"Travel Smart" to avoid morning squeeze - yet another piece-meal solution

[Confuseous]

SINGAPORE: Getting to work during the morning rush hour can be a squeeze. But the Land Transport Authority (LTA) suggests this can be avoided if commuters choose to "travel smart".

That is also the name of its new pilot programme launched on Tuesday.

Under the initiative, organisations will get more support in making it easier for employees to travel and commute during off-peak periods.

The programme aims to get organisations to adopt measures such as flexible working hours, teleconferencing, as well as provide facilities like shower rooms and lockers in offices for staff who choose alternative modes of transport like cycling and walking.

LTA hopes this will encourage workers to come in either before or after the morning peak hour, which is typically from 7.45am to 8.45am.

Organisations will receive expert advice and help in drawing up an action plan.

LTA hopes to get 13 organisations on board in the pilot programme. So far, seven companies have signed up.

Minister of State for Transport Josephine Teo said the initiative would act as a complementary strategy to smoothen travel demand during peak hours.

Mrs Teo, who is also the co-chair of the inter-ministerial workgroup on travel demand management, said: "Travel Smart does not replace the basic strategy of enhancing basic capacity.

"When we talk about smoothening the travel demand, we're looking at shifting about 10 to 15 per cent of the peak hour travel demand into the shoulder peaks -- and in doing so, enable the commuters to enjoy more comfortable rides, more pleasant travel experiences."

"We already have some schemes that promote smoother distribution of travel and they are encouraging in terms of their effects. But what commuters are also telling us, is that their travel choices very much depend on employer attitudes and workplace practices."

 

[Sadako]

So everybody have to fall in for the first bus and first train? Huh that's your solution, brilliant

 

[Cestbon]

I always said gov set example. All gov department start work from 7.30~8.am and knock off 4.30~5.00pm.

 

[laksaboy]

Cut the population size to early-mid 2000s level (e.g. '4 million smiles welcome you' in 2006), and the overcrowding problem will be solved instantaneously.

But you won't do it, will you? You prefer to pack the serfs like sardines on a shitty small tropical island, so you can squeeze that little bit extra GDP growth and then pat yourselves on the back for a job well done.

Sometimes things in life simply do not fit. The shirt is too tight, the shoe is too tight. Well, Singapore is too small for 5+/6 million people. The sooner you pull your heads out of the sand and acknowledge this very real constraint, the better for everyone.

Greed for GDP growth, like any other form of greed, has a nasty habit of bouncing back and inflicting retribution. Go read the story of 'Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves', and take note of what happened to Ali Baba's brother.

 

[winnipegjets]

The LTA can't cope because of the PAP open door policy. Now, it wants to get people to accommodate them. Fire the whole lot of incompetents. They should have advised the government of the consequences or build up the infrastructure fast.

 

[Confuseous]

SINGAPORE - Staff employed by some of Singapore's largest organisations could soon enjoy discounts on their coffee or breakfast, flexible working hours or even a priority parking space.

These are some possible measures the employers could implement under the Land Transport Authority's (LTA) Travel Smart programme, aimed at getting companies to help ease congestion on public transport.

The LTA hopes to get 13 organisations - both in the public and private sector - on board the programme. So far, seven organisations with more than 10,000 employees have signed up. The private sector companies are BP Singapore, CapitaLand, Ernst & Young and Rajah & Tann, and they will join the LTA, the Public Service Division and SPRING Singapore as pioneers of the pilot.

The LTA, together with technical and management support services firm AECOM, will prepare a personalised action plan for each organisation by the end of this year. The plan will be rolled out next year by the various organisations and two evaluation surveys - one in May and another in November - will be conducted to gauge its progress.

While details are still being worked out, the LTA said AECOM will negotiate any potential discounts for employees on behalf of the organisations and any potential arrangement will aim to be mutually beneficial.

This programme, together with existing travel demand management initiatives such as the Incentives for Singapore's Commuters programme and SMRT's early travel discount, hopes to shift between 10 and 15 per cent of commuters out of the morning rush-hour commute, thus making the travel experience more pleasant.

- http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC121003-0000035/LTA,-employers-tie-up-to-ease-morning-squeeze

Straight-line thinking from our highly paid ministers and civil servants:

1) pass the buck to employers be it on fertility rate or getting people to work staggered hours; whither productivity?
2) throw incentives to sinkies, without being out of pocket - getting commercial enterprises to offer the prize.
3) let other people conduct the experiments and then assess. WHY ARE LTA AND MOM not among the lead public organisations to take part in the experiment?

 

[I_Hate_Pappies]

This is their "brilliant" solution? So when the traffic becomes slightly less congested , are they going to throw in more people into this tiny island? :oIo: The last time they did road expansion on the expressways to ease traffic congestion, it ended up with heavier traffic on the road.:oIo:
Why bother?

 

[streetsmart73]

Cut the population size to early-mid 2000s level (e.g. '4 million smiles welcome you' in 2006), and the overcrowding problem will be solved instantaneously.

