French firm studying local system to gain edge

SINGAPORE — Having tackled a range of transport issues, in cities such as Seoul and Mumbai, from keeping services going in monsoon rains to punctuality, Veolia Transport RATP Asia (VTRA) is looking at how it can use its global expertise to address problems in Singapore.

The French global transport firm is among those gunning for the first package of bus routes tendered under the bus-contracting model.

Its bid team has been studying bus routes on the island and hopes to win the trust of the local authorities and labour movement.

VTRA chief executive officer Kim Chan, in between his frequent work trips across Asia, has been squeezing time to hop on buses in Singapore to understand local commuters, peak-hour traffic and availability of information.

Speaking to TODAY, Mr Chan described Singapore as an attractive market due to the transparent approach of the Government. Local commuters are also “sophisticated” and will want to decide quickly whether to take the next bus or a cab ride during peak-hour traffic or heavy rain.

He described the current labour crunch and a fully-urban transport landscape, which could lead to congestion, as challenges unique to the bus industry in Singapore. He noted that jobs in the bus industry are still perceived as unglamorous. Seoul and Nanjing, in contrast, have no problems filling openings in the transport industry with local drivers and staff, said Mr Chan, who raised the possibility of having multi-role jobs for transport staff to overcome the labour shortage here.

In Seoul’s metro system, for example, the station managers serve customers in the area of ticket sales, but also double up as security officers. This helps the company overcome the labour shortage and make the job more interesting for the employee. “One person is able to do different jobs and functions. This increases fulfilment and the employee can receive training in different areas, allowing the opportunity to further advance his or her career,” he said.

Singapore buses also operate solely in the city and congestion brings “an element of uncertainty” to the bus business. “In Singapore, there is a very narrow band of commuting hours. So there will be peak demand in the morning and evening rush-hour,” he said. “We could control the departure time on the depot, but once you are on the road, there are all kinds of variables that will impact the schedule.”

The company is exploring the possibility of a travel app for Singapore. VTRA’s NexTram app in Hong Kong provides real-time travel information accessible via smartphone apps, QR (quick-response) codes, and Internet and LED (light-emitting diode) displays at major stops.

Other challenges the company has had to deal with include the heavy rains in Mumbai — flood gauges were installed inside the train depot it operates there to ensure that train services run seamlessly and that passengers are not inconvenienced even when floods occur.

VTRA’s parent companies’ — Veolia Transport and RATP Dev — have decades of experience in Perth and London, cities with similar bus contracting models.

“We feel confident that we can transplant those ideas, adopt them into the Singapore context and provide a more competitive solution to the Singapore government, to the passengers of Singapore,” Mr Chan said.

The tender closes in January.