<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Public transport ridership up 8%
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Yeo Ghim Lay
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->THE economic slowdown is driving a growing number of Singaporeans away from their cars and towards public transport, according to official figures released yesterday.
Public transport ridership for the first eight months of this year was 8 per cent higher than during the same period a year ago, Transport Minister Raymond Lim revealed.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>TAXIS' FUTURE 'Taxis make it easier for commuters to give up their cars. Hence, taxi-drivers also have a role to play... and will also benefit as we make a decisive shift towards public transport.''
Mr Lim, on the long-term outlook for the taxi industry
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>An average of 3.7 million journeys were made daily on public transport from January to August this year, up from 3.4 million daily last year.
This comes as more Singaporeans tighten their belts by driving less and taking more public transport, said Mr Lim who was speaking at the 27th anniversary dinner of the National Transport Workers' Union last night at Downtown East.
While ridership figures are going up, Mr Lim hopes that Singaporeans will not see public transport as a 'cheap' option good only during an economic downturn. 'We want commuters to stick to public transport, even when the economy recovers and they can afford to drive, because they find public transport fast, convenient, reliable and comfortable.'
To do this, he noted that more rail lines are being built, such as the upcoming Circle Line and Downtown Line.
The number of daily trips on buses, trains and taxis is expected to double from 5 million to 10 million by 2020.
To run these trips, transport providers must hire more staff and Mr Lim said the sector cannot be complacent. 'Transport is a service industry, and we have to continually improve our ability to meet, and even exceed, the expectations of commuters,' he said.
To help improve service standards, Mr Lim yesterday launched the Customer-Centric Initiative for the land transport sector. The drive is part of a national programme to boost service standards which was rolled out in the retail sector three years ago. It has since been expanded to the food and beverage and health-care industries, among others.
The scheme will help fund training courses for transport workers, as well as enable firms to carry out service audits, among other things. Almost 59,000 transport workers will stand to benefit.
Public transport operators SBS Transit and SMRT, and their service company TransitLink, have signed up for the programme. About 6,500 bus captains from the two operators will undergo training on customer service skills by next year.
Private bus operators ComfortDelGro Bus and Woodlands Transport, as well as all seven taxi operators here, are also on board the initiative. Mr Lim, who also addressed cabbies in his speech, said the long-term outlook for the taxi industry is positive despite fluctuating diesel prices and potentially fewer passengers during the economic downturn.
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Yeo Ghim Lay
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->THE economic slowdown is driving a growing number of Singaporeans away from their cars and towards public transport, according to official figures released yesterday.
Public transport ridership for the first eight months of this year was 8 per cent higher than during the same period a year ago, Transport Minister Raymond Lim revealed.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>TAXIS' FUTURE 'Taxis make it easier for commuters to give up their cars. Hence, taxi-drivers also have a role to play... and will also benefit as we make a decisive shift towards public transport.''
Mr Lim, on the long-term outlook for the taxi industry
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>An average of 3.7 million journeys were made daily on public transport from January to August this year, up from 3.4 million daily last year.
This comes as more Singaporeans tighten their belts by driving less and taking more public transport, said Mr Lim who was speaking at the 27th anniversary dinner of the National Transport Workers' Union last night at Downtown East.
While ridership figures are going up, Mr Lim hopes that Singaporeans will not see public transport as a 'cheap' option good only during an economic downturn. 'We want commuters to stick to public transport, even when the economy recovers and they can afford to drive, because they find public transport fast, convenient, reliable and comfortable.'
To do this, he noted that more rail lines are being built, such as the upcoming Circle Line and Downtown Line.
The number of daily trips on buses, trains and taxis is expected to double from 5 million to 10 million by 2020.
To run these trips, transport providers must hire more staff and Mr Lim said the sector cannot be complacent. 'Transport is a service industry, and we have to continually improve our ability to meet, and even exceed, the expectations of commuters,' he said.
To help improve service standards, Mr Lim yesterday launched the Customer-Centric Initiative for the land transport sector. The drive is part of a national programme to boost service standards which was rolled out in the retail sector three years ago. It has since been expanded to the food and beverage and health-care industries, among others.
The scheme will help fund training courses for transport workers, as well as enable firms to carry out service audits, among other things. Almost 59,000 transport workers will stand to benefit.
Public transport operators SBS Transit and SMRT, and their service company TransitLink, have signed up for the programme. About 6,500 bus captains from the two operators will undergo training on customer service skills by next year.
Private bus operators ComfortDelGro Bus and Woodlands Transport, as well as all seven taxi operators here, are also on board the initiative. Mr Lim, who also addressed cabbies in his speech, said the long-term outlook for the taxi industry is positive despite fluctuating diesel prices and potentially fewer passengers during the economic downturn.
