LTA to test priority cabins for less mobile commuters; booster seats to be used in SMRT taxis

SINGAPORE — The North East Line (NEL) will soon kick off a one-year project to test the concept of priority cabins on MRT trains for less mobile and vulnerable commuters such as seniors, expectant mothers, wheelchair users, persons with disabilities and parents with young children.

By the end of this year, commuters will see two such cabins in every train on the NEL. The cabins will be the ones located nearest the platform lifts in most MRT stations along the line.

This was announced by Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Transport Baey Yam Keng  on Thursday (March 5) in Parliament during the Committee of Supply debate for the Ministry of Transport. 

The ministry also announced a number of other measures aimed at making such commuters a priority.

PRIORITY CABINS

In a news release issued on the same day, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said that the priority cabin project is part of ongoing efforts to build a more inclusive transport system and stemmed from feedback received during public consultations.

The cabins will feature prominent visual cues and signs to encourage commuters to allow vulnerable commuters to board and alight first, give up their seats to those who need them more and keep the wheelchair spaces free.

Besides that, commuters will be informed of the new initiative through video clips and station announcements, which will be played at all NEL stations.

Customer service officers of the train line’s operator, SBS Transit, will also be on hand to help guide commuters, it added.

ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY ON BUSES

LTA also said that it is expanding the trial of its mobile application to help wheelchair users and visually impaired commuters travel on two bus services which got to the Singapore Association of the Visually Impaired (SAVH) in Toa Payoh and the Enabling Village in Redhill, a community and social enterprise hub that supports people with disabilities.

The authority said that it had received positive feedback from the trial, which will thus be expanded to all buses plying the route of service 139 and 141 for three years — starting progressively from the fourth quarter of this year. 

The trial started with just some buses on those routes.  

The app called Mavis — short for Mobility Assistance for the Visually Impaired and Special Users — gives its users notifications to board or alight the buses and alerts bus drivers when a commuter with special needs is boarding or alighting.

SILVER ZONES

Silver Zones are areas with enhanced road safety features such as road markings and signs to alert motorists to the presence of senior pedestrians. 

There are now 17 of them in selected housing estates where a higher proportion of seniors live and the accident rates tend to be relatively higher.

Elaborating on the measures to improve the road safety of senior pedestrians, LTA said that from 2021, 15 more Silver Zones will be built up progressively in public housing estates such as Ang Mo Kio, Hougang and Tampines. 

They will be completed by 2023 and will add to those already completed in Bukit Merah View, Bedok North, Marine Parade and Yishun, 

Ongoing works for another 18 zones are due to be completed by 2021.

The Silver Zone scheme, which was first announced in 2014, tend to be located close to basic amenities such as food courts and medical centres to allow seniors easier and safer access to these facilities.

In locations where the Silver Zones were set up, the number of road accidents involving senior pedestrians had dropped by about 80 per cent, LTA added.

BOOSTER SEATS IN SOME TAXIS

Mr Baey also announced that SMRT will pilot the use of booster seats in all its taxis at no additional cost to commuters. 

This will enhance safety for children in taxis and provide parents of young children with a safer transport option, he said. 

In a press release issued on Thursday, SMRT said the pilot programme will take place over six months, during which the booster seats will be progressively equipped to its fleet of 2,800 taxis.

It noted that the use of the booster seats in taxis is still not compulsory, unlike in private hire vehicles in which children under 1.35m are required to be secured, but said that the use of such seats is still recommended.

CYCLING PATHS

Meanwhile, Senior Minister of State for Transport Lam Pin Min announced that, following the recent ban of e-scooters of footpaths, the Government has decided to accelerate the development of cycling paths.

While it was previously announced that there would be 750km of cycling paths by 2025, this milestone will be brought forward by two years, reaching 800km of cycling paths by 2023, he said.

The new timeline would mean that all public housing towns will have cycling paths by 2023, so all residents will have direct access to a wider cycling path network that is almost double the existing network, Dr Lam said.

This is part of the islandwide cycling network programme, which the Government plans to invest over S$1 billion in.

The plan is also to expand the cycling path network to 1,000km by 2026, such that eight in 10 residents living in public housing flats will just be a few minutes away from the network. 

By 2030, the network will be trebled to 1,320km, he added.

Residents can also look forward to the cycling path plans for their towns within the year, he said.