important for all parties Go-Ahead Singapore, the LTA, incumbent operators, the trade union and other stakeholders - to ensure the transition was seamless. Catherine Booth explains: “We put a lot of effort into working co-operatively with all the key players. We took over a large number of staff and buses from the incumbent operator. It was, and still is, vital that we come together to serve our common purpose. “We and other operators are in the process of painting vehicles into the corporate livery and while we know there are unique features that make up the Go-Ahead Singapore experience, the public see a bright green coloured bus and rightly expect it to be safe, clean and reliable, irrespective of operator. Along with the other
TOP: An open day at Go-Ahead Singapore's Loyang depot. ABOVE LEFT: Go-Ahead Singapore MD Nigel Wood. ABOVE RIGHT: Go-Ahead London MD John Trayner
bus companies, we form part of a network. We ultimately all face the same opportunities and threats.” creating the company Nigel Wood continues: “When I arrived at Loyang Depot it was a bare shell. It took a few days to get a computer and the reality of turning a tender bid into a live business in just a few months only then really registered. That said, I knew our bid was based on a timetabled business plan and we hit the ground running. “Having quickly created the senior team, each department set about their initial tasks. HR director Wang Loon Piang had the job of recruiting 700 drivers between February and July this year. It was a tall order, but the team thought carefully about what the employment package should be and I am pleased to say our entry has resulted in a salary uplift for drivers. “We also worked well with the incumbent operator and attracted around 350 people to transfer to us. We advertised the jobs further afield - in China and Malaysia - to increase the number
of applications. Wang’s team were ahead of their target number every month, which is a tremendous achievement. We’ve employed a workforce with a relevant skillset. Around 75% have previous driving experience and those new to the industry have been trained to Singapore’s exacting standards. The same applies to engineering. We’re pleased to have secured Leonard Lee as our engineering director. He’s highly qualified and has experience of running a ‘just in time’ stock system in Singapore. Supported by Kevin Middleton, a senior UK engineer with over 30 years’ experience, our vehicle maintenance team will use an iPadbased diagnostic system to ensure the 380 bus fleet is maintained to Go-Ahead’s demanding standards.” One other area that has been supported by the UK is communications. Eugene Clarke, with nearly three decades’ public relations expertise, has been brought in to oversee this important function in the threemonth period leading up to start of service. Eugene observed: “One of my first tasks to support the team
was creating a comprehensive communications plan and getting the LTA’s approval for it. We’ve been particularly pro-active on a number of fronts, especially social media to engage directly with employees and customers. But we’ve not neglected traditional media. Journalists have the ability to influence messages and we needed to develop positive relationships with them. “We also started engaging with stakeholders as quickly as we could. For example one of our early meetings took place with the transport union. We invited them to the depot and made the senior team accessible. Nothing was off limits and both sides engaged in positive dialogue. I was very heartened to read supportive comments posted by the union on Facebook after their visit. It’s these things that make such a difference - and the message gets out there: we are approachable and accessible. “Our marketing material features actual employees and we’ve used images of them on bus rears, as well as posters, flyers and our website. I set out to think creatively and, to really make our presence known, booked a full-page advert in Singapore’s Sunday Times on day one of operation. Although the whole city network will, in time, consist of a fleet of bright green coloured buses, all of similar appearance, we’ve spent time and effort educating and explaining how Go-Ahead Singapore aims to take care of people’s journeys. It is really important that we deliver this on the ground.” Now that the company has successfully started running services in Singapore, what next? The last comment comes from Nigel Wood: “I’m proud of the team who’ve worked so hard to pull everything together. But I know this is just the start. Our important job now is to deliver a good service for customers day in day out. And although it is early days, we are committed to growing the business in Singapore and await the LTA’s decision on further route awards with interest.” Q
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THE UNITED KINGDOM THE UNITED KINGDOM IRELAND CHINA
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UITP
