Singapore tests new way to ease congestion

BANGKOK — Singapore is launching a six-month trial of an on-demand public bus service, using technology to reduce congestion and costs in what could be a model for gridlocked cities in the region.

Commuters can request pickups and drop-offs at any bus stop within a designated area through a mobile app, the Singapore Land Transport Authority, said in a statement.

The service can “optimize limited resources while offering more seamless and convenient bus journeys for commuters in areas or during timings with low or unpredictable ridership”, it said.

From Los Angeles to Beijing, cities are struggling to curb traffic congestion that drains resources and productivity, and worsens pollution.

The popularity of ride-hailing services has only exacerbated the problem, even as the authorities clamp down on cheaper options such as Manila’s jeepneys and motorbike taxis in Kuala Lumpur.

Autonomous vehicles, underground tunnels and flying taxis have all been offered up as possible — if fantastic — solutions.

On-demand public buses already run in parts of New York and Chicago. A service in Helsinki was popular, but proved to be too costly for the Finnish capital.

Singapore is different because of its high density, with 5.6 million people packed into an area smaller than the five boroughs of New York, said Walter Theseira, a transport specialist at the Singapore University of Social Sciences.

“Density always helps to make public transport economically viable,” he said.

The cost of owning a car in Singapore is among the highest in the world.

Two-thirds of survey respondents this year for the 2040 Land Transport Master Plan supported “non-car-owning solutions”, the LTA said.

The trial will begin in select areas in December and then extended.

“We just need to make sure it’s user-friendly for the elderly and tech non-savvy,” he said.