Land Transport Authority Make better use of our LRT systems
We spend a lot of money to build the LRT system in our new towns, such as Sengkang, Punggol and Bukit Panjang.

We have to put up a dedicated infrastructure of elevated tracks and an driverless train system.

We need to use the system fully to justify the heavy expenditure. 

The current systems are poorly used. 

At present, the train frequency is 2 to 3 minutes during the peak hours of 7am to 9am and about 5 to 7 minutes during off-peak times.

It can be increased to 1 minute during peak hours and 2 minutes during off peak hours. This will increase the capacity of the system by up to 3 times. 

The increase in operating cost is low, as the trains are driverless and the infrastructure has already been built.

If the LRT system is operating efficiently and can take more passengers, there is no need to have many bus services running within the town. 

The passengers can take the LRT train for travel to destinations within the town or to the bus interchange for bus services that go outside of the town. These bus services do not need to make stops within the town to pick up the passengers.

As a backup to the LRT system, we can still have buses to run on the same route as the LRT system. These services have a low capacity during the time when the LRT system is operating normally. The capacity can be increased when there is a breakdown of the LRT system.

There will be significant savings using this approach. It is more costly to operate buses, compared to the driverless trains (after the LRT system has been built).

We should put the LRT system to better use.

Tan Kin Lian

https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_538_2005-01-05.html

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