A DIVERSE REGION: PUBLIC TRANSPORT IN ASIA Public transport is playing a key role across the Asian region, writes Sue Chan, Head of UITP Asia Pacific sia is currently home to 17 megacities, which is expected to grow to an unprecedented total of 22 by 2030. This rapid growth raises the question of many urban challenges, such as congestion management, sustainable transport solutions, and the use of technology to improve mobility in densely populated cities. Some authorities have embarked on the journey of creating sustainable transport systems, such as Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul while others are looking forward to the next challenge to achieve greener and integrated systems, such as Singapore and Taipei. Meanwhile the likes of Beijing and Kuala Lumpur, which have ambitious master plans for public transport reform, are in a race against the clock with increasing urbanisation and motorisation rates. On the other end of spectrum, developing cities, like Jakarta and Manila, are at the infancy stages of public transport and are heavily relying on informal means of public transport. Last but not least, the less developed countries, such as Laos and Cambodia, have experienced decades of political instability and have not as yet had an opportunity to invest in their public transport networks. In Asian cities, rapid urbanisation and rising incomes are leading to a doubling of motor fleets every five to seven years. One fifth of transport emissions are from developing cities in Asia. In Bangkok, for instance, the cost of traffic congestion is about 6% of GDP. Road crashes
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Reforms to Malaysia's public transport networks have seen modal share in urban areas rise to 20.8% in 2013 from 19.6% in 2012
cost Asia Development Bank’s developing member countries USD$96bn annually. Public transport is important for improving sustainable mobility in urban areas, and in general, Asian countries have considered it the right approach to encourage low-carbon growth in the cities. Cities with sustainable transport systems, such as Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong and Singapore have a high share of public transport, walking and cycling: some as high as 80%. Other emerging cities like Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen (China) are also aggressively promoting the use of public transport services. Like many other regions, Asia faces a diversity of challenges as well as opportunities in public transport. Each city is working hard to develop policies and solutions to ensure their city is developing in a sustainable manner.
ensuring financial sustainability The financial sustainability of mass transit systems is crucial to every authority and operator when planning, especially metros which require heavy capital investment to build as well as to operate. It is therefore essential to look at additional revenue sources, beyond fares, to sustain such systems. Hong Kong is often considered a success story for encouraging the growth of public transport. The city’s transport strategy is highly associated with sustainable development by having a strong focus on better integration of transport and land use planning as well as a strong focus on the use of railways as a back-bone. With a land area of only 1,105 square kilometres and a population of more than seven million, Hong Kong has limited space to achieve sustainable development. MTR Corporation Limited
(MTR), the rail operator in Hong Kong, has developed the ‘Rail + Property Model’ whereby the government grants ‘Land Development Right’ of sites comprehensively planned by MTR for new railways, and in return MTR pays a land premium to government on a ‘Greenfield No Railway’ basis. MTR also partners with property developers to develop the area around stations to encourage community growth. The financial incentive for MTR is to benefit from the rising property value, allowing the profits to fund railway construction and running costs. The community benefits from an affordable world-class railway service and high quality sustainable development along the railway. It is a win-win situation as the government does not have the burden of subsidisation, it also receives significant land premiums and higher value for its shareholding ➢ (approximately 76%). This
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model has become one of the best examples of “value capture” to finance railway investments and encouraged approximately 41% of all trips made on rail, equivalent to carrying about 4.7 million passenger trips per day in 2015. challenging perceptions about public transport The undesirable public perception of public transport in Asia, especially in developing cities, poses a challenge for authorities and operators. As disposable income increases, there is a higher tendency to shift from public modes to private motor vehicles. Public transport is perceived as an option for people who cannot afford their own vehicle. In addition, in a bid to encourage economic growth, some governments subsidise their automobile industries and/or fuel costs, adding barriers for the promotion of public transport. Over the years, Malaysia has flourished into one of the fastest growing countries in South East Asia with an increase in population from 28 million (2009) to 30 million (2014). Presently, public transport only accounts for 20% of all journeys in urban areas. This is partly due to the government’s large subsidies to the Malaysian auto industry, especially for the home brand, Proton. The prime minister recognised the need for a national reform on public transport in 2010, when the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) was set up to bring the functions of policy, planning and regulating all aspects of land public transport under one roof. In order to mitigate the negative externalities of increased mobility demand, the Greater Kuala Lumpur/Klang Valley Land Public Transport (LPT) Master Plan has set two main goals by 2030: Q To achieve 40% modal share for LPT in the Central of the Greater KL/Klang Valley Q To achieve 80% of population living within 400m of LPT in the Greater KL/Klang Valley
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“ In recent years, shifting modal share from private car to public transport has become one of the main highlights of China’s sustainable transport policy.” The public transport reform in Malaysia brought new light to Malaysia’s public transport system with clear objectives and policies. Under this reform, the modal share of public transport in urban areas rose to 20.8% in 2013 from 19.6% in 2012. It further aided the business case for Prasarana Malaysia Berhad, the asset owner and multi-modal operator of three Malaysian cities, to continue investing in its infrastructure and services. The operator embarked on a series of initiatives to improve existing capacity and accessibility of urban rail transportation in Greater KL to meet today’s mobility demand and to accommodate future population, including the extension of two LRT lines, fleet expansion and operating a new MRT Sungai Buloh-Kajang Line. Existing urban rail systems in Greater Kuala Lumpur have 650,000 daily ridership at present. china: the push for electric buses From the early 1990s, the automotive industry has been considered one of the pillar industries of the national economy in China. The Chinese government has declared that the development of the automotive industry should rely on the domestic market for private cars. In 2015, 23.9 million new cars were registered in China, taking car ownership up to 172 million. As of the end of 2015, vehicle ownership had reached 279 million, with over 61% being cars, marking a transition from motorcycles to automobiles as a major means of motor transport. The automotive industrial policy has undoubtedly driven economic growth but the costs of the growth are the progressively severe congestion and pollution problems. In recent years, shifting modal share from private car to public transport has become one of the main highlights of China’s sustainable transport policy. As the main carrier in urban passenger Public transport has played a key role in Hong Kong's development
transport, the number of buses is growing thanks to urbanisation, although as one of the biggest sources of air pollution, directly contributing to the rising figures of PM2.5, electrification is therefore necessary. In 2011-2012, “New Energy Vehicle Demonstration Project of Public Transportation” was implemented in 25 cities in China. The project includes 27,432 vehicles; 53% are buses, of which 83% were hybrid and 17% full electric. In 2015, over 570,000 buses were sold by all Chinese manufacturers, including 58,484 e-buses to all markets. With the National Policy’s support, Chinese manufacturers are encouraged to invest in innovation and practiced solutions and business models under the National standards. This is consistent with one of the main objectives of the newly released “13th Five-Year” Transportation Development Planning (20162020)”, aimed at raising the modal share of public transport to 40% in megacities and metropolises, 30% in big cities and 20% in medium and small cities by 2020 and to support the development of integrated transport hubs, ITS and clean energy buses. By 2020, new energy buses are set to reach 200,000 with the acceleration of the construction of new energy vehicle charging equipment. continued debate on market structure The debate on the market structure of public transport market is also posing a controversy - what is the best balance between an optimal social service and ensuring economic benefits? Countries such as the Philippines and Indonesia have bus systems that are owned and operated by a large number of small operators whereas many cities in China have a single publicly owned entity that provides all transport services. Having a large number of small operators allows for low-cost services, but the quality is poor due to severe competition, dangerous driving
practices, pollution and duplicate service on profitable routes and lack of service on non-profitable routes. In contrast, single publicly owned entities may offer higher quality of service but have high costs and insufficient services. There is increasing recognition that the best industry structure falls somewhere between the two. Singapore’s new model has now become the benchmark - having a single public entity that plans the network and determines the quality of service, with a small number of private operators providing services under structured contracts, allows a balancing of the public good with the operational efficiency of the private sector. In the 1960s, Singapore’s bus landscape was unregulated with many private bus companies competing for profitable routes whilst many areas were under serviced. All bus companies were merged as Singapore Bus Service (SBS) to improve service reliability, staff management and fleet maintenance in 1973. Eventually, bus services came under a duopoly with SBS Transit (renamed from SBS) having a majority share of the bus network and Singapore MRT (SMRT) operating most rail lines. With increasing expectations from bus users, Singapore embarked on a new contracting model in 2015, aiming to provide greater competition in the industry and making public bus services more responsive to changes in ridership and commuter travel demand. Under the new contracting model: Q The government determines the routes and service standards Q Bus operators are contracted via competitive tendering for the right to operate Q Bus operators are paid service fees to operate while fare revenue is retained by the government Q The government owns all bus infrastructure like depots, workshops, buses and systems (e.g. fleet management and ticketing) Q Market entry barriers to attract more bus operators have been ➢ lowered
