LTA and Singapore’s Transport Operators Are Enhancing Navigational and Infrastructure for Inclusive Transport Experience
Singapore has one of the best and most affordable public transport systems in the world. According to a recent report by McKinsey, Singapore clinched the top spot for public transport affordability, and also scored well in transport efficiency and safety. Now, Singapore’s public transport system will become more accessible to everyone, including families and those with special needs. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is working with transport operators like SMRT Corporation and other partners to enhance the navigational infrastructure for serving all commuters in a better way.
The Number of Dementia Go-To-Points Will Increase
The Agency for Integrated Care (AIC), SMRT Corporation, and LTA are working together to progressively list all of Singapore’s public transport nodes as Dementia Go-To-Points (GTPs) by end-2022. Dementia GTPs will serