In the excerpt from Urban Solutions “Tapping Tech
for Smoother Traffic”, Tay (2018) expressed the need for Singapore to come up
with more advanced traffic management measures by 21st century to
counter with the increasing number of vehicles on the road. In the article, Tay
(2018) stated that the Land Transport Authority (LTA) incorporated technology
also known as “Intelligent Support Systems” to improve traffic efficiency. LTA has implemented the Area Licensing Scheme
(ALS) to ease road congestion. Therefore, the Electronic Road Parking (ERP)
system was introduced in replacement of the ALS. Moving forward, LTA will be
introducing an upcoming satellite ERP system to remove the gantries and
motorists will be charged depending on the distance travelled on high-traffic
roads. Tay (2018) concluded that Singapore aims to become a city where everyone
is comfortable living by upgrading the transportation systems to enhance the
smooth traffic for road users.
Although LTA has proposed alternative traffic
management measures with the use of smart technology for commuters to travel efficiently,
the author fails to discuss how different modes of transport such as autonomous
vehicles, trains, and buses help to improve traffic flow for road users.
Firstly, the use of Autonomous vehicles (AVs)
helps to improve traffic flow and reduce traffic accidents. In the magazine
“How Self-Driving Cars Might Transform City Parking”, Choi (2019) stated that
AVs do not require much space as compared to normal vehicles. There is no need
to install staircases and lifts in the carparks as AVs are returned through a
machine. The available space can be used for future road infrastructure
developments to accommodate the increasing vehicle population. Furthermore,
according to the article “Driverless vehicles could change laws, insurance
policies”, Abdullah (2016) reported that at least 90 percent of road
accidents are due to human error. There is a need to introduce AVs as another
mode of transport so that it has great potential in reducing the number of
accidents and improve traffic flow.
Secondly, the expansion of the railway network can help
to improve the accessibility for its citizens so that they would take public
transport instead of own vehicle. According to the article “LTA just unveiled
plans for more MRT stations and a possible new rail line that could cut 40
minutes of travel time to the city”, Loh (2019) stated that LTA will be
expanding the current rail network which includes “new stations and rail lines
over the next 20 years”. With the addition of two new stations for the
North-South Line (NSL) by the mid of 2030s, people living in those areas can
save up to 30 minutes of time when travelling downtown area. With faster and
convenient MRT services, it would attract more people to consider taking MRT
instead of their own vehicles. Therefore, commuters can enjoy fast travel without
congesting the roads.
Lastly, in order to reduce the number of vehicles
on the road, bus developments such as the “North-South Corridor” is introduced
so that it can improve traffic congestion on the roads. In the LTA’s webpage, LTA (2019) stated that they
will be introducing the 21.5km North-South Corridor also known as the “North-South
Expressway" with dedicated bus lanes that will stretch from Woodlands to
the city centre to be completed by 2026. With the dedicated bus lanes, commuters
can save the travelling time to city areas by up to 30 minutes. Therefore, it
reduces heavy traffic from the northern and central areas during peak hours.
To conclude, Tay explained the alternatives of traffic
management measures proposed by LTA. However, she did not fully mention how different
transportation systems can improve traffic congestion issues and enhance smooth
traffic for its citizens.
References
- Tay, Q, W (2019, July 13). Tapping Tech for Smoother Traffic. Retrieved from https://www.clc.gov.sg/docs/default-source/urban-solutions/urb-sol-iss13-pdfs/11_case_study-singapore-intelligent-transport-systems.pdf
- Choi, C, Q (2019, February 20). How Self-Driving Cars Might Transform City Parking. Retrieved from https://spectrum.ieee.org/cars-that-think/transportation/self-driving/autonomous-parking
- Abdullah, Z (2016, December 13). Driverless vehicles could change laws, insurance policies. Retrieved from https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/driverless-vehicles-could-change-laws-insurance-policies
- Loh, J (2019, May 27). LTA just unveiled plans for more MRT stations and a possible new rail line that could cut 40 minutes of travel time to the city. Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.sg/lta-just-unveiled-plans-for-more-mrt-stations-and-a-possible-new-rail-line-that-could-cut-40-minutes-of-travel-time-to-the-city/
- Land Transport Authority (2019, May 25). Land Transport Master Plan 2040: Bring Singapore Together. Retrieved from https://www.lta.gov.sg/apps/news/page.aspx?c=2&id=de83f659-4b0d-4609-840e-3deb3ac9b4b9
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