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Coming soon: Nursing rooms at bus interchanges, MRT stations

SINGAPORE — All new and future bus interchanges and integrated transport hubs will have a standalone nursing room with diaper-changing amenities and a wash basin, while train stations will be fitted with dual-speed
escalators.

Jurong East bus interchange. TODAY file photo

Jurong East bus interchange. TODAY file photo

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SINGAPORE — All new and future bus interchanges and integrated transport hubs will have a standalone nursing room with diaper-changing amenities and a wash basin, while train stations will be fitted with dual-speed escalators.

These are some of the features to be introduced to the public transport system to cater to commuters’ various needs, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) on Monday (Sept 26), adding that it has studied the recommendations in the Public Transport Council’s Advisory Report released on Aug 1.

The bus interchanges and integrated transport hubs that will have a nursing room include those at Bukit Panjang, Outram, Sengkang, Shenton Way and Tampines. 

Existing bus interchanges developed from 2014, such as those at Bedok, Changi Business Park, Joo Koon, Woodlands and Yishun, already have nursing rooms.

All MRT stations along the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) and Circle Line 6 will also have family-friendly washrooms comprising a diaper-changing station, child-size toilet seat and barrier-free facilities, alongside the main toilets in the unpaid area. 

In the paid areas of interchange stations, there will be a nursing room and barrier-free toilet.

Meanwhile, the dual-speed escalators at MRT stations are meant to meet the needs of children and the elderly. 

Escalators will be operated at 0.75m/s during peak hours and 0.50m/s during off-peak hours.

TEL stations will be the first to have this feature, which will be progressively rolled out to the North-South and East-West Lines (NSEWL), then to existing escalators in North East Line, Circle Line and Downtown Line stations, said the LTA.

Reduced escalator speeds are also being tried out at selected existing stations that are frequently used by children and the elderly, such as at Kent Ridge and Pioneer.

New TEL interchange stations, such as Orchard and Outram Park, will also have travellators to reduce the amount of walking while making transfers.

The Government previously announced it would be introducing priority queues for the elderly, pregnant women, parents travelling with prams and persons with disabilities at platform screen doors and passenger lifts of all MRT stations. 

Stickers will be put up at these areas by the end of next year.

Separately, all new and future bus interchanges and integrated transport hubs will also have priority queues for these groups. 

These will also be implemented at existing bus interchanges where space permits. There will be seats in these areas for these commuters to rest.

The Government has also said it was exploring restraint systems for strollers to be secured on buses without having to be folded up — unfolded strollers are currently not allowed on public buses.

The LTA reiterated on Monday that it “has been studying the implementation of a restraint system which will allow open prams to be safely secured on public buses”. 

It will be collaborating with institutes of higher learning such as the NUS High School of Mathematics and Science and Nanyang Polytechnic.

The LTA will also be starting  studies to enhance the design of about 800 bus stops islandwide. The studies are targeted to be completed by 2019.

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