The PAP using the tried and trusted pork barrel politics again

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New Sembawang North, Woodlands North housing areas to yield 14,000 homes​

A neighbourhood centre will be built at the heart of the new Sembawang North estate. PHOTO: HDB
Wong Yang

Oct 22, 2024

SINGAPORE - Some 14,000 homes will be built in two new sites in Sembawang and Woodlands by 2035 as the Government ramps up housing supply in northern Singapore.
These two sites - Sembawang North and Woodlands North - will have their first Build-to-Order (BTO) HDB projects launched there next year, Minister for National Development Desmond Lee announced on Oct 22.
Mr Lee said these plans build on efforts to “provide a sizeable supply of affordable new homes in the North”, and comes after an announcement earlier this year to build the new Chencharu housing area in Yishun.
The first new estate, Sembawang North, will offer 8,000 BTO flats and 2,000 private homes. The second, Woodlands North Coast, will have about 4,000 new flats.
Both housing areas will come with new amenities, including eateries, shops, parks, a neighbourhood centre, and a community hub that could house facilities for sports, healthcare and other uses, said the Housing Board (HDB).
Speaking at the HDB Design, Construction and Engineering Awards ceremony, Mr Lee said providing a steady supply of new flats was crucial to keep the property market stable.
In the past, the Government was able to do so by building on greenfield land, as it is doing for Chencharu in Yishun, but increasingly it has had to turn to building on sites within developed estates, he said.

Plans announced in recent years to build flats in more central parts of Singapore - including the Greater Southern Waterfront, Pearl’s Hill and Turf City - are examples where the Government is redeveloping areas that were previously built-up.
At Sembawang North, which will span 53ha, the new neighbourhood centre will be located along a 1ha park with facilities such as playgrounds and fitness stations.
Mr Lee said this park will be a “green spine” that connects residents from existing neighbourhoods in the south of Sembawang to future waterfront developments in the north at the site of the Sembawang Shipyard, which is due to move to Tuas by 2024.

There will also be a network of cycling paths and pedestrian walkways to connect residents to facilities and transport nodes in the area, said HDB.
Before Sembawang New Town was developed in the mid-1990s, Sembawang housed the British Naval Base in the 1920s, which later became Sembawang Shipyard.
The new housing projects in Sembawang North will draw on the area’s maritime heritage, and will reflect naval themes and colonial architecture.
The new BTO projects will have courtyard layouts, pitched roofs, and geometric patterns resembling those of colonial bungalows while nautical elements will be integrated into their street furniture, play structures, landscaping, pavement designs and signs to help residents find their way.
A network of pedestrian walkways called a “community wharves link” will link upcoming BTO projects in the area via an “uninterrupted walking environment” and feature “docks” with facilities and spaces for residents to gather, said HDB.
The other new estate announced on Oct 22, Woodlands North Coast, will be a 21ha mixed-use waterfront development. The first project there will be offered at the next BTO launch in February 2025.
It is the latest effort under plans announced in 2017 to transform Woodlands into a northern regional hub.
Residents at Woodlands North Coast will also be within walking distance of the Singapore terminus of the upcoming Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link, due to be completed by the end of 2026.
It will also be linked underground to the Thomson-East Coast Line’s Woodlands North MRT station.
“Residents in Woodlands North will benefit from faster cross border travel as well as better access to more job opportunities that are closer to home,” said Mr Lee.
HDB said housing projects at the new estate will be designed so residents will be able to enjoy scenic views of the nearby Admiralty Park and Woodlands Waterfront Park by taking advantage of its hilly terrain.

The new Woodlands North Coast estate will provide about 4,000 new flats by the time it is fully developed in 2035. PHOTO: HDB
At the awards ceremony on Oct 22, Mr Lee also presented 26 prizes to architectural and engineering consultants and building contractors for their work on public housing projects.
Among these prizes were awards to contractors that took on challenging projects affected by delays caused by the pandemic.
HDB chief executive Tan Meng Dui also said at the ceremony that about 13,000 flats across 20 projects have been completed in 2024, the vast majority of which were in projects that had been delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Two of the prizes were awarded to firms that worked on the Rivervale Shores project in Sengkang, the largest BTO project to date with 2,500 units in 16 blocks.
It included a design award that went to Surbana Jurong for integrating the project with Sungei Serangoon, a river that runs alongside the estate.
For instance, playgrounds at Rivervale Shores have designs inspired by the grey herons, little egrets, and white-throated kingfishers that are active in the area, while five thematic gardens which connect residents to the Sungei Serangoon Park Connector are each inspired by a specific aspect of the river’s ecosystem.
Common areas at the estate are also located on a fully pedestrianised elevated platform known as an environmental deck that connects all 16 residential blocks, with an underground carpark tucked below it.

Ms Farah Charles, who is preparing to move with her family of three to Rivervale Shores in November, said the environmental deck gives her greater peace of mind when her daughter, 5, plays at the playground.
“This design is a lot safer because there are no roads around the common areas. It will also be a lot more convenient when we do our big move next month, because the underground carpark means we can drive right up to the lift lobby for our flat,” said the housewife, 32.

Two of 26 prizes given out at the HDB Design, Construction and Engineering Awards ceremony on Oct 22 were for Rivervale Shores, which has elevated common areas on an environmental deck that connects all 16 residential blocks, with an underground carpark tucked below it. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO

 

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Town centres in Tampines, Bishan could be redeveloped under new plans by URA​

An artist’s impression of what Bishan could look like when mixed-used developments are added to the town centre. PHOTO: URBAN REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

Ng Keng Gene
Correspondent

Oct 25, 2024

SINGAPORE – Homes could be built above and around Tampines MRT station, and office towers could spring up near the Bishan transport hub, under newly unveiled plans to redevelop both these town centres.
These plans to rejuvenate developed town hubs were made public by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Oct 24, as part of an exhibition showcasing current and future economic hubs in Singapore.
Also in the pipeline could be a new industrial park in Seletar, near Seletar Aerospace Park.
URA said in the exhibition that it is planning to rejuvenate the area around Tampines MRT station, the Tampines Regional Centre, which was established in 1992.
It plans to build new mixed-use developments, which will have homes, commercial spaces and an integrated transport hub, centred on the area now occupied by Tampines Bus Interchange and the MRT station.
There, the authorities plan to add a new public space “to activate the heart of Tampines Regional Centre”, and make bus-rail transfers more convenient.
The redevelopment will also make it easier for people to walk to nearby areas such as Our Tampines Hub, Sun Plaza Park, and the Housing Board neighbourhood centre at Tampines Central 1.

URA said this could be done by building sheltered paths and underground passages.
For Bishan, URA plans to develop new offices and work spaces in the empty plots of land around the Junction 8 mall and Bishan Bus Interchange.
These new office spaces will be integrated with shops, social amenities and transport facilities, said URA, and added that there will be more public spaces and plazas for community use, including one at the current site of Bishan Bus Interchange.

The plan also is for the new developments around Bishan MRT station to be car-lite, with pedestrian-friendly streets and easy access to public transport facilities.
Mr Nicholas Mak, chief research officer at Mogul.sg, said that with the work-from-home culture now ingrained in employees, demand for new office spaces in primarily residential areas like Bishan may not be robust. “It may take a while for the market to absorb any spaces that are rolled out, just as it was with Paya Lebar, when office spaces were built near the MRT station there,” he said.
He noted that many firms – especially larger ones – still prefer being sited in traditional central business districts (CBDs) due to proximity to other companies offering supporting services, and opportunities for their employees to network.
The authorities also intend to build a new industrial park in Seletar East, for “high value-add sector industries such as wafer fabrication”. These are part of efforts to increase the supply of industrial spaces to support high-tech sectors, URA said.
The park will be sited at an area of about 3.4 sq km bounded by Tampines Expressway, Seletar Aerospace Drive and Sungei Punggol, which is currently zoned as a “reserve site”, meaning its specific use has not been determined.
The site includes heritage bungalows associated with the former British Royal Air Force station in Seletar, as well as the Singapore Armed Forces’ Seletar Camp, and vegetated areas such as Seletar Wet Gap and Sungei Punggol Mangroves.

