Despite the grand optimism that this post title conveys, I am not as ready to hold the same high hopes for the coming year as I would like to… Nevertheless, the future is an inevitability that we must face if we want to hope for a chance in altering its course.
Another year has come to an end. 2023 has been considerably jam-packed for many of us who are slowly going back to normal, or creating that new normal from what we experienced in years bygone. The transport sector has been abuzz in reviving themselves and prepping for the future, rerailing themselves steady after an untimely derailment in schedule. Perhaps it is in this frenzy that we lost ourselves somewhat, which explains why we at STC haven’t been posting as much this year. (Our apologies, and we hope you enjoyed our content nonetheless)
As we bid farewell to 2023, the annual ritual for the new year begins — looking out for the year’s happenings and being all fresh and prepared for new challenges. Like the years that came before, 2024 will bring much change in transport in Singapore. It’s said that change is a constant, yet its constance is what brings excitement… or more accurately for less positive things planned in the pipeline for us, apprehension.
From the announcement of two bus packages’ tender results, to the unveiling of new trains for the CRL and NSEWL, from LTA’s rushed-through implementation of a “bigger electronic display font” for buses to the untimely demise of key north-south routes serving the CBD, it has been one large emotional rollercoaster for all observers of transport matters locally. With more happening in subsequent years, it will be one interesting ride that I will definitely be part of. Stay tuned for more content from us at STC, and you readers are always welcome to reach out to fellow readers and the Team managing and writing articles here on our Discord server 😀
Admittedly, on a personal level it has been more taxing and hence I haven’t been pushing posts out as often as I used to back when STC first started in 2020. Two-month holes in the posting schedule… I’m sorry, dear readers. Much of my postings this year have been largely reactive to transport happenings as well. That will change, with our 2024 post schedule including the introduction of novel proposals inspired by role models from around the world. I hope those ideas sitting in the drafts section can be pushed out as quickly as possible too. It would be a huge waste for them to not see the light of day either.
Just passed was holiday season and it was a relief to note that many of us have been able to travel to other countries to take a look at what they’re up to. Sometimes the official introductions to transport systems in other countries often miss out the gems, simply because they’re seen as too small, or deemed irrelevant, or not significant enough in the eyes of international commenters who look out for different things. It really takes boots-on-the-ground observation to truly see the full picture, and even so with the limited time and scope of our visits, we cannot claim to have seen everything either. Small details like the inclusion of using bus display signages to act as hazard lights are hardly, if ever mentioned by other media, despite its prevalence throughout China. Nor their ubiquitous and more-or-less comprehensive biking infrastructure. It’s a given there, just like how it is a given that rubbish bins can be found at every corner of Singapore to maintain cleanliness. But these still serve as learning points that we can take note of, and strive towards in our quest to improve and match up with our peers who are also finding their own ways to build the transport ecosystem that works for them.
It’s been a year of learning for many of us, and while STC has not been as featured on media this year compared to the last, we have been taking the time to learn about various topics related to our work, from public transport, where we started, to urban mobility, city planning and figuring out how to build liveable cities. Because at the end of the day however much we strongly advocate for certain things to do to improve public transport, the ultimate goal of our efforts in commenting and making proposals for the better is to build a better city, one that works better for the people.
From public transport for the people to cities built for the people, the common man and woman is the basis around which our societies are shaped and built upon. The elite and influential may attempt to distort the waves of history but in the end the people prevail as history’s driving force. And it is only with the people being actively in charge of shaping their communities, or their interest being represented in policy can there be peace, stability and prosperity in the long run.
We write passionately about issues concerning public transport, and many would probably ask why. To some we appear to be an obsessive, crazed bunch who is absorbed by anything bus or train related, a bunch of social weirdos perhaps. I cannot speak the same for other transport enthusiasts out there, but for us at Team STC, as well as our active reader base (in our Discord server), we love transit because we feel it can be better. And we WANT to make it better, to see the improvements, and be part of the process. That’s why we are SG Transport Critic, to criticise the holes in existing transport (and urban planning) policy and find ways to make it better, even if the authorities seem to be unable to do so at times. That’s what brings meaning to our hobby as transport enthusiasts.
There is still much to learn, and every single day each of our Team members discovers something new about our respective topics of interest to contribute to the conversation. I look forward, and so do my trusty Team of authors and collaborators, to sharing our insights on transport in Singapore with all of our beloved readers in due time as we pick them up in our journey of discovery.
STC hasn’t been getting a lot of coverage in other media this year, in the form of collabs or mentions or whatnot. That’s fine. This year, we focused more on interacting with our reader base, through activities held that involved the joint participation of Team members and our very own readers! Coming in the form of visits to PICs (project information centers for upcoming LTA projects) or hyping new bus routes together, STC has been reaching out to engage and interact with its readers. We have gone beyond a mere blog, and there is some sense of community among those frequently commenting on our server. It’s something I am heartened to note, and may these friendships last. You can be part of the STC experience too, by joining our Discord server and gain a chance to attend outings with the Team to know us better! We welcome all warmly, as we always have.
With the year behind us, what shall we expect next?