But you won't do it, will you? You prefer to pack the serfs like sardines on a shitty small tropical island, so you can squeeze that little bit extra GDP growth and then pat yourselves on the back for a job well done.

Sometimes things in life simply do not fit. The shirt is too tight, the shoe is too tight. Well, Singapore is too small for 5+/6 million people. The sooner you pull your heads out of the sand and acknowledge this very real constraint, the better for everyone.

Greed for GDP growth, like any other form of greed, has a nasty habit of bouncing back and inflicting retribution. Go read the story of 'Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves', and take note of what happened to Ali Baba's brother.

hi there


1. again & again!
2. such specimen are telling dafter sheep how this how that.
3. including how to bonk!
4. the bottomline: gdp.
5. expecting employers to bear the blunt of such "recommendations".
6. can dream on!
7. with the coming 6 million sheep on the way.
8. what will the scenario be?

 

[ionzu]

SINGAPORE
The programme aims to get organisations to adopt measures such as flexible working hours, teleconferencing, as well as provide facilities like shower rooms and lockers in offices for staff who choose alternative modes of transport like cycling and walking.

this is the dream of every employee: flexible working hours. why is everyone upset?

soon, traffic will get so bad, and office rents so high, that majority of employees can work from home.

 

[Goldeneye]

Laksa, how to do that? Ask Casinos to move to Johore? Only those with income > $30k per month should have maids? Geylang shift to Batam?

 

[streetsmart73]

this is the dream of every employee: flexible working hours. why is everyone upset?

soon, traffic will get so bad, and office rents so high, that majority of employees can work from home.

hi there


1. yo!
2. come on.
3. bros here are not upset on the flexible thing.
4. what are you?

 

[ionzu]

hi there


1. yo!
2. come on.
3. bros here are not upset on the flexible thing.
4. what are you?

i am pointing out the good that comes with the bad.

 

[BuiKia]

If anyone of you actually realised, this is how the civil servants always work. Whenever they are confront with a problem, the first thing that they do is to "transfer" the problem.

The problem is because of the huge influx of people and the limited public transport in order to maximise their profit. Knowing that a lot of money will be needed to fix the problem and drive down profit, they did they next easiest thing.

They transfer the problem to the companies, asking them to get the workers to come in later or earlier for work.

Now, to them, the problem is not theirs anymore. If it is jam, it is because the companies did not plan the working time better.

Look closer, this is how almost all civil servant work. They dun solve problem, they just delay or transfer it so that it will not blow in their face. As long as the problem does not land on their court, their problem is considered "solved" and they are consider efficient.

 

[KoalaJack]

jack agrees with an earlier reply - go back to mid-2000s level or even before that. the population should stay 4million max. lesser people for smae small space. no such strain on the island's infrastructures. who the hell advise the PM we can cope with 6million people? hes been seriously misled. those bunch of advisors should be sacked and work as taxi drivers....

 

[Cestbon]

Is not going to work unless all gov department start work 8.00am or earlier.
When gov department show example some private company will follow.

 

[po2wq]

... The programme aims to get organisations to adopt measures such as flexible working hours, teleconferencing, as well as provide facilities like shower rooms and lockers in offices for staff who choose alternative modes of transport like cycling and walking.

LTA hopes this will encourage workers to come in either before or after the morning peak hour, which is typically from 7.45am to 8.45am.

Organisations will receive expert advice and help in drawing up an action plan ...

how much wud lta pay coys 2 haf teleconferencing, facilities like shower rooms and lockers in offices for staff? ... if dey r not willing 2 bear ze costs, den stfu! ...

y dun all gahmen depts start wok earlier? ... y shud coys start earlier wen dey cannot visit gahmen depts 4 their wok? ...

wat advcie can lta gif wen dey cant even solf their own prob? ... ya, dey cant solf their prob n dey tink dey can advise others 2 solf probs ... typical useless sinkie mentallity ...


lta haf gotten demselves in2 a sh*tty mess n, basically, now dey want 2 splash their sh*t 2 other coys ...

 

[ionzu]

jack agrees with an earlier reply - go back to mid-2000s level or even before that. the population should stay 4million max. lesser people for smae small space. no such strain on the island's infrastructures. who the hell advise the PM we can cope with 6million people? hes been seriously misled. those bunch of advisors should be sacked and work as taxi drivers....

erm... there are 3.3 m Sg citizens and approx 500k PRs now. and maids are not even included yet.

how do we go back to 4 million max?

are we going to start shooting unproductive singaporeans? or are we going to cull the elderly?

 

[king_of_abalone]

They should suggest Work Smart also. Have two shifts for office workers, day shift and night shift. This will greatly reduce congestion, with potential to double the productivity.

 

[Cestbon]

erm... there are 3.3 m Sg citizens and approx 500k PRs now. and maids are not even included yet.

how do we go back to 4 million max?

are we going to start shooting unproductive singaporeans? or are we going to cull the elderly?

SG population my own estimation
Singaporean(pink IC)>>2.5m
PR(blue IC)>>0.5m
Maid>>0.5m

 

[hawker]

Next time PAP will ask you to find work within 1km of where you stay so that we can all walk to our office.