10,000 commuters moved out of morning peak hour due to transport initiatives

SINGAPORE — Under a combination of demand management initiatives such as the Travel Smart Network pilot, the Travel Smart Rewards scheme and the free pre-peak travel scheme, an estimated 10,000 commuters have been shifted out of the one-hour morning peak between 8am and 9am.

Giving this update on Travel Smart Day, Senior Minister of State for Finance Josephine Teo said that this figure is equivalent to about six to seven train loads of passengers.

“This supplements our efforts to add capacity from the supply side and shorten wait times for commuters,” said Mrs Teo. “The upshot is this: even for commuters who are unable to shift out of peak travel in the morning, they are benefiting from less crowded trains during the morning peak. Trains are less crowded and in most stations, more commuters have been able to board the first or second trains.”

Acknowledging that pre-peak travel is “not for everybody”, Mrs Teo said that feedback has shown that more people would be willing to make the lifestyle shift if their employer was supportive, and hence the launch of the Travel Smart Network last August.

Organisations in the network are given grants — capped at S$80,000 each year — for any initiatives that help their employees travel during off-peak hours or use alternative modes of transport such as cycling or walking.

So far, more than 60 organisations — including DBS Bank and Singtel — with over 160,000 employees have come on board.