Transport in Singapore
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Within Singapore, transportation is mainly land-based. Almost all parts of Singapore are accessible by road, including islands such as Sentosa and Jurong Island. The other major form of transportation within Singapore is rail: the Mass Rapid Transit which runs the length and width of Singapore, and the Light Rapid Transit which runs within a neighbourhood. The main island of Singapore is connected to the other islands by ferryboat services, which only carry passengers.
Singapore also has many links to the rest of the world — there are two bridges which link Singapore to Malaysia — the Causeway, and the Second Link. The Singapore Changi Airport is a major aviation hub for many airlines, and Singapore is a major transshipment port.
Before World War 2, rickshaws were an important part of urban public transportation. Rickshaws were taken over by the trishaw after the world war. The Trishaw has been discontinued for usage as a means of transportation after 1980. However, there are some trishaws left which now serve as tourist attractions, taking tourists for a ride around the downtown district for a unique Singapore experience.
Contents |
[edit] Transportation within Singapore
[edit] Roads
Singapore pioneered the modern use of toll roads to enter the most congested city area with the Singapore Area Licensing Scheme, which has since been replaced with the Electronic Road Pricing, a form of electronic toll collection.
- Total length of expressways: 150 km
- Total length of major arterial roads: 604 km
- Total length of collector roads: 468 km
- Total length of local access roads: 2040 km
- Total road length: 3262 km[1]
Traffic drives on the left which is typical in Asian countries.
Singapore has two land links to Malaysia. The Causeway, built in the 1920s to connect Johor Bahru (Johor, Malaysia) to Woodlands in Singapore, carries a road and a railway line. The Tuas Second Link, a bridge further west, was completed in 1996 and links Tuas in Singapore to Tanjung Kupang in Johor (Malaysia).
- Cars
Total population: 465,500 (as of 2006)[2]
[edit] Expressways
The planning, construction and maintenance of the road network is overseen by the Land Transport Authority (LTA), and this extends to expressways in Singapore. These form key transport arteries between the distinct towns and regional centres as laid out in Singapore's urban planning, with the main purpose of allowing vehicles to travel from satellite towns to the city centre and vice-versa in the shortest possible distance. These expressways include:
- Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE)
- Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE)
- Central Expressway (CTE)
- East Coast Parkway (ECP)
- Kranji Expressway (KJE)
- Pan Island Expressway (PIE)
- Seletar Expressway (SLE)
- Tampines Expressway (TPE)
- Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) (Phase One Open)
- Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE) (under construction)
The influence of expressways on Singapore's transport policy developed shortly after independence during the history of Singapore because of frequent traffic congestion in the Central district. The aim was to encourage residential development in other parts of the island and give residents in these new "satellite towns" a convenient link between their homes and their workplaces (which were mostly situated around the city centre.)
[edit] Rail
Railways: 38.6 km, narrow gauge, 1.000 m. The island rail's terminal at Tanjong Pagar Railway Station is linked to the Malaysian rail network KTM across the 1.2 km causeway to Johor Bahru on the Malay Peninsula. It connects with Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.
The Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) is a standard gauge system with a total rail network length of 109.4 km and 64 stations. There are three main lines running at present: the North South Line, the East West Line (both operated by SMRT Corporation), and the North East Line (operated by SBS Transit). A new Circle Line is slated for completion in 2010 and will be opened in phases as various stations are completed.
In 1998, a 7.8 km-Light Rapid Transit (LRT) system with 14 stations was introduced in Bukit Panjang. The Sengkang LRT Line, a 10.7 km light rail line was opened in 2003; a third LRT line, Punggol LRT Line, was opened in 2005 Jan with the East Loop of the system serving the residences in Punggol.
A 2.1km Sentosa Express monorail built by Hitachi Asia Ltd was opened on 15 January 2007, linking Sentosa island to mainland Singapore.
[edit] Cable car
Singapore's only cable car system, the Singapore Cable Car, plies between Mount Faber on the main island of Singapore and the resort island of Sentosa as an alternative means of accessing that tourist attraction.
[edit] Public transportation
Public transport in Singapore covers a variety of transport modes such as bus, rail and taxi and is widely utilised by her population. This is a result of great emphasis by the Government of Singapore in order to promote its use over private transport. About 5.308 million trips[3] are made on a daily basis on the public transport system and at least half of its population utilizes it daily.
The public transport system is the most important means of transportation to work and to school for Singaporeans. About 52.4% of Singaporean residents (excluding foreigners) go to work using public transport according to the Singapore Census of Population 2000 [1], with 41.6% using private transport and the remaining 6.1% not requiring any form of transportation. Amongst school-going residents, 41.5% of them goes to school by public transport, 24.9% by private transport, and a further 30.1% do not require any form of transportation at all.
A slight dip has been noted in the number of Singaporeans and permanent residents using public transport compared to 1990, which had 55.0% and 46.3% of them going to work and to school respectively. The government aims to reverse this trend such that the total average number of commuters on public transport rises above 75% of all trips made.
[edit] Buses
- Routes: 217
- Fleet: More than 2,700
- Daily trips: 2.34 million passenger trips
- Routes: 78 (48 trunk, 30 feeder)
- Fleet: 863
- Daily Trips: about 787,066 passenger trips[6]
[edit] Taxis
Total fleet: 23,860 (as of Sep 2007)[7]
All taxis are fitted with meters; all are air conditioned; the majority of the taxis are 5-seaters; about 90% of taxis have radiophones; call booking is done via GPS or digital voice dispatch. All passengers must fasten their seat belts by law. Most taxis run on diesel fuel.
Daily trips: about 588,632
Taxi companies and vehicle types used:
ComfortDelgro Comfort Taxis (10631 cabs)[8]
ComfortDelgro CityCab (4106 cabs)[9]
- Nissan Cedric
- Toyota Crown
- Mercedes-Benz E220 CDI (Presido)
- Mercedes-Benz Vito 115 CDI (MaxiCab: 7-seater)
- Hyundai Sonata CRDI
ComfortDelgro Yellow-Top Cab (1032 cabs)[10]
- Nissan Cedric
- Toyota Crown
- Toyota LiteAce (5-seater van conversion)
- Mercedes-Benz E220 CDI (Sovereign)
- Volvo V70, natural gas
- Fiat Croma JTD
SMRT Taxis (3,007 cabs)[11]
- Nissan Cedric
- Toyota Crown
- Mercedes-Benz E220 CDI (Prestige)
- SsangYong Rodius SV270 XDI (Space: 7-seater)
- Carbodies "London Taxi" TX1 (6-seater)
Union Energy Corporation TransCab (2099 cabs)[12]
Premier Taxis SilverCab (2207 cabs)[13]
- Nissan Cedric
- Toyota Crown
- Kia Magentis CRDI
- Mercedes-Benz E220 CDI (Silverstar)
- Skoda Superb 2.5 V6 TDI (SilverArrow)
Smart Automobile (759 cabs)[14]
- Toyota Crown
- Mercedes-Benz E200 NGT, natural gas/petrol bi-fuel (Supreme)
- Volkswagen Touran 1.9 TDI PD (Supreme)
- Toyota Camry JDM, natural gas
Prime Taxis (19 cabs)[15]
[edit] Public transport regulation
The public transport system is regulated by the Land Transport Authority, which overseas the three main modes of public transportation. Fare regulation and bus service standards are under the purview of an independent body, the Public Transport Council, while TransitLink, established by SBS Transit, SMRT Trains and SMRT Buses, helps to create an integrated multi-modal system with a common fare-payment mode, information platform, and a physical network without duplication of services.
The policies of the Land Transport Authority are meant to encourage the use of public transport in Singapore. The key aims are to provide an incentive to reside away from the Central district, as well as to reduce air pollution. Singapore has a Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Light Rapid Transit (LRT) rail system consisting of five lines. There is also a system of bus routes throughout the island, most of which have air conditioning due to Singapore's tropical climate. Buses without air conditioning are gradually being phased out. A contactless smartcard called the EZ-link card is used to pay bus and MRT fares.
[edit] International transport links
Singapore is linked to Johor, Malaysia via a causeway and the Tuas Second Link, as well as a railway line operated by Keretapi Tanah Melayu of Malaysia. Singapore's Changi Airport, with its three terminals, is one of the most important air hubs in the region. The international airport is situated at the eastern most tip of the main island, and serves 185 cities in 58 countries[16]. When construction of the third terminal is completed in 2008, Changi will be soon also be capable of handling 64 million passengers every year.
[edit] Sea ports
The Port of Singapore, run by the port operators PSA International (formerly the Port of Singapore Authority) and Jurong Port, is the world's busiest in terms of shipping tonnage handled. 1.04 billion gross tons were handled in the year 2004, crossing the one billion mark for the first time in Singapore’s maritime history. Singapore also emerged as the top port in terms of cargo tonnage handled with 393 million tonnes of cargo in the same year, beating the Port of Rotterdam for the first time in the process. In 2006, it handled a total of 448 million tonnes of cargo[17].