Environmental studies will be conducted to ensure that the industrial park’s development is carried out sensitively, said URA, while industrial developer JTC Corporation said the area will be developed in phases starting in the near to medium term.
The plans are part of a decentralisation strategy that the country has pursued since the early 1990s by creating economic areas beyond the CBD, and moving jobs closer to homes.
Also being studied are plans for an upcoming Changi East Urban District, a 30ha “airport city” to be established next to the airport.
Nearby, the existing Changi Business Park could be rejuvenated, with new spaces for mixed-use developments and aerospace-related firms to tap the area’s proximity to Changi Airport. These plans come as construction of Changi Airport’s Terminal 5 is set to begin in 2025.
URA cited airport cities in Amsterdam, Hong Kong and Istanbul as examples of cities in the world with commercial areas around their airports.
Speaking at the exhibition’s launch, Senior Minister of State for National Development Tan Kiat How said Singapore’s downtown will still remain the country’s core financial hub, and the Government is evolving it into an “attractive multi-purpose destination”.
The URA is reviewing its CBD Incentive and Strategic Development Incentive schemes, which are aimed at rejuvenating central areas, Mr Tan said, and the authorities are also looking for new ways to meet changing business needs, and will look into refining policies such that more mixed-use districts can be created, combining residential and recreational spaces within industrial and commercial developments.
URA’s exhibition at The URA Centre in Maxwell Road runs until Jan 3, 2025. The public can find out more about the upcoming plans and offer feedback at go.gov.sg/GrowthNodes

 

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Largest sale of balance flats in February to offer over 5,500 HDB units​

About four in 10 of the SBF will be units that are already completed, with the remaining to be completed progressively from 2025 to 2028. PHOTO: ST FILE

Isabelle Liew

Oct 26, 2024

SINGAPORE - The Housing Board will offer more than 5,500 balance flats for sale in February 2025 – the largest exercise for these flats to date, even as prices continue to rise in the resale market for an 18th consecutive quarter.
About four in 10 units in the Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) launch will be those that are already completed, with the remaining flats to be completed progressively from 2025 to 2028, HDB said on Oct 25.
Meanwhile, in the resale market, prices of HDB resale flats rose 2.7 per cent from July to September, which is a quicker pace than the 2.3 per cent growth in the previous quarter, according to data released by HDB.
A total of 8,142 HDB resale flats changed hands in the same period, up 10.7 per cent from 7,352 units in the previous quarter.
There were 331 million-dollar flat transactions in the third quarter of 2024, accounting for 4.1 per cent of total transactions.
This is higher than the previous quarter when there were 236 such transactions, which made up 3.2 per cent of resale purchases then.
HDB attributed the increase in resale prices and transactions to strong broad-based demand and supply tightness in the market, as fewer new flats would meet their minimum occupation period (MOP) in 2024, compared with the year before.

It added that the “vast majority” of resale flat transactions in the third quarter of 2024 were sold for “much lower” than $1 million. Resale flats that were sold for $1 million and above continued to make up a small proportion of total resale transactions.
Ms Wong Siew Ying, head of research and content at PropNex, noted that the number of resale transactions in the third quarter is the highest in a quarter in three years.
“We have not seen such vibrant HDB resale market activity since 2021, when demand surged amid Covid-19 recovery optimism and delays in completion times drove buyers to the secondary market,” she said.

Factors such as demand outpacing the stock of resale flats and buyers willing to pay a premium for well-located flats could have contributed to the price growth in the first nine months of 2024, she added.
According to HDB data, five-room flats in Bishan were the most expensive in the third quarter, with a median price of $989,900, up from $960,000 in the previous quarter.
This was followed by executive flats in Serangoon, which had a median price of $985,000.
Mr Lee Sze Teck, senior director of data analytics at real estate firm Huttons Asia, said the latest data reflected the highest number of million-dollar resale flats transacted in a quarter to date. Most of them were in estates such as Kallang/Whampoa, Bukit Merah, Queenstown, Bishan and Toa Payoh, he added.

From January to September, analysts estimate that 750 resale flats were sold for at least $1 million, about 60 per cent higher than the 469 million-dollar transactions recorded in the whole of 2023.
Mr Eugene Lim, key executive officer of real estate agency ERA Singapore, said that the firm demand for million-dollar flats could be attributed to HDB flat owners who have opted to upgrade to a newer, larger and centrally located flat, rather than a condominium.
“With the rising prices of private homes, they see the value proposition and are willing to pay for these cream-of-the-crop resale flats,” he said.
HDB said the latest quarterly figures largely reflect market conditions before the cooling measure implemented on Aug 20, which tightened the loan-to-value limit for HDB loans from 80 per cent to 75 per cent.
“The Government will continue to monitor the property market closely and adjust its policies as necessary to promote a stable and sustainable property market,” it said.
It advised people to be financially prudent in their flat purchases as the property market moves in cycles and “those who buy high will be hit harder when prices eventually come down”.
In February’s sales exercise, about 5,000 Build-To-Order (BTO) flats will be launched in Kallang/Whampoa, Queenstown, Woodlands and Yishun – so there will be more than 10,000 BTO and balance flats put up for sale.
HDB advised home seekers to apply for an HDB Flat Eligibility letter by Dec 15 so that they can take part in the upcoming sales exercise.

 

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LTA to add up to 20,000 COEs across vehicle categories over next few years from Feb 2025​

The injection of COEs will boost supply, though it is unclear at this point how the move will affect premiums. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

Kok Yufeng
Transport Correspondent

Oct 29, 2024

SINGAPORE – Up to 20,000 additional certificates of entitlement (COE) will be injected across the five vehicle categories over the next few years from February 2025.
Announcing this on Oct 29, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said it is able to increase the vehicle population here by about 2 per cent of current levels as travel patterns have evolved, with the total mileage clocked by vehicles coming down by around 6 per cent from 2019 to 2023.
The new satellite electronic road pricing (ERP) system, or ERP 2.0, will also allow the authorities to better manage traffic congestion and vehicle usage, LTA added.
The injection of COEs – which give one the right to own a vehicle – will boost COE supply, though it is unclear at this point how the move will affect COE premiums.
The Straits Times has asked LTA how it intends to allocate the additional COEs across the vehicle categories, and how many years this injection will be spread across.
COE prices had dropped slightly across all categories at the latest tender exercise on Oct 23, though premiums for both car categories remained above $100,000. Singapore had 1,003,126 vehicles on the road as at September 2024.
LTA said it will consider further injections of COEs to the vehicle population in future as further data and tools under ERP 2.0 are made available, including the possible option of introducing distance-based charging.

ERP charges will be adjusted as needed based on traffic conditions, LTA added.
The authority noted that the addition of COEs from February 2025 is similar to the approach taken when the Government added 10,500 COEs between 1997 and 2003, on top of the allowable vehicle growth rate, after the ERP system was introduced.
Singapore’s vehicle growth rate has been set at zero since 2018, apart from the commercial vehicle population, which can increase by 0.25 per cent per year. The vehicle growth rate is reviewed every three years, with the last review in 2021.

On Oct 29, LTA said it will keep the vehicle growth rate for the car and motorcycle categories at zero, while that for commercial vehicles will remain at 0.25 per cent per year from Feb 1, 2025, to Jan 31, 2028.
The Government’s long-term vision remains centred on being “car-lite”, with walking, cycling and public transport as the predominant travel modes, LTA said.
It noted that the rail network has expanded by 18 per cent from 228km in 2019 to around 270km today, with more MRT lines and extensions slated to open over the next few years.
Turning to ERP 2.0, LTA said the system’s satellite technology will allow it to introduce new “virtual gantries” to manage congestion in a more flexible and responsive manner. This will come after all vehicles here are installed with the new on-board units (OBUs).

The new on-board unit for ERP 2.0 is slated to be installed in all vehicles by the end of 2025. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY
ERP 2.0 also provides for the option of distance-based charging, which will be an additional tool to regulate vehicle usage and manage traffic congestion more responsively, LTA said. The authority previously said it has not decided whether to implement distance-based charging yet.
The planned injection of up to 20,000 more COEs from 2025 comes after Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said in March that the authorities were open to studying a one-off increase in the total vehicle population, spread over a few years.
This would be accompanied by higher usage-based charges to prevent congestion, as well as the possibility of having distance-based charging in future, Mr Chee added.

LTA has maintained in the past that the vehicle growth rate does not have a significant impact on COE supply as the COE quota is determined largely by the number of vehicle deregistrations.
Amid record-high COE premiums in 2022 and 2023, the Government moved to stabilise the supply of COEs by bringing forward more COEs guaranteed to expire in future peak supply years to fill the present supply troughs.
Despite the moves, COE prices have remained high. At the Oct 23 tender, the premium for a Category A COE, which is used to register smaller, less powerful cars and electric vehicles, ended at $102,900, while the premium for Category B COEs closed at $113,890.
LTA on Oct 29 also gave an update on the ongoing installation of OBUs for ERP 2.0.
About 150,000 new and existing vehicles have been fitted with the OBU since November 2023, LTA said.