Positives first, 2024 will be another year of getting new stuff. Stage 4 of the TEL will be open sometime in late 2024, which gives Marine Parade and East Coast residents yet another option into the city. New bus depots are expected to come next year as well, which besides easing the capacity crunch that older bus depots have, are also expected to come with capabilities that enable the charging of electric buses. It’s a certain step forward to welcoming our first large batch of electric buses which will be arriving progressively from 2025 onwards, and truth to be told, a necessary step in order to make electric bus operation at scale a reality. Without the infrastructure, forget about any bus electrification project. Though I do contend that locating them so far from where bus services actually operate from will be a huge systemic limitation that we will do well to get rid of… Man, Singapore is still at the start line in the electrification race while almost every major Chinese city is already past the finish line. High time we got our act together on this, and the announcement of 360 electric buses earlier in November is a welcome confirmation. Strides are also being taken in active mobility, although without PMDs around to do the heavy-lifting of demand upon cycling infrastructure, what we build cannot translate into our high expectations for its utility once complete in future. LTA and URA have drafted highly connective (albeit radial though) cycling networks spanning hundreds of km to be built in the decade to come. The missing piece in the puzzle is to foster the culture of actively using such active mobility infrastructure for their daily journeys and not just for the occasional recreational spin. Singaporeans need to be convinced to use cycling infrastructure despite the sweltering heat characteristic of our equatorial city-state, and PMDs shine brightly in this regard, if legislation can be tweaked to enable their potential to be fully harnessed.
But I would not be the most optimistic about the state of the bus system in the years to come either. Already, much is swirling around with regard to potential service cuts come TEL4 and even TEL5. If what happened in 2023 is any indication, the future of many key trunk services is grim. Neither am I very hopeful about the service levels of future rail lines, such as extensions to the TEL, JRL and eventually even the CRL. If lackluster 5-minute peak frequencies can be tolerated for the TEL, what would the LTA condone for, say, the Jurong Region Line? Being effectively a true light rail service playing a largely connective, rather than arterial role in the network, serving mostly residential and educational areas which see reduced demand outside the three peak periods, it would be quite scary to imagine what service levels LTA would permit on these rail lines. If TEL operates only every 5 minutes even at the peak because of “insufficient demand” (quoting their words), what may become of the JRL, or the CRL Punggol extension, both of which play roles more connective than arterial? I hope these fears eventually get proven unfounded, but for now given the rate of bus rationalisation, as well as degradation to even our rail services, quality of service is something I will not stop worrying about for the near future.
Enough of that talk, and may we hope it doesn’t happen. Touch wood, although the inner realist in me tells me otherwise. Let’s take a look at how the site has performed.
Well of course, as the year comes to an end and a new one begins, let’s take a look at those posts that have been topping the charts this year. It’s a yearly tradition of STC to review the top 10 posts by view count, to see what has garnered the most interest. Two lists, one for the all-time toppers and another for the top 10 posts written this year.
As usual, the all-time top 10 posts by view counts. I won’t comment much on them anymore because it’s the same few posts that stay at the all-time top, *though there are entries here that do surprise me.
- Fixing the LRT – Sengkang / Punggol (4256 views)
- Basics: Interchanges, the good, the bad, the WTF (3110 views)
- Interchange types (Singapore edition) (2731 views)*
- Making the case for bendy buses (2063 views)
- A radical plan to fix Jurong East (2046 views)
- LRT — too light, not rail, not transit? (1908 views)
- Why are Japanese trains overcrowded? (1814 views)*
- Bus rationalisation — say NO to it! (1736 views)
- Bendy buses — does Singapore need them? (1689 views)
- Basics: Branching (1563 views)
Here’s the more interesting list, that of the top 10 posts written in 2023 by view counts. Here goes.
1) Alstom Movia R151 — The Review (Jun 2023, 1235 views)
The latest trains for the NSEWL debuted on 4th June 2023, set to replace the first three generations of rolling stock that had been running since 1987. How do they fare, and what do we expect from them as they become the main workhorse of our two core lines in the decades ahead?
2) The One Ring to Rule them All (Apr 2023, 987 views)
It’s well known that the Circle Line is a hot steaming mess more often than not, and it really is quite an experience to have to ride it every day, which unfortunately is what many crosstown commuters must face daily, like it or not. Why did the Circle Line come to be this way? And the central question: what can be done to mitigate its decade-old problems?
3) Long Term Planning gone wrong? Punggol Feeders #1 (1 Apr 2023, 925 views)
For a while ever since Punggol was ever heard of, the mainstay public transportation modes are through the LRT or the Bus. As a pilot town for the LRT system, Punggol was introduced with car centric roads and long-term APM systems, though effective, it seems like the demand is on the rise – for buses. This points out the effectiveness of modern towns’ long term planning: Is it sustainable enough, and what can be done to fix the demand? With the exponential demand increase for buses, how has the situation developed?
4) Journey to the West (Aug 2023, 905 views)
Results for the Jurong West and Bukit Merah packages were announced. With the handover of the westernmost piece of turf under BCM to a new operator, the operational game changes completely. Bus service as we know it will not be the same anymore, and this post examines the ramifications of further fragmentation on the bus industry locally.
