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Coffeeshop Chit Chat - 151st: Get used to overcrowding MRTs!</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=msgtable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msg vAlign=top><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"> </TD><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead vAlign=top><TD class=msgF width="1%" noWrap align=right>From: </TD><TD class=msgFname width="68%" noWrap>kojakbt_89 <NOBR></NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>Jul-31 10:31 pm </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 3) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>36908.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>Aug 1, 2010
When push comes to shove...
Experts and commuters weigh in on ways to ease overcrowding in trains
<!-- by line -->By Irene Tham , Jamie Ee and Shuli Sudderuddin
<!-- end by line -->
<!-- end left side bar -->
http://www.straitstimes.com/News/Home/Story/STIStory_560490.html?sunwMethod=GET<!-- story content : start -->
The squeeze is on. With rail ridership crossing the two million-a-day mark, it looks like overcrowding in trains will stay a fact of life.
Trains are already running at two- or three-minute intervals during peak periods, and new rail lines will not be ready until after 2013.
Until lines like the Downtown, Eastern Region and Thomson open and take the pressure off the current system, commuters may have to make do with stopgap solutions to ease the congestion.
Transport experts say those in place may not go far enough.
For example, the 10-cent savings for commuters who exit certain MRT stations in the city before 7.30am on Mondays to Saturdays has not been enough to entice commuters. The take-up rate has not been high, says rail operator SMRT.
Even throwing in discount coupons for breakfast cannot make them start their journeys earlier.
'Perhaps there wasn't enough publicity or the discount wasn't high enough,' said Dr Lim Wee Kiak, who chairs the Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport.
Dr Paul Barter, assistant professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, agrees. He said that off-peak discounts in other cities are more significant than the 10-cent discount in Singapore.
In Adelaide, for instance, a regular 10-trip rail ticket costs A$30 (S$37) but the same ticket for off-peak travel from 9.30am to 3pm is almost half the price, at A$16.40.
While discount fares for off-peak travel top the list for experts, there is the flip side of the coin - higher charges for peak-period travel. 'Average fares should remain the same if discounts were to be given. So there would need to be a peak surcharge,' Dr Barter said.
He suggested that the surcharge be levied on commuters exiting the busiest city stations during the morning peak hours and those entering the same stations during the evening peak period.
'If enough people complain to employers about having to pay more during peak hours, it may make employers look into offering more flexibility on office hours,' said Dr Barter.
Tweaks to train carriage designs could also make a difference. These include installing more handle bars and poles, as people crowd around these fittings, Dr Barter said.
Designating separate doors for alighting and boarding was another suggestion, made by Dr Lim.
The rationale goes: Since there are two doors on each side of each carriage, one door could be used for boarding and the other for getting off - just like on a bus.
'This would ensure commuter flow as people would have to move to the centre to go out by the exit door,' said Dr Lim.
Other transport experts The Sunday Times spoke to shot down some of these ideas.
One cited difficulty in enforcement for designating separate doors for alighting and boarding.
'It would lead to more chaos... to get people to queue orderly and wait for passengers to alight first before boarding the train,' said Mr Chin Hoong Chor, associate professor at the National University of Singapore's Department of Civil Engineering.
What do commuters say? The Sunday Times polled 100 commuters, who were asked to pick the best idea from a list of eight suggestions to ease overcrowding. They were also asked to pick the worst idea.
Topping the popularity list was having separate doors for boarding and alighting, followed by discounted fares for off-peak travel.
'People always crowd at the doors, causing a jam when boarding passengers block the way of alighting passengers,' said Mr Pang Kia Nian, 34, a TV producer.
On discounted off-peak fares, Mr Gerald Quek, 33, said they would entice people like senior citizens running errands in the city to travel at a later time.
Topping the unpopular list was hiring 'pushers' to shove people onto trains, like in Japan. Imposing a surcharge on peak-hour travel was the second 'worst' option.
Mr Tham Kew Kuan, 57, a customer service officer, said: 'We don't want to be treated like goods. It will just breed lots of unhappiness and what if you hurt someone while pushing them?'
Both SBS Transit and SMRT say they will look into the suggestions.
SMRT had considered several of them before, such as foldable seats and all-female carriages, but found them to be 'not feasible', said vice-president of rail operations Vincent Tan. 'We recognise there will be commuters who still prefer a seat during peak hours and would fold down the chairs to sit, making such a scheme less effective.'
On all-female carriages, he said they would affect train schedules and capacity during peak hours, as it would mean male commuters could not board even if women-only carriages had space.
Over the last two years, SMRT has rolled out measures to reduce overcrowding.