LTA added that it will progressively send notifications to all remaining Singapore-registered vehicles to install the OBU from November 2024.
Existing vehicle owners can now make appointments directly with their preferred authorised workshops to install the OBU without going through LTA’s booking portal or waiting for LTA’s official notification, the authority said.
The original booking portal (go.gov.sg/book-obu) has been redesigned as an information page to help vehicle owners locate suitable workshops for their vehicle.

 

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Eligible national servicemen to receive $200 LifeSG credits by Nov 30​

The LifeSG credits will be progressively disbursed to those eligible by Nov 30. PHOTO: ST FILE

Rhea Yasmine

Oct 30, 2024

SINGAPORE – Some 1.2 million past and present national servicemen will receive $200 in LifeSG credits by November.
The move was announced during Budget 2024.
The credits, which can be used at online or physical merchants that accept payment via PayNow or Nets QR, are valid for a year.
Full-time national servicemen who enlist by the end of 2024 will also receive the credits.
The LifeSG credits will be progressively disbursed to those eligible by Nov 30, said the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Home Affairs in a joint statement on Oct 30.
But those who enlist after Sept 15 will receive the credits in December.
Once the amount has been credited, the national serviceman will receive an SMS notification from the gov.sg Sender ID and a notification letter to their registered address.

All national servicemen can access their LifeSG credits and check their validity through the LifeSG mobile app.
Those who are unable to access the credits digitally can request hard copy vouchers by contacting the NS Call Centre on 1800-367-6767 or at [email protected]
The credits aim to recognise the contributions of national servicemen to Singapore’s defence and security, said the joint statement.

 

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Mixed-use complex to be built above Hougang MRT station, will support demand for homes in the area​

The site for the commercial and residential mixed-use development, which will have direct access to Hougang MRT station on the North East and Cross Island lines. ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO

Ng Keng Gene
Correspondent

Oct 30, 2024

SINGAPORE – A commercial and residential development with a bus interchange is being planned for a large vacant site above Hougang MRT station, while sites for new homes are being prepared across Singapore in areas such as Mount Pleasant, Newton and Lakeside.
The Hougang development will support demand for homes in the area and allow residents to benefit from the upcoming transport node and new commercial amenities, said the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) in a note accompanying a proposed amendment to the agency’s Master Plan 2019 that was published on Oct 28.
As part of the amendment, a site of around 4.7ha in size – equivalent to about 6½ football fields – was created for the mixed-use development and given a gross plot ratio of 2.5. This can yield up to 117,500 sq m in gross floor area if the site is used for a single development, subject to the authorities’ approval.
The site is made up of two plots. The first is a vacant area around 4ha in size that is currently zoned for commercial and residential use with a gross plot ratio of three. The second is a reserve site that houses the HDB Hougang Branch office building, next to Hougang Mall.
The 4.7ha site sits directly above Exit B of Hougang station on the North East Line and will also be connected to the Cross Island Line when the interchange station is ready in 2030.
The URA masterplan – a statutory document – guides development in Singapore for the next 10 to 15 years.
The 4.7ha site is one of three large plots of land near Hougang MRT station that are zoned for new homes, but all three plots have yet to be developed for residential use.
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URA’s plans for Hougang come amid recent news that new developments will be added near other MRT stations in HDB towns, such as Tampines and Bishan.
Plans showcased by the agency at an exhibition launched on Oct 24 showed that mixed-use developments including homes could be built above and around Tampines MRT station, and office towers could spring up near the Bishan transport hub.

Mr Nicholas Mak, chief research officer at property search portal Mogul.sg, said that the roughly 3ha plot that is south of the newly announced mixed-use development site has a gross plot ratio of three and can yield about 750 to 800 Housing Board flats or about 1,000 condominium units.

The site is now partially occupied by Hougang Central Bus Interchange.

The Hougang Central Bus Interchange currently occupies a site that has been earmarked for housing above Hougang MRT station. ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO
Mr Mak added that the third plot of land zoned for homes is located further south of the interchange – it is about 4ha in size, with a gross plot ratio of 3.5, and can hold about 1,200 flats, or more than 1,550 condo units.
He anticipates high demand for housing built at these three sites in Hougang, given their proximity to a future transport interchange.
Noting that the Cross Island Line is still being built, Mr Mak expects the authorities to likely release the mixed-use site for sale or development only after rail construction works are done, which will also increase the value of the land.

A plot of land of around 4ha that has been earmarked for housing near Hougang MRT station is presently being used for Cross Island Line development works. ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO
On Oct 28, URA also published a proposed amendment to its masterplan for the upcoming Mount Pleasant estate, which the HDB previously said will have about 5,000 homes across six Build-To-Order (BTO) projects. The first of these projects will be launched in 2025.
Two new housing plots were carved out in the proposed amendment, which also confirmed the road alignment in the future estate, and also put forth for conservation six buildings that were part of the Old Police Academy.
Property analysts said one of the two new housing plots, which has an area of about 2.7ha and a gross plot ratio of 3.2, can yield about 900 to 1,000 flats, or about 1,300 condominium units.
Future residents of this plot are likely to have direct access to the upcoming Mount Pleasant MRT station on the Thomson-East Coast Line, with the station set to open in tandem with surrounding developments in the estate.
The other housing plot, which is about 3.2ha and has a gross plot ratio of 4.9, is next to Thomson Road.
It can hold between 1,200 and 1,400 flats, or up to 1,800 private apartments, said analysts.
Both Mr Mak and Ms Christine Sun, chief researcher and strategist at property firm OrangeTee Group, said the two plots are sizeable enough to hold one BTO project each.
Mr Mak added that future flats at these plots could be classified as Plus flats due to their proximity to an MRT station and Toa Payoh town.
URA said Mount Pleasant’s future residents will also be served by amenities such as shops and childcare facilities within the estate.

Referencing the six buildings that have been put up for conservation, Minister of State for Home Affairs and National Development Faishal Ibrahim said in a Facebook post on Oct 28 that they will be adapted for contemporary uses, with one to be used as a new neighbourhood police post.
Dr Faishal did not specify which of the six retained buildings this would be.
Elsewhere, the authorities are preparing a new housing plot in Newton, which is about 0.57ha in size and will have a gross plot ratio of 4.9, according to a proposed amendment to URA’s masterplan published on Oct 29.
Mr Mak said that based on these parameters, about 270 to 320 condominium units can be built on the site.
URA said it is preparing the plot for a “future high-density residential development”, as part of plans to introduce more homes and amenities in central locations.
The agency had earlier in 2024 told The Straits Times that it is studying adding more homes to Newton, to “meet Singaporeans’ aspirations for more diverse housing options in more central locations”.
Ms Sun said the plot is more likely to be used for private homes as it is too small for an HDB BTO project, while Mr Mak added that the site is situated in a high-end residential enclave and is likely to be sold to a developer, noting that it is “very rare for a vacant residential development site in this area to be available”.
The site, located near both the North-South and Downtown line exits of Newton MRT station, is now partially occupied by the Prudential @ Scotts office building.

The Singapore Land Authority has said that the building’s tenancy will expire on April 30, 2025, with the site to be returned to the state thereafter.
Over in the west, a site of about 1.4ha in size with a gross plot ratio of 3.6 is being prepared to house a residential development, with commercial spaces on the first storey, based on a proposed masterplan amendment published on Oct 29.
Located next to The Lakefront Residences in Lakeside Drive, the plot is a stone’s throw from Lakeside MRT station and within a short walk of Jurong Lake Gardens.
Analysts said it can yield about 460 to 600 condominium units, or between 360 and 400 flats.
Noting that the nearby Taman Jurong Skyline project that was part of October’s BTO launch comprised Standard flats, Ms Sun said she expects the same classification for homes in the Lakeside Drive site – should flats be built – and added that units could possibly have lake views.
URA said the upcoming development on the site will provide amenities to serve nearby residents in the Lakeside area, and Mr Mak suggested that these could include a childcare centre and a supermarket.
Mr Mak said the site is one of the last remaining vacant development sites within 300m of Lakeside MRT station.
Recent collective sales in Yuan Ching Road show there is interest among developers for sites in the area, he added. Lakeside Apartments and Park View Mansions were sold in 2022 and are now being redeveloped.
Should the site be released under the next round of the Government Land Sales Programme, which is slated for December, Mr Mak said it could draw four to six bids, which he noted is more than the average number of bids for recent condominium sites.
The public has until Nov 12 to submit feedback on the proposed amendments for the Hougang and Mount Pleasant sites, and until Nov 27 to do likewise for the Newton and Lakeside sites.