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This regulatory model helps keep a balance in public transport operator market share and competition. increasing competition means more customeroriented services Competition in the transport industry is increasingly intense, especially for regional public transport operators. One of the biggest challenges for Japan is the decreasing trend in the use of regional rail which is competing with regional airlines, private vehicles and private coaches. In the last few years, East Japan Railway Company (JRE), has set a target to create new demand for leisure trips; trips for senior citizens and in rural areas ‘Joyful Trains’ were created by JRE, which aims to make riding fun and push the limits on train design. This initiative has developed a new market segment and asks users to board just for the “ride” itself, rather than as a means of transport. This initiative also aims revitalise local communities, such as hotels, restaurants and souvenir shops in rural areas. The trains for a few selected lines have been converted to present the following themes: TYPE OF TRAIN
THEME
Toreiyu Tsubasa
Hot spring
Koshino Shu Kura
'Sake' (Japanese wine)
Tohoku Emotion
Restaurant
Steam Locomotive Ginga
Galaxy
POKÉMON with YOU Train Encourage children Cruise Train Shiki-Shima (will be ready 2017)
Luxury
growing customer expectations Like many services, once the city has reached a level of stability in public transport services, customers start to have higher expectations. On top of the efforts to enhance public transport, Asian cities with more mature and comprehensive networks such as Singapore, Tokyo, Hong Kong
One of the outcomes of Taipei's sustainable strategy was the launch of YouBike in 2009
EVENT WILL OFFER SOLUTIONS Organised by UITP and the Singapore Land Transport Authority (LTA) with the theme of “Innovating Transport for liveable cities”, The Singapore International Transport Congress and Exhibition (SITCE) to be held in Singapore from 19-21 October 2016 will specifically address the public transport issues and provide
innovative solutions needed to achieve the above objectives. The breakneck speed of urbanisation means this is the ideal time for transport professionals to come together to discuss issues relating to connectivity and urban transport, better service levels for commuters, safety, congestion management, green and sustainable transport systems, future mobility and more. Q For more information: www.sitce.org
and Taipei have also started to focus on “Active Mobility”, with a goal of closing the first-mile and last-mile gap. Singapore has been introducing its ‘Walk2Ride’ Scheme, ‘Silver Zone’, ‘National Cycling Plan’ and various infrastructure improvements to support active mobility. The Ministry of Transport aims to have three in four commuters choosing public transport as their main mode of travel by 2030, a proportion rising to 85% by the 2050s. The government will invest a projected S$36bn in public transport over the next five years to make the “car-lite” vision happen. The Land Transport Authority has set up an Active Mobility Unit to improve walking and cycling connections, particularly to train stations and bus stops, to address ‘First and Last Mile’ connectivity, as well as on-demand and point-to-point
mobility options, new technologies and new business models to serve ageing demographics and maintain sustainability. Taipei is another Asian city that is concerned about public transport connectivity and being an eco-friendly city. The market share of public transport in Taipei Metropolitan (Taipei and New Taipei) in 2015 was 58%. It has been the vision of Taipei in recent years to promote green transport and to grow its market share to 70% and the share of bicycles from the current 5 to 12% by 2020. The Tapei Department of Transport developed the “Bike-Bus-Metro-Walk (BBMW) Green Transportation System” plan to meet future demand. Under the BBMW scheme, the government aims to improve bus systems by providing more exclusive bus lanes, create barrier free transport by introducing
low-floor bus and barrier-free taxis, expanding the urban bicycle network and dedicated lanes as well as introducing public bike rental stations in conjunction with additional pedestrian facilities. One of the successful outcomes of BBMW was the launch of YouBike in 2009. This bike sharing scheme has proven its success with a grand total of 200 YouBike stations and more than 6,500 operating public rental bicycles in service. This has transformed Taipei into a cycling city and YouBike is being introduced to other Taiwanese cities such as Taichung and Taoyuan. from problems to opportunities From cities with sophisticated and world-class public transport to cities with minimal or non-existent multimodal public transport planning, each city in Asia faces unique, yet common problems. These challenges also present many opportunities for the public transport industry. For example, ADB is investing USD$0.6m in supporting the development of an efficient, integrated and sustainable public transport system for Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and recently approved a USD$0.5m deal to finance policy and technical assistance for the ITS development plan for Magnolia. With a population of over 4.7 billion, equivalent to approximately 60% of the world’s population, Asia plays a crucial role in exploring opportunities in planning, implementing and promoting sustainable transport, and massive investment in public transport infrastructure is required to make Asian cities better places to live, work and play. Q Q Sue Chan is the head of UITP Asia Pacific. She has been working in the traffic and transportation field for nearly 20 years, specialising in transport planning, strategy and policy. At UITP, Sue leads the development of the Association in the Asia-Pacific region in the advocacy of public transport and sustainable development.
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