In March, it added 150 train trips a week to reduce waiting times, and service ambassadors in 2008 to get people to move to less crowded carriages or the centre of a carriage. That same year, it rolled out trains in which 30 per cent of the seats were removed to create more standing space.
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When push comes to shove...
Experts and commuters weigh in on ways to ease overcrowding in trains
<!-- by line -->By Irene Tham , Jamie Ee and Shuli Sudderuddin
<!-- end by line -->
<!-- end left side bar -->
http://www.straitstimes.com/News/Home/Story/STIStory_560490.html?sunwMethod=GET<!-- story content : start -->
The squeeze is on. With rail ridership crossing the two million-a-day mark, it looks like overcrowding in trains will stay a fact of life.
Trains are already running at two- or three-minute intervals during peak periods, and new rail lines will not be ready until after 2013.
Until lines like the Downtown, Eastern Region and Thomson open and take the pressure off the current system, commuters may have to make do with stopgap solutions to ease the congestion.
Transport experts say those in place may not go far enough.
For example, the 10-cent savings for commuters who exit certain MRT stations in the city before 7.30am on Mondays to Saturdays has not been enough to entice commuters. The take-up rate has not been high, says rail operator SMRT.
Even throwing in discount coupons for breakfast cannot make them start their journeys earlier.
'Perhaps there wasn't enough publicity or the discount wasn't high enough,' said Dr Lim Wee Kiak, who chairs the Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport.
Dr Paul Barter, assistant professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, agrees. He said that off-peak discounts in other cities are more significant than the 10-cent discount in Singapore.
In Adelaide, for instance, a regular 10-trip rail ticket costs A$30 (S$37) but the same ticket for off-peak travel from 9.30am to 3pm is almost half the price, at A$16.40.
While discount fares for off-peak travel top the list for experts, there is the flip side of the coin - higher charges for peak-period travel. 'Average fares should remain the same if discounts were to be given. So there would need to be a peak surcharge,' Dr Barter said.
He suggested that the surcharge be levied on commuters exiting the busiest city stations during the morning peak hours and those entering the same stations during the evening peak period.
'If enough people complain to employers about having to pay more during peak hours, it may make employers look into offering more flexibility on office hours,' said Dr Barter.
Tweaks to train carriage designs could also make a difference. These include installing more handle bars and poles, as people crowd around these fittings, Dr Barter said.
Designating separate doors for alighting and boarding was another suggestion, made by Dr Lim.
The rationale goes: Since there are two doors on each side of each carriage, one door could be used for boarding and the other for getting off - just like on a bus.
'This would ensure commuter flow as people would have to move to the centre to go out by the exit door,' said Dr Lim.
Other transport experts The Sunday Times spoke to shot down some of these ideas.
One cited difficulty in enforcement for designating separate doors for alighting and boarding.
'It would lead to more chaos... to get people to queue orderly and wait for passengers to alight first before boarding the train,' said Mr Chin Hoong Chor, associate professor at the National University of Singapore's Department of Civil Engineering.
What do commuters say? The Sunday Times polled 100 commuters, who were asked to pick the best idea from a list of eight suggestions to ease overcrowding. They were also asked to pick the worst idea.
Topping the popularity list was having separate doors for boarding and alighting, followed by discounted fares for off-peak travel.
'People always crowd at the doors, causing a jam when boarding passengers block the way of alighting passengers,' said Mr Pang Kia Nian, 34, a TV producer.
On discounted off-peak fares, Mr Gerald Quek, 33, said they would entice people like senior citizens running errands in the city to travel at a later time.
Topping the unpopular list was hiring 'pushers' to shove people onto trains, like in Japan. Imposing a surcharge on peak-hour travel was the second 'worst' option.
Mr Tham Kew Kuan, 57, a customer service officer, said: 'We don't want to be treated like goods. It will just breed lots of unhappiness and what if you hurt someone while pushing them?'
Both SBS Transit and SMRT say they will look into the suggestions.
SMRT had considered several of them before, such as foldable seats and all-female carriages, but found them to be 'not feasible', said vice-president of rail operations Vincent Tan. 'We recognise there will be commuters who still prefer a seat during peak hours and would fold down the chairs to sit, making such a scheme less effective.'
On all-female carriages, he said they would affect train schedules and capacity during peak hours, as it would mean male commuters could not board even if women-only carriages had space.
Over the last two years, SMRT has rolled out measures to reduce overcrowding.
In March, it added 150 train trips a week to reduce waiting times, and service ambassadors in 2008 to get people to move to less crowded carriages or the centre of a carriage. That same year, it rolled out trains in which 30 per cent of the seats were removed to create more standing space.
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