5) Reading your media (May 2023, 842 views)
Do not be fooled by official number gymnastics! Numbers and statistics are but a tool to sway public opinion and subtly galvanise public action to favour a certain agenda. Always ask, when presented with a statistics-based argument in suspect circumstances, what the greater motive is, and whether you are able to accept the intended outcome they wish upon you.
6) Basics: Travel time (Jun 2023, 568 views)
What really goes into travel time statistics? A simple guide for everybody to calculate travel times for journeys that they are making, and more importantly understsnd how claims of “travel time” can be easily manipulated by those who want to manipulate ridership. Best to be read together with #5 above.
7) 88 (Contract CR151 trains) (Aug 2023, 450 views)
44 (or is it 55? We will see.) trains will be ordered for the Cross Island Line. What does this imply for operations on what is expected to be Singapore’s busiest MRT line in the future? Some notes on calculating train usage needs based on target frequency. Can the CRL offer frequent and reliable service with just 44 trains?
8) Where next? (Dec 2023, 443 views)
Controversy is the best friend of clicks, and despite being one of the last few posts to be published this year, it still managed to squeeze into the top 10 for 2023. What happens after this particular service cut exercise for TEL3? The prospects for the future of bus transport are not pretty. Though 167 has been spared the axe for now, please continue to spread the word around, for this critical link can only be saved when LTA is truly aware of its importance as a key north-south connector… through the high ridership figures that we collectively generate!
9) This town actually doesn’t need feeders? (Oct 2023, 436 views)
Another new post in the Town-by-Town series, this time exploring the antithesis of Yishun’s hub-and-spoke model in town planning. It’s also where I introduce the mikrorayon urban planning concept which Singapore surprisingly uses quite extensively in HDB estate development. Anyways, to answer the question… why not read on to find out? It will change your perception of feeder bus services.
10) Unveiling the Bus and APM Chaos (Oct 2023, 419 views)
Well… with a higher population, greater built density, Sengkang is certainly a lot more chaotic than its neighbour Punggol. Why are the feeders reliably overcrowded every day without fail? Well, this post might answer some questions. Notes that Punggol should also take note to avoid running into the same mistakes as they quickly build up their own development (notably the PDD) in sooner years.
One more I thought I’d feature. Barely fell out of the top 10 by a miniscule margin in the last few days of 2023 but I find the poetic irony of featuring it quite significant:
11) Bus go vroom (Jan 2023, 418 views)
The grand irony of featuring this post here — written in response to crowd crush scenes that occurred on the night of New Year’s 2023. How can we better disperse the large crowds from major events in the city with participation in the tens or hundreds of thousands? More importantly, how can we better make use of the potential of city direct buses? Let’s hope it isn’t as painful for partygoers to get home this year…
A quick run-through of other site statistics from 2023: a grand total of 22,428 visitors left 66,663 views on the blog this year. Our record for highest view counts in a month was broken once again this year, with a collective total of 7,176 views for the month of August 2023. Thank you very much for your support, and while many of you may not actively respond to our content, we hope that our posts have been thought-provoking and insightful in local public transport matters. Viewership is how we spread our word, and a big thank you to all of you who have helped in spreading our message and hope for a better public transport system, and a better city of the future.
Only 43 comments were left for this year, but it’s largely due to the migration of discussions into our Discord server, which I highly recommend you to join to be a part of the greater STC experience! Much has gone on in there for the past year — all the exchanges on various topics ranging from new proposals to better our buses and trains, to speculating on future LTA policy direction and even discussion of current affairs of transit systems elsewhere! It has been a vibrant learning experience for us Team members as well — as much as we write posts to inform or persuade you of our belief in some means of improving urban mobility, these lively discussions has been for the better. With the Discord server currently standing at a total of 106 members (of which 94 are readers, just like you!), you, the readers, have also brought us a diverse range of perspectives that we could perhaps never have considered without your active input. This process is how we refine our ideas, and it is something that we could never have done without your active support. Words cannot express our gratitude for the support that all readers have given us in various forms, and despite our increasing prominence and viewership, we will strive to continue representing the people of Singapore in our work as public transport advocates, commentators, reviewers and of course critics. 🙏
LemonNarc: How do y’all do? Fellow readers. Sorry about my rather long inactivity on posts, I shall make it my new year’s resolution to expedite an upcoming post from me. So do look forward to it! And while we are at it, here’s to more revolutionary things happening in Singapore’s transportation landscape, be it the transition to e-buses, or TEL stage 4!
landtransportanalyst: Hello dear readers! It’s also been quite a while since I last uploaded my articles. My apologies for that, I may not be very active for the time being due to personal commitments. In the meantime, we hope that you’ll continue enjoying our content. Cheers!
A heartfelt thank you to everyone for an amazing 2023, and here’s to a better 2024 with all! This is STC signing off for 2023, and onwards to 2024!
Join the conversation here, and don’t forget to press the like button! Thanks for reading STC.
SG Transport Critic 