 

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40,000 new infant care, childcare places to open in Singapore in next 5 years​

To make pre-school subsidy applications more seamless, parents will be able to apply directly to ECDA online, instead of through pre-schools, via the LifeSG application. PHOTO: ST FILE

Chin Soo Fang
Senior Correspondent

Nov 02, 2024

SINGAPORE – There will be close to 40,000 new infant care and childcare places made available by the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) and five anchor operators, from 2025 to 2029.
These will include about 6,000 new infant care places to cater to increased demand.
Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli announced this at the Early Childhood Celebrations event, which was held at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre on Nov 2.
He said this will ensure that government-supported pre-schools can cater to 80 per cent of pre-schoolers in the medium term, up from the more than 65 per cent enrolled today.
The 40,000 new places by 2029 will add to the 60,000 developed in the last decade.
Mr Masagos said that to make the pre-school subsidy application more seamless, parents will be able to apply for subsidies directly to ECDA online, instead of through pre-schools, via the LifeSG application.
This new process will be rolled out in phases from Dec 9.

It was earlier announced during Budget 2024 that from Jan 1, 2025, full-day childcare fee caps at anchor and partner operators will be reduced by $40 to $640 and $680 (excluding goods and services tax), respectively, a month.
From Dec 9, all lower-income families with a gross monthly household income of $6,000 and below will qualify for the maximum amount of childcare subsidies for their income tier.
This means that parents can expect to pay $3 to $115, or up to 2 per cent of their income, for childcare at anchor operators, with further reductions in 2025. This will benefit more than 17,000 additional children.

Social and Family Development Minister Masagos Zulkifli speaking at the Early Childhood Celebrations event held at Sands Expo and Convention Centre on Nov 2. ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO

Greater autonomy, ownership for educators​

To give pre-schools greater autonomy and ownership in developing and providing quality programmes, a revised Singapore Preschool Accreditation Framework, or Spark 2.0, will be implemented from January 2025.
This shift aims to encourage pre-schools to develop programmes tailored to children’s needs and that play to the pre-schools’ unique strengths.
Spark was introduced in 2011 as a framework to raise the sector’s quality. Today, around 1,000, or 60 per cent of pre-schools, are Spark-certified, up from fewer than 100 when it was first implemented.
Spark 2.0 allows pre-schools to appraise their quality against standards and indicators set out in the new Spark tool before seeking ECDA’s validation.
Instead of specifying what pre-schools have to do, the quality standards and indicators prompt pre-schools to reflect on the intent and design of their programmes and activities in relation to their aspired goals, as well as the children’s profiles and needs.
“Three features define Spark 2.0 – sharper focus on teaching and learning, more flexibility for pre-schools to develop their own programmes, and greater autonomy in their quality journey,” said Mr Masagos.
Ms Siti Daliana, principal of a My First Skool centre in Bedok North, participated in the pilot testing for Spark 2.0 in September. She told The Straits Times that the revised framework empowers pre-schools to adopt a strategic and customised approach in delivering quality education.
“Based on my centre’s profile, my team and I identified the need for enhanced language and literacy instruction,” she said.
“With Spark 2.0, I was also able to leverage relevant data to implement differentiated teaching strategies that cater to the specific needs of children struggling with language acquisition.”

Revised Code of Ethics​

The Code of Ethics, which was first launched in 2004, has also been updated by the Association for Early Childhood Educators (Singapore), or AECES, in collaboration with ECDA, to ensure its continued relevance in guiding educators.
The revised code will more clearly outline their professional responsibilities towards various stakeholders, such as the child, families, community and fellow educators.
It will include a five-step ethical decision-making process accompanied by case studies to help educators apply the code to their daily practice.
In tandem with greater inclusivity in pre-schools, the revised code has broadened its coverage beyond early childhood educators to include early intervention professionals for children with developmental needs.
Dr Christine Chen, AECES’ president, told ST that the code has been revised several times in the past to keep up with the changing landscape of the early childhood sector.
“Continuing professional development through the community of practice approach will ensure exchanges of best practices, and AECES will provide a platform for the fraternity to write about their good practices and post new case studies,” she said.
The number of child abuse cases investigated by ECDA increased to 147 in 2023, from 137 cases in 2022. Among them were two cases of child mismanagement at two Kinderland pre-school centres, Woodlands Mart and Sunshine Place, that came to light in August 2023. Kinderland has been fined $10,000.
There have been recent moves to improve educators’ well-being and working conditions.
For example, ECDA has removed the requirement for childcare centres to operate on Saturdays from 2025.
It is also growing a relief staff pool by end-2024 to help all pre-schools meet their manpower needs at reasonable hiring costs, while being assured of reliable service standards.
At the Nov 2 event, 27 early childhood educators, early intervention professionals and centres were honoured for their contributions towards enhancing the quality and inclusiveness of early childhood education.
In total, 161 pre-schools were also recognised for achieving the Spark certification.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Over 4,400 workers to get average pay raise of 5% above annual increment as part of NTUC CTC Grant scheme​

NTUC secretary-general Ng Chee Meng (centre) and NTUC deputy secretary-general Desmond Tan (right) at the Long Bar, Raffles Hotel Singapore on Nov 6. PHOTO: NTUC
Sharon Salim
Business Correspondent

Nov 06, 2024

SINGAPORE – Around 4,500 workers will receive an average wage increase of 5 per cent above their annual increment as part of the NTUC Company Training Committee (CTC) Grant scheme.
The workers are among 6,000 employees, including professionals, managers, executives and rank-and-file staff, across about 260 companies with CTC Grants who could benefit from a wage increase or structured career pathways through the Career Development Plan (CDP).
The CTC Grant allows companies undergoing transformation to raise their productivity, redesign jobs or improve staff prospects by co-funding up to 70 per cent of the qualifying costs, said the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) on Nov 6.
Companies can opt to use funding from the grant to cover in-house and external training, consultancy services or equipment-related training.
The labour union has established more than 2,700 CTCs since the scheme’s inception in 2019, surpassing its target of 2,500 by 2025.
“Three in four will have better wages with improved productivity and the others can look forward to better work prospects,” said NTUC secretary-general Ng Chee Meng during a visit to Raffles Hotel Singapore.
Companies can qualify for the grant by committing to providing workers with a recurrent – or a one-time – skills allowance to recognise their upskilling efforts.

NTUC did not state a quantum for the allowance but said the amount and frequency will be on a case-to-case basis and in fitting with the type of project.
Companies were previously required to commit to providing a wage increase or implementing a CDP for their employees.
Firms with workers whose job roles will be transformed can commit to providing staff with a recurrent skills allowance.

Take a customer service associate who needs to learn new technology to improve his productivity. As this requires training to upskill himself to the redesigned role that is part of the company’s transformation project, he could receive a recurrent skills allowance.
Workers whose job roles are not transformed but need to undergo upskilling to support the implementation of the transformation project can be given a one-time skills allowance.
Raffles Hotel Singapore, which has applied for the CTC Grant, is replacing its decade-old server-based procurement system to a cloud-based, paperless one.
The new system, which is designed to streamline work processes such as purchasing and inventory management, will reduce manual workflow and improve productivity.
For instance, it will be used to procure food and beverage ingredients for the hotel’s restaurants Long Bar and Butcher’s Block. This means suppliers can receive orders and upload invoices onto the digital procurement system.
Nearly 100 of its workers will be trained – some undergoing job redesign and training – to use the new system after its implementation in 2025.
“In the hotel, we can receive real-time notifications from suppliers and make payment without using physical documents,” said Raffles Hotel Singapore purchasing manager Terence Lim.
The hotel will have more time to train employees and improve their work ability and other skills, he added.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Eligible adult Singaporeans to receive cash payouts, MediSave and CPF top-ups in December 2024​

Eligible Singaporeans will receive various monies from the Government in December 2024. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH

Goh Yan Han
Political Correspondent

Nov 14, 2024

SINGAPORE - Eligible adult Singaporeans will be receiving various monies in December 2024, meant to alleviate cost of living pressures, offset healthcare costs and to build up retirement savings.
About 2.9 million Singaporeans aged 21 and above in 2025 will receive $200 to $600 in cash as part of the enhanced Assurance Package announced in Budget 2024, said the Finance, Health and Manpower Ministries in a joint statement on Nov 14.
The sum is dependent on their assessable income and number of properties owned.
Those who have linked their NRIC to PayNow by Nov 23 will receive their AP Cash payments from Dec 5.
Singaporeans without PayNow-NRIC linked bank accounts, but who have an account with DBS, POSB, OCBC or UOB, may provide their bank account information at the govbenefits website by Nov 27. They will then receive the cash benefits via Giro from Dec 16.
Those without their NRIC and PayNow linked, or a valid bank account provided, will receive payments later via GovCash.
The second type of benefit to be disbursed in December 2024 will go to about 1.4 million Singaporeans born between 1974 and 2003, who will receive a one-time MediSave top-up of $300 to $500.

Those born in 1973 or earlier will receive a one-time MediSave top-up of $1,250 or $2,000 under the Majulah Package - MediSave Bonus.
This will benefit about 1.6 million Singaporeans.
These MediSave top-ups were previously announced in October 2024, as part of additional Government support to offset MediShield Life premium increases alongside upcoming enhancements to MediShield Life, said the ministries.

The third benefit being disbursed in December is the retirement savings bonus, another component under the Majulah Package.
About 800,000 eligible Singaporeans born in 1973 or earlier will receive a one-time bonus of $1,000 or $1,500 to their Central Provident Fund accounts, depending on the amount of retirement savings they have in it.
The MediSave and CPF payments will be automatically credited to citizens’ CPF Accounts from Dec 18.
Those who wish to check their eligibility can log in with their Singpass to the govbenefits.gov.sg website.
The ministries said eligible recipients will also be notified via SMS in December 2024 after their benefits have been credited.

Those without a Singpass-registered mobile number will be informed through a letter sent to their address on their Singapore identity card.
The ministries also said that to safeguard against scams, the SMS notification sent from gov.sg will only inform citizens of their benefits.
Citizens will not be asked to reply to the SMS, click any links or provide any information to the sender.
No messages regarding the payments will be sent through WhatsApp or other mobile messaging platforms.
For more information on the schemes, citizens may call the hotline at 1800-2222-888 or visit govbenefits.gov.sg.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

First express feeder bus service 298X to start on Dec 9 in Tampines​

The new bus service will provide faster connections by serving only selected bus stops along the regular route of its parent service. ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI

Kok Yufeng
Transport Correspondent

Nov 21, 2024

SINGAPORE – A first-of-its-kind express feeder bus service will ply the roads in Tampines from Dec 9, allowing residents to get to the town centre and major transport nodes like Tampines MRT station faster, with the bus calling at fewer stops.

Service 298X will act as a supplementary service to feeder service 298, which serves residents of Tampines North, Tampines Central and Tampines West.

Public transport operator SBS Transit (SBST), which will run the new express feeder service, said on Nov 18 that 298X will provide faster connections by serving only selected bus stops along the regular route of its parent service.

According to SBST, the new service will operate only during peak hours, from 6.30am to 10am, and 4pm to 7.30pm on weekdays, except on public holidays.

Regular feeder service fares will apply.

In response to queries, SBST said it will deploy seven buses for the new 298X service, which will operate at a frequency of 10 to 12 minutes.

Like 298, 298X will be a loop service that starts and ends at Tampines North bus interchange. However, 298X will call at only 15 stops in between, compared with 36 stops for service 298.

According to SBST’s route map, 298X will call at the bus stop opposite Block 648A, and bus stops at Block 641A and Block 637B – the same as 298.

But 298X will then skip three stops to get to the bus stop after Exit E of Tampines MRT station via Tampines Avenue 7.

It then travels directly to the stop opposite Tampines bus interchange, before heading straight to Block 871C via Tampines Avenue 5, skipping another seven stops in the process.


In Tampines West, 298X will call at stops in Tampines Street 86 and at the stop opposite the Tropica condominium, before heading back directly to Tampines Central, and then back to Tampines North, with a few more stops along the way.

A round trip for 298X will take 56 minutes, SBST said. This is about 20 minutes shorter than the regular 298 feeder service.

Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli, who is an MP for Tampines GRC, said on Facebook on Nov 18 that the new express feeder service will make daily commutes more efficient for residents.

“With fewer intermediate stops, this new service will reduce travel times and improve connectivity across the neighbourhood,” he added.

The idea for such express feeder services was mooted in July as part of improvements that will be made to the public bus network under the $900 million Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme.

More are in the pipeline, with the Land Transport Authority saying at the time that it would progressively identify and introduce more bus service enhancements in the coming months.

Tampines residents whom The Straits Times spoke to said they expect the new express feeder service to cut travel time.

But some wish the new service would also operate on weekends, or during off-peak periods.

Others hope the service would call at bus stops closer to their estates, or that similar express services would be introduced where they live.

Ms Valerie Koh, who lives in a condominium in Tampines Street 86, said it usually takes her about 20 minutes to travel to the MRT station with service 298 as the bus has to make seven stops along the way.

With 298X, this will be cut to two stops, said the 34-year-old, who works in public relations.

For Mr Wang Hengyue, 20, one concern is that slow traffic in Tampines Concourse may become a bottleneck for the new express service.

While 298X will not directly benefit the full-time national serviceman as it skips the bus stop closest to his home, he hopes the buses for the regular 298 service will become less crowded as more people take the new express service.

Ms Gina Foo, 33, another Tampines West resident, said taking 298X will allow her to travel to Tampines Central with no stops in between. “If I need to get to Tampines MRT station, this will definitely benefit me a lot,” the communications professional added.

 

[Leckmichamarsch]

still take n

So plenty plenty goodies for Sinkies coming Erection.

vote them out

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Civil servants to get 1.05 months of year-end bonus; junior grade officers to get additional $600​

The Public Service Division announced the bonus payment on Nov 25.PHOTO: ST FILE

Gabrielle Andres
Nov 26, 2024

SINGAPORE – Civil servants will get 1.05 months of year-end bonus, the Public Service Division (PSD) announced in a statement on Nov 25.

Junior officers in grades equivalent to MX15 and MX16, as well as those in the Operations Support Scheme, will also receive an additional one-time payment of $600.

Together with the mid-year bonus of 0.45 month, civil servants will receive a total of 1.5 months of bonus in 2024, up from 0.9 month in 2023.


Junior grade officers received up to $250 in additional payment in June, so in total, they will receive up to $850 in 2024.

PSD said the Government will continue to adopt a “progressive approach” in determining the bonus payment, in line with the National Wages Council’s recommendation to uplift lower-wage workers’ salaries.

It added that the year-end payment also took into consideration the better-than-expected performance of the Singapore economy in the first three quarters of the year, as well as the latest global and domestic economic situations.

Singapore’s gross domestic product growth forecast for 2024 was raised to “around 3.5 per cent” from a previous range of 2 per cent to 3 per cent, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said on Nov 22.

The Ministry of Manpower’s preliminary labour market data in October also showed that total employment in the July to September period grew by 24,100, more than doubling from the growth of 11,300 in the second quarter.

Meanwhile, unemployment rates in September remained low at 1.8 per cent, while the number of retrenchments in the third quarter fell 11.3 per cent to 2,900 from 3,270 in the second quarter.


Amalgamated Union of Public Employees general secretary Sanjeev Kumar Tiwari said “it is important that when our economy does well, our civil servants who have contributed to this success are rewarded accordingly”.

He added that the additional one-time payout will help junior officers manage the rising cost of living.

NTUC and public sector unions also support the payout decision, said deputy secretary-general Cham Hui Fong.

She encouraged civil servants to enhance their skills and capabilities through upskilling programmes, so that they can remain competitive and ready for future challenges.

PSD said the Government will continue to pay the one-month non-pensionable annual allowance – or 13th month bonus – to all civil servants.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

First 2 new trains for Sengkang-Punggol LRT arrive in Singapore, will enter service in Q3 2025​

An artist's impression of the new two-carriage trains for the Punggol-Sengkang LRT.PHOTO: LAND TRANSPORT AUTHORITY
Esther Loi
Nov 25, 2024

SINGAPORE – The first two new trains for the Sengkang-Punggol LRT arrived in Singapore on Nov 23, and will enter passenger service in the third quarter of 2025.

