THE figures for average SMRT trainloads are 25 per cent below the Land Transport Authority’s (LTA) operating standard for passenger limits (1,200 as compared to 1,600).
But they are beyond commuter comfort.
The official peak hour starts at least half an hour too late (at 7am) to account for the morning crowd.
But there are no plans to increase train frequency earlier.
The durations for next train arrival on information screens are kept within five minutes.
But only because timings six minutes or longer are now blocked out.
As the morning crush on peak-hour trains quashes the last of commuter satisfaction, will passengers welcome city cycling as a transport alternative?
A poll conducted amongst 25 commuters shows there could be potential for development.
Would you bike to beat the hike during the passenger peak?
But it is a road not without obstacles.
“Cycling is more strenuous and takes more time than just taking the train,” said undergraduate Miss Jolene Wong, 24. “And the weather in Singapore is too erratic, one moment it’s sunny and it’s raining the next. Plus we’ll be wet both because of rain and perspiration.”
Miss Wong is part of the 56 per cent of commuters polled who are hesitant to travel by bike, most of whom are put off by the “humid weather” and “rain.”
However, there are others who see the benefits cycling offers as a mode of transport.
A Kayse in Point: Service executive Ms Jenny Ho, 42, believes “cycling can be convenient depending on your travelling period.”
Said Ms Ho, “Peak periods for trains are actually conducive for cycling because the weather is cooler at those times as the sun is low. Rain is a problem, but we can circumvent the packed trains in fair weather.”
Do you think the LTA should set up national bike routes cum a bike share system as in Copenhagen?
But it seems locals may need a push to start pedalling – 76 per cent of participants think the LTA should set up national bike routes and a bike share system modelled after the one in Copenhagen to motivate commuters.
Said sales executive Mr Jacob Lim, 33, “Right now there are no routes for cyclists, few places to park bicycles, rental stations are few and far between, and it’s quite expensive to rent a bike for a day.”
If such facilities are realised, Mr Lim is confident Singaporeans will hop on the cycling bandwagon.
“If it already is working so well in Copenhagen and other European areas like Paris, why not Singapore? It’d take us a much shorter time to cycle to and fro because we’re so small,” he said.
And as further incentive for “kiasu Singaporeans,” homemaker Mrs Fiona Goh, 36, reckons “it may be cheaper than taking the train.”
Service executive Ms Jenny Ho, 42, is part of the 44 per cent of commuters who bike to beat the hike during the passenger peak.
The morning crush onboard SMRT trains even before the official peak hour. (Photo credit: Catherine Tan and The Straits Times)