Singapore is ranked second globally in terms of containerised traffic, with 21.3 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) handled in 2004[18], and is also the world's busiest hub for transshipment traffic. Additionally, Singapore is the world's largest bunkering hub, with 23.6 million tonnes sold in 2004[19].
In 2007, The Port of Singapore is ranked the world's busiest port once again, surpassing Hong Kong and Shanghai.[20] The Port of Singapore is also ranked the Best Seaport in Asia.
[edit] Merchant marine
Total:
- 1131 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totalling 33,237,005 GRT/52,487,127 DWT
Ships by type:
- Bulk carrier: 167
- Cargo: 85
- Carrier: 1
- Chemical tanker: 156
- Container: 231
- Liquefied gas: 72
- Livestock carrier: 2
- Petroleum tanker: 355
- Refrigerated cargo: 6
- Roll on/roll off: 3
- Specialized tanker: 7
- Vehicle carrier: 46
Foreign-owned:
- Australia: 6
- Bangladesh: 2
- Belgium: 8
- China: 19
- Denmark: 68
- France: 1
- Germany: 18
- Greece: 14
- Hong Kong: 37
- India: 9
- Indonesia: 56
- Italy: 4
- Japan: 108
- South Korea: 7
- Malaysia: 28
- Norway: 125
- Philippines: 4
- Slovenia: 1
- Sweden: 17
- Switzerland: 2
- Taiwan: 60
- Thailand: 20
- United Arab Emirates: 8
- United Kingdom: 13
- United States: 17
Registered in other countries:
- Bahamas: 9
- Belize: 3
- Bermuda: 1
- Bolivia: 1
- Cambodia: 2
- Cayman Islands: 10
- Cyprus: 1
- Dominica: 8
- France: 2
- Honduras: 10
- Hong Kong: 11
- Indonesia: 26
- Isle of Man: 2
- Kiribati: 1
- Liberia: 42
- Malaysia: 22
- Marshall Islands: 12
- Mongolia: 12
- Nigeria: 1
- Norway: 1
- Panama: 83
- Philippines: 1
- St Vincent and The Grenadines: 6
- Thailand: 2
- Tuvalu: 13
- United States: 11
- Unknown: 4[21]
| Port | Operator | Type | Berths | Quay length (m) |
Quay cranes | Area (m²) |
Capacity (kTEUs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brani (BT) | PSA | Container | 9 | 31 | 790,000 | ||
| Cosco-PSA (CPT) | Cosco/PSA | Container | 2 | 720 | 228,000 | >1 million | |
| Jurong | JTC | Multi-Purpose | 23 | 4,486 | 1,200,028 | ||
| Keppel (KT) | PSA | Container | 14 | 36 | 960,000 | ||
| Pasir Panjang (PPT) | PSA | Container | 12 | 49 | 1,770,000 | ||
| Pasir Panjang Wharves | PSA | General | |||||
| Sembawang | PSA | General | |||||
| Tanjong Pagar (TPT) | PSA | Container | 8 | 27 | 840,000 |
[edit] Air transport
Singapore aims to be Asia's aviation hub chiefly via the promotion of liberal aviation policies in a bid to encourage airlines to commence and maintain operations here. The aviation industry is regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, a statutory board of the Singapore government under the Ministry of Transport.
An open skies agreement was concluded with the United Kingdom in October 2007 permitting unrestricted services from Singapore by UK carriers. Singapore carriers were allowed to operate domestic UK services as well as services beyond London Heathrow to a number of destinations, including the United States. [22]
[edit] Airlines
There are currently 5 local scheduled service airlines, all of them operating out of Singapore Changi Airport, offering scheduled flights to over 70 cities on 5 continents. The national flag carrier, Singapore Airlines currently operates out of Changi Airport Terminal 2 and coming in January 2008, Singapore Airlines will operate in both Changi Airport Terminal 2 and 3. Its subsidiary, SilkAir, operate out of Changi Airport Terminal 2. Singapore's two budget airlines, Jetstar Asia and Valuair, currently operate out of Changi Airport Terminal 1. Only one budget airline, Tiger Airways, has chosen to operate at the Budget Terminal; other budget airlines have cited various reasons for not shifting operations to the Budget terminal, including accessibility and ease of transfers to connecting flights.
- Jetstar Asia- founded 2004
- SilkAir- founded 1976
- Singapore Airlines- founded 1947 (as Malayan Airways)
- Tiger Airways- founded 2003
- Valuair- founded 2004 (has since merged with Jetstar Asia to form OrangeStar)
[edit] Airports
Singapore Changi Airport is a regional aviation hub served by 81 international airlines and is being expanded, after the opening of the Budget Terminal, with the construction of Terminal 3 slated for completion in 2008.
Seletar Airport is Singapore's first civil aviation airport and is primarily used for private aviation today. The airport also serves limited scheduled commercial flights by Berjaya Air to the Malaysian islands of Pulau Tioman and Pulau Redang
| Airport | ICAO | IATA | Usage | Runway | Length (ft) |
Length (m) |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paya Lebar Airbase | WSAP | QPG | Military | Paved | 12400 | 3800 m | Former civilian |
| Seletar Airport | WSSL | XSP | Civilian | Paved | 5300 | 1615 | Mainly non-scheduled flights |
| Sembawang Airbase | WSAG | Military | Paved | 3000 | 914 | ||
| Singapore Changi Airport | WSSS | SIN | Civilian | Paved | 13200 | 4000 | |
| Tengah Airbase | WSAT | TGA | Military | Paved | 8900 | 2713 |
[edit] Heliports
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.lta.gov.sg/corp_info/doc/Stats_In_Brief(2007).pdf
- ^ http://www.singstat.gov.sg/pubn/reference/sh2007.pdf
- ^ http://www.lta.gov.sg/corp_info/doc/Average_Daily_Public_Transport_Ridership.pdf
- ^ http://www.sbstransit.com.sg/transport/trpt_bus_overview.aspx
- ^ http://www.smrt.com.sg/annualreport2007/pdf/SMRT_Buses.pdf
- ^ http://www.smrt.com.sg/investors/key_operation_data_Bus.html
- ^ http://www.lta.gov.sg/corp_info/doc/Taxi_Info_for_LTA_Website_Sep_07.pdf
- ^ http://www.lta.gov.sg/corp_info/doc/Taxi_Info_for_LTA_Website_Sep_07.pdf
- ^ http://www.lta.gov.sg/corp_info/doc/Taxi_Info_for_LTA_Website_Sep_07.pdf
- ^ http://www.lta.gov.sg/corp_info/doc/Taxi_Info_for_LTA_Website_Sep_07.pdf
- ^ http://www.lta.gov.sg/corp_info/doc/Taxi_Info_for_LTA_Website_Sep_07.pdf
- ^ http://www.lta.gov.sg/corp_info/doc/Taxi_Info_for_LTA_Website_Sep_07.pdf
- ^ http://www.lta.gov.sg/corp_info/doc/Taxi_Info_for_LTA_Website_Sep_07.pdf
- ^ http://www.lta.gov.sg/corp_info/doc/Taxi_Info_for_LTA_Website_Sep_07.pdf
- ^ http://www.lta.gov.sg/corp_info/doc/Taxi_Info_for_LTA_Website_Sep_07.pdf
- ^ http://www.changiairport.com/changi/en/about_us/fact_sheets/air_network/?__locale=en
- ^ http://www.mpa.gov.sg/infocentre/pdfs/cargo-throughput.pdf
- ^ http://www.mpa.gov.sg/infocentre/pdfs/container-throughput.pdf
- ^ http://www.mpa.gov.sg/infocentre/pdfs/bunker-sales.pdf
- ^ "Singapore remains world's busiest port", Xinhuanet, 2006-01-12.
- ^ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sn.html
- ^ http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/303608/1/.html
[edit] External links
| Singapore Portal |
- Singapore Ministry of Transport
- A local Wikipedia on Singaporean buses
- Transport sector's highs and lows in year 2005
- LTA public transport
- White Paper on a World Class Land Transport System
- Public Transport Council
- Transitlink
Expressways and semi-expressways of Singapore | ||
|---|---|---|
| Expressways | Ayer Rajah Expressway · Bukit Timah Expressway · Central Expressway · East Coast Parkway · Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway · Kranji Expressway · Marina Coastal Expressway · Pan Island Expressway · Seletar Expressway · Tampines Expressway | Image:UK motorway symbol.svg |
| Semi-expressways | Nicoll Highway · Outer Ring Road System · West Coast Highway | |