They are among the 25 new two-carriage trains the authorities are bringing in to cater to increased ridership demand in Sengkang and Punggol, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in a Facebook post on Nov 23.

The post included a video of the new trains being offloaded from a ship.


LTA added that all new trains will be transported to the Sengkang LRT depot for thorough testing and commissioning.

The remaining 23 new two-carriage trains will arrive in Singapore progressively and start operating in batches after the third quarter of 2025.

The new trains are manufactured by Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and will provide better passenger comfort, said LTA.

Seventeen of the trains, ordered in 2022, are slated to be progressively delivered from 2024 to 2027. The remaining eight trains, ordered in 2023, will progressively arrive from the second half of 2027.

The current Sengkang-Punggol LRT fleet consists of 16 two-car trains and 25 one-car trains, LTA said on Nov 25.

Some of the existing trains started operations in 2003 for the Sengkang LRT and in 2005 for the Punggol LRT before the rest entered service in 2016.


The earlier order of 17 two-car trains will replace the existing 25 one-car trains, while the later order of eight two-car trains will replace half of the existing 16 two-car trains.

As a result, the Sengkang-Punggol LRT network will eventually have a fleet of 33 two-car trains.

Each train car can accommodate 105 passengers, The Straits Times reported previously.

On average, the Sengkang-Punggol LRT clocked 612,000 car-km without service delays that lasted more than five minutes from October 2023 to September 2024. This is lower than the 1.22 million car-km between delays during the whole of 2023.

Residents who often use the Sengkang-Punggol LRT were neutral about the new trains, as many said the current ones are still in good condition.

Ms Chantelle Lee, 23, who lives at Thanggam in Sengkang, said they still work fine, and are clean and comfortable.

The business planning intern, however, is hoping for less bumpy rides on the new trains, especially from Cheng Lim to Sengkang stations where the bumps are more keenly felt.

She is also hoping for the addition of charging ports and clearer map displays of the entire LRT route that signal the next stop.

Punggol resident Summer Koh, 23, said she has had “no complaints” about the existing LRT trains in the past 10 years.

With the new trains, the university student is looking forward to seeing clearer audio-visual announcements that can cater to the needs of passengers with disabilities, in addition to digital screens that can display train schedules and real-time arrival and departure times.

But a Thanggam resident in her late 20s, who wanted to be known only as Ms Mindy C, said the existing trains are “quite small”, making them “super squeezy” for passengers during peak hours.

Also noting that some trains are poorly ventilated, leading to a “funky smell” at times, the marketing associate wishes for the new trains to have more room, better ventilation and more digital signs.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

One-off property tax rebate in 2025; vast majority of home owners will see lower tax bill​

The rebates will mean all owner-occupied HDB flats and over 90 per cent of owner-occupied private residential properties will see a lower tax bill in 2025.ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

Joyce Lim
Nov 30, 2024

SINGAPORE – A one-off property tax rebate will be given to all owner-occupied homes in 2025, a move the Government said will ease cost-of-living concerns for home owners.

Owner-occupied Housing Board flats will receive a 20 per cent rebate, while owner-occupied private residential properties will get a 15 per cent rebate – capped at $1,000, said the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore in a joint statement on Nov 29.

The rebates, together with the changes to annual value bands for owner-occupied homes that will kick in from 2025, will mean all such HDB flats and over 90 per cent of such private residential properties will see a lower tax bill in 2025.

The Government previously announced during Budget 2024 that it was raising the annual value bands for owner-occupied homes from Jan 1, 2025.

Property tax is calculated based on a property’s annual value, which is the estimated rent a property can fetch in a year if rented out. Annual values have risen in tandem with market rentals of public housing, which have been rising since 2022.

Under the changes, the annual value threshold for zero per cent tax for owner-occupied homes will be raised from $8,000 to $12,000 on Jan 1.

This will mean that all one- and two-room HDB flats will continue not to pay property taxes in 2025. For other HDB flats, property tax will continue to be calculated at a marginal rate of 4 per cent for the portion of annual value above $12,000.

The one-off rebate will automatically offset any property tax payable.

Mr Eugene Lim, key executive officer of real estate agency ERA Singapore, said the one-off property tax rebate may be a welcome measure from the Government that will help defray costs, but it is not expected to have a significant impact.

“This 15 to 20 per cent rebate may be a (quick) stopgap measure to help Singaporeans mitigate cost-of-living concerns,” he said.

Meanwhile, the annual value threshold that is used to assess eligibility for social support schemes will also be raised from Jan 1, 2025.

The revision will extend benefits to those living in more than a million residential properties, said MOF.

Currently, various government social support schemes provide tiered benefits to ensure that Singaporeans with greater needs receive more support.

These schemes include the GST Voucher scheme, MediShield Life premium subsidies and the Workfare Income Supplement scheme.

Alongside criteria such as income, the annual value of an individual’s residential property may be used as an indicator of means.

Under the current system, benefits are divided into two tiers – properties with an annual value of up to $21,000, and those between $21,001 and $25,000.

From January 2025, the annual value ceiling for the second tier will be raised to $31,000, while the first tier will remain unchanged.

The first tier will continue to cover all HDB flats.

With the revised second tier, more than three in four residential properties, including lower-value private properties, can be eligible for social benefits, said MOF.

For instance, under the new threshold, a resident living in a property with an annual value of $27,000 will still qualify for GST Voucher cash payouts in 2025, which would not have been possible without the adjustment.

The Ministry of Health, which uses annual value, alongside per capita household income, to determine means-testing eligibility for subsidies and financial aid, said any change in subsidy or assistance arising from the annual value changes will be automatically extended to its healthcare schemes.

These subsidies cover a wide range of services, including specialist outpatient care, drug costs in inpatient, outpatient and polyclinic settings, and various healthcare premium subsidies.

Existing Community Health Assist Scheme (Chas) card holders who are eligible for a Chas card with higher subsidies after the annual value revision will be automatically issued a new one after Jan 1, 2025. No action is required from individuals.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

ComfortDelGro fixes commission it charges cabbies at 70 cents per ride for 3 months​

The move is intended to encourage more drivers on ComfortDelGro’s Zig app to increase the availability and supply of rides during the festive period and December school holidays.ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
Esther Loi
UPDATED Dec 05, 2024, 11:18 AM


SINGAPORE – Nearly a year after ComfortDelGro raised the commissions it collects from its drivers in January, the largest taxi operator here will fix its commission at 70 cents a ride for all app- and phone-booked rides from Dec 4, 2024, to Feb 28, 2025.

This move is intended to encourage more drivers on ComfortDelGro’s Zig app to increase the availability and supply of rides during the festive period and December school holidays, a ComfortDelGro spokesman told The Straits Times on Dec 2.

He added that its drivers using Zig will get increased earnings on average from the shift to a flat commission rate of 70 cents.

ComfortDelGro taxi drivers were informed of this change in commission on Nov 27 in a circular sent via e-mail and text message.

Since Jan 1, 2024, all ComfortDelGro cabbies have had to pay the operator 7 per cent – an increase from 5 per cent – of fares collected from app- and phone-booked rides for journeys costing more than $9 due to the higher cost of technology maintenance and system upgrading, and higher financial charges for cashless transactions.

Commissions were waived for bookings with fares of up to $9 to “cushion the financial impact on drivers”.

The ComfortDelGro spokesman said the change in commission will not affect how passenger fares are calculated. He did not respond to a question on whether the fee will revert to 7 per cent after Feb 28, 2025.

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Some cabbies welcomed the move as the fixed fee of 70 cents is likely to increase their daily earnings.

Mr Teo Luan Goon, 61, said that this would be good as he would be able to start earning more from longer-distance, fixed-fare app bookings.

The cabby of two years added that right now, many taxi drivers do not like to accept fixed-fare app bookings as they feel disadvantaged since they need to pay 7 per cent of fares collected to ComfortDelGro, in addition to not being compensated for heavy traffic conditions and passenger no-shows.

Instead, cabbies prefer to accept metered app- and phone-booked rides, said Mr Teo, as there is already a flat commission of 70 cents on top of a booking fee that discourages passengers from not showing up, and a continuous increase in fares based on meter readings – even when the cab is stuck in traffic.

With the fixed commission, drivers may prefer to take up more long-distance, fixed-fare app bookings since they pay a lower commission of 70 cents, he noted, adding that they may be less willing to accept short-distance, fixed-fare app bookings of up to $9 since a 70-cent commission translates into a commission rate of nearly 10 per cent.

Likewise, Mr Peter Quek, 48, a veteran cabby of 9½ years, said he would be able to earn more as the 70-cent commission is much lower than the average amount he now pays – which ranges from 90 cents to $1.20 a trip.

For Mr Quek, the cost savings of 20 to 50 cents a trip translate into a significant overall increase in earnings each month of up to $150 since he accepts an average of 300 fixed-fare and meter-based app bookings each month.

Mr Teo hopes this fixed commission will be here to stay and remain beyond the stipulated three-month period.

Other ride-sharing platform companies collect commissions from completed trips, with Gojek charging 10 per cent of fares and Grab charging dynamic rates – ranging from minus 10 per cent to 25 per cent – that account for the distance travelled and time taken to pick up passengers.

ComfortDelGro fixes commission it charges cabbies at 70 cents per ride for 3 months​

[IMG width="860px" alt="Generic pix of a woman getting into a ComfortDelGro taxi along Syed Alwi Road on Feb 20, 2023. Can be used for stories on transport, cab, hailing
"]https://cassette.sphdigital.com.sg/...82ffd0c28ceeb633f6a7c03444857363d?w=860[/IMG]
The move is intended to encourage more drivers on ComfortDelGro’s Zig app to increase the availability and supply of rides during the festive period and December school holidays.ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
Esther Loi
UPDATED Dec 05, 2024, 11:18 AM
SINGAPORE – Nearly a year after ComfortDelGro raised the commissions it collects from its drivers in January, the largest taxi operator here will fix its commission at 70 cents a ride for all app- and phone-booked rides from Dec 4, 2024, to Feb 28, 2025.
This move is intended to encourage more drivers on ComfortDelGro’s Zig app to increase the availability and supply of rides during the festive period and December school holidays, a ComfortDelGro spokesman told The Straits Times on Dec 2.
He added that its drivers using Zig will get increased earnings on average from the shift to a flat commission rate of 70 cents.
ComfortDelGro taxi drivers were informed of this change in commission on Nov 27 in a circular sent via e-mail and text message.
Since Jan 1, 2024, all ComfortDelGro cabbies have had to pay the operator 7 per cent – an increase from 5 per cent – of fares collected from app- and phone-booked rides for journeys costing more than $9 due to the higher cost of technology maintenance and system upgrading, and higher financial charges for cashless transactions.
Commissions were waived for bookings with fares of up to $9 to “cushion the financial impact on drivers”.
The ComfortDelGro spokesman said the change in commission will not affect how passenger fares are calculated. He did not respond to a question on whether the fee will revert to 7 per cent after Feb 28, 2025.

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​

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Some cabbies welcomed the move as the fixed fee of 70 cents is likely to increase their daily earnings.
Mr Teo Luan Goon, 61, said that this would be good as he would be able to start earning more from longer-distance, fixed-fare app bookings.
The cabby of two years added that right now, many taxi drivers do not like to accept fixed-fare app bookings as they feel disadvantaged since they need to pay 7 per cent of fares collected to ComfortDelGro, in addition to not being compensated for heavy traffic conditions and passenger no-shows.
Instead, cabbies prefer to accept metered app- and phone-booked rides, said Mr Teo, as there is already a flat commission of 70 cents on top of a booking fee that discourages passengers from not showing up, and a continuous increase in fares based on meter readings – even when the cab is stuck in traffic.
With the fixed commission, drivers may prefer to take up more long-distance, fixed-fare app bookings since they pay a lower commission of 70 cents, he noted, adding that they may be less willing to accept short-distance, fixed-fare app bookings of up to $9 since a 70-cent commission translates into a commission rate of nearly 10 per cent.
Likewise, Mr Peter Quek, 48, a veteran cabby of 9½ years, said he would be able to earn more as the 70-cent commission is much lower than the average amount he now pays – which ranges from 90 cents to $1.20 a trip.
For Mr Quek, the cost savings of 20 to 50 cents a trip translate into a significant overall increase in earnings each month of up to $150 since he accepts an average of 300 fixed-fare and meter-based app bookings each month.
Mr Teo hopes this fixed commission will be here to stay and remain beyond the stipulated three-month period.
Other ride-sharing platform companies collect commissions from completed trips, with Gojek charging 10 per cent of fares and Grab charging dynamic rates – ranging from minus 10 per cent to 25 per cent – that account for the distance travelled and time taken to pick up passengers.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Hume MRT station to open in Q2 2025; Circle Line Stage 6 to be ready in first half of 2026​

When it opens, Hume station will serve more than 20,000 residents in the area between Hillview and Beauty World MRT stations.PHOTO: LTA/FACEBOOK

Kok Yufeng
Dec 07, 2024

SINGAPORE – Hume MRT station on the Downtown Line (DTL) will open in the second quarter of 2025, while the sixth stage of the Circle Line (CCL6) will open in the first half of 2026.

In the second half of 2026, a 2.2km DTL extension in the east linking Expo station to the future Xilin and Sungei Bedok stations will open, as will the fifth stage of the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL), which comprises Bedok South and Sungei Bedok stations.

Giving firmer updates on the progress of these rail projects, Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said in a year-end media interview on Dec 3 that the Government is not done expanding the MRT network, though he was coy about the details, citing the need for further studies.

When it opens, Hume station will serve more than 20,000 residents in the area between Hillview and Beauty World MRT stations. Work to fit out the long-empty station, a shell structure built in 2015, began in 2021 after years of lobbying.

The Government had said developments in the area and ridership growth did not warrant the station opening. But this changed following moves to redevelop the Rail Corridor and the former Bukit Timah Fire Station.

Meanwhile, CCL6, which comprises three new underground stations – Keppel, Cantonment and Prince Edward Road – will close the loop between HarbourFront and Marina Bay stations.

Announced in 2015, the 4km extension was slated to be operational in 2025, but this was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. When completed, it is expected to shorten travel time and give passengers alternative routes that bypass the busy interchanges at City Hall and Raffles Place stations.

The DTL extension in the east has also had multiple hold-ups, most recently due to construction challenges related to tunnelling near existing critical infrastructure. TEL Stage 5 has faced similar delays.

The minister told reporters at his ministry’s office in Alexandra Road that a larger rail network means a bigger surface area for things to go wrong.

He urged the public transport sector to maintain the trust and teamwork that have helped to improve and strengthen rail reliability over the years.

Mr Chee said the entire MRT network clocked about 2.2 million train-km between failures for the 12 months that ended in November, up from about two million train-km in October and 1.8 million train-km in September.

This reliability improvement came in the wake of a massive breakdown that crippled rail services between Jurong East and Buona Vista stations on the East-West Line in late September.

Noting that it is unrealistic to expect no incidents to occur, Mr Chee said the key is how Singapore responds to them.

“We want to make sure that we deal with every incident properly, learn the right lessons and see how we can improve further,” he added.

“But I think it’s also important to bear in mind that, beyond the incidents, there are many more ongoing projects, developments and improvements that we are making.”

Looking further ahead, Mr Chee said the Government will press on with its other rail projects, including the Jurong Region and Cross Island lines, which will open in stages from 2027 and 2030, respectively.

In addition, a DTL extension in the west has been planned for the mid-2030s, going beyond Bukit Panjang station and connecting with the North-South Line at a new Sungei Kadut interchange station.

The TEL will also be extended in the mid-2030s to connect with Changi Airport, passing through the future Terminal 5.

Beyond what has already been announced, the Transport Ministry, together with the Ministry of National Development and Urban Redevelopment Authority, will continue to study new possibilities for the MRT network, Mr Chee said.

However, he said he was not ready to provide more details just yet, pointing to various considerations, including land-use plans, physical site constraints and budgeting.

Reflecting on what he described as a challenging year for the transport sector, the minister said it is up to Singaporeans to decide how he has performed so far at the helm.

Mr Chee, who was appointed acting transport minister in 2023 and became a full minister in January 2024, added: “Transport is a tough portfolio and there are many challenges. Somebody has to do this job, and since it’s been given to me, I’ll do my best.”

 

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4 new City Direct buses to connect Hougang, Sengkang, Punggol residents to CBD from Jan 2​

The express bus services will operate two morning and evening trips each during weekday peak hours.PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO

Ian Cheng
Dec 09, 2024

SINGAPORE – Four new City Direct (CDS) bus services – 675, 676, 677 and 678 – will start operations on Jan 2, 2025, taking residents in the north-east to the Central Business District during peak hours.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on Dec 9 that the four express bus services will operate two morning and two evening trips each during weekday peak hours, excluding public holidays.

The morning trips will see the buses make their way to Temasek Boulevard, with the evening routes calling at different bus stops from the former.

CDS 675 will start from the bus stop in front of Block 953 Yio Chu Kang Road (bus stop code 64119), and serve bus stops in Hougang Avenues 9, 4, 10, 2 and 3 and Tampines Road.

CDS 676 will start from the bus stop in front of Block 477A Upper Serangoon Road (bus stop code 64409), and serve bus stops in Hougang Avenues 7 and 5.

CDS 677 will start from the bus stop opposite Block 110 Punggol Road (bus stop code 65021), and serve bus stops in Sengkang East Way, Anchorvale Road, Sengkang East Avenue, Punggol Road and Buangkok Drive.

CDS 678 will start from the bus stop at Block 162B Punggol Central (bus stop code 65269), and serve bus stops in Edgefield Plains, Punggol North Avenue, Punggol East and Sengkang East Drive.

The buses will then travel directly to the CBD, with the first stop there being the bus stop in front of Hub Synergy Point (bus stop code 03222) in Anson Road.

The services will terminate at the bus stop in front of Suntec Tower Two (bus stop code 02141) in Temasek Boulevard.

The evening journeys will begin from the bus stop in front of Suntec Tower Three (bus stop code 02149) in Temasek Boulevard.

 

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Part-time security officers to see over 30% jump in hourly pay by 2028​

Security officers in senior and supervisory roles will also see an hourly pay increase between 25 per cent and 30 per cent.ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
Sharon Salim

Dec 13, 2024

SINGAPORE - Part-time security officers will see their hourly pay rise by more than 30 per cent over the next four years under a new three-year plan to raise salaries in the sector.

The three-year schedule, which kicks in from January 2026, will see a part-time security officer’s hourly pay increase by 33.1 per cent by January 2028. Security officers in senior and supervisory roles will see hourly pay increases of between 25 per cent and 30 per cent over the same period.

For instance, a part-time security officer earning $10.10 an hour in December 2024 will receive an hourly pay of $13.45 by January 2028.

The sustained wage increases were announced in a joint media release by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Dec 10.

The move is one of the recommendations made by the Security Tripartite Cluster – a workgroup comprising representatives from the Government, unions, industry associations, employers and service buyers – aimed at boosting the salaries of all security officers.

Under the Employment Act, part-time security officers work fewer than 35 hours a week. Ad-hoc officers are those who are hired for specific events.

Part-time security officers welcomed the move. Mr Idil Hakim, a 40-year-old part-time security officer from Ranger Investigation and Security Services, said the sustained hourly wage increase would be helpful for him, especially in funding some of his household-related and mortgage expenses.

While he has a full-time nine-to-six job as a deliveryman in the logistics sector, he works part-time as a security officer for extra income to support his family.

“It’s definitely going to help me, and the hourly pay raise is a good thing,” he said.

Responding to queries from The Straits Times, a spokesman for MOM said on Dec 13: “The Security Progressive Wage Model covers 18,300 security officers employed by security agencies, of which 2,300 are on part-time work arrangements.”

First implemented in 2016, the Security Progressive Wage Model (PWM) provides a wage ladder for security officers, increasing their wages and implementing training requirements for security officers who are Singaporeans or permanent residents.

Under the wage ladder that kicked in on Jan 1, 2024, full-time security officers now receive at least $2,650 in basic monthly pay, compared with at least $1,650 before Jan 1, 2024. By 2028, the basic monthly pay of entry-level security officers will increase to $3,530, a 33 per cent jump.

The latest move announced on Dec 10 raises the salaries on the wage ladder for part-time and ad-hoc security officers from Jan 1, 2026 to Dec 31, 2028.

The PWM is a wage ladder tied to skill and productivity improvements currently in place for lower-wage workers in seven sectors and two occupations, with wage floors at each rung increasing according to a pre-determined schedule.

Mr Raj Joshua Thomas, president of Security Association Singapore, said the association strongly supports the significant increases in the PWM wage floors for part-time security officers over the next few years. “The hourly rates for part-time security officers will rise proportionately to the increase in the PWM wage floors, as outlined in the Security Tripartite Cluster’s statement,” he said.

He urged buyers of security services to choose security agencies that provide better hours and benefits for their officers, encouraging security agencies to move towards a five-day work week by 2030. Security officers typically work six days a week or alternate between five and six days a week, he said.

“Many buyers still choose the lowest bids, which means that their chosen vendor can only pay the lowest wage under the PWM with officers working the maximum hours,” said Mr Thomas, who is also a Nominated Member of Parliament.

He also cautioned against illegal practices that unlawfully lower the costs of hiring security officers, such as hiring Malaysian security officers who work more than 12 hours or not making Central Provident Fund contributions for them.

“I appeal to security officers to choose agencies that can give them the lowest working hours for the same PWM wage or higher. Officers should not remain in agencies that have no plan to move to a five-day work week by 2030.”

NTUC said in a short statement on Dec 11 that it is part of the Security Tripartite Cluster and it is pleased that the recommendations of the cluster have been accepted by the Government.

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FairPrice extends discounts in 2025 for seniors, lower-income families​

The discount schemes will continue to run across all physical stores and Unity pharmacies till Dec 31, 2025.ST PHOTO: GIN TAY

Kolette Lim
Dec 19, 2024

SINGAPORE - FairPrice will extend its discount schemes for holders of Pioneer generation, Merdeka generation and Community Health Assist Scheme (Chas) blue and orange cards till Dec 31, 2025. The schemes will continue across all stores and Unity pharmacies, said FairPrice Group on Dec 19.

Pioneer and Merdeka generation seniors, as well as blue and orange Chas card holders, can enjoy a 3 per cent discount on selected days of the week. Singaporeans and permanent residents aged 60 and above will get a 2 per cent discount on Tuesdays.

Households with a monthly income per person ranging from $1,501 to $2,300 are eligible to apply for the orange card. Households with a monthly income per person of $1,500 and below can apply for the blue card.

Customers must present their digital or physical membership cards at the cashier or select the relevant option at self-checkout counters to get the discounts.

The discounts are valid for up to $200 per transaction per day.

FairPrice Group chief executive Vipul Chawla said many Singaporeans continue to face challenges purchasing daily essentials despite the easing inflation. “We want to do our part in helping vulnerable Singaporeans stretch their dollar further... by delivering on our mission of keeping daily essentials within reach for all.”

NTUC Link members and union members can also continue to earn points when shopping at physical and online FairPrice outlets. Every dollar spent earns 0.5 Linkpoints, and 100 Linkpoints can be redeemed for $1.

 

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More than 6,000 low-income families to receive special year-end payout from Muis​

The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore said it had disbursed the special payout of about $4.3 million to more than 6,000 low-income families.PHOTO: ST FILE

Sarah Koh
Dec 27, 2024

SINGAPORE – Thousands of low-income families are expected to benefit from a special year-end payout of $4.3 million from Muis, while children of zakat beneficiaries are also set to receive more financial support for their educational needs.

In a statement on Dec 24, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) said it had disbursed the special payout of about $4.3 million to more than 6,000 low-income families.

This is on top of the monthly zakat financial assistance for the beneficiaries.

The disbursement – introduced in 2012 – aims to help the beneficiaries manage their year-end household expenses, such as accumulated bills, loans, and costs for the upcoming school year for families with school-going children.

Muis also announced that the children of zakat beneficiaries will each receive a standardised rate of $150 under the Reqab assistance scheme – instead of the previous range of between $70 and $100 per child.

The scheme, which is part of the Muis Zakat financial assistance programme, aims to reduce the financial burden of school-related expenses such as uniforms, books and other necessary supplies.

A sum of $1.28 million has been set aside for this enhancement, which would benefit around 8,500 children and teenagers aged 18 and below, said Muis.

orporations and affiliates as well as their agents and authorised service providers.
marketing and promotions.
It added that eligible zakat beneficiaries will receive a notification by mail this week. Zakat is a form of alms-giving.

The enhancement of Reqab assistance aligns with Muis’ mission to provide comprehensive support for low-income households, said the council.

“This initiative reflects a dual focus: addressing immediate financial pressures whilst fostering long-term empowerment,” it added. “By prioritising education and developmental needs, Muis is building a foundation for a more resilient and empowered community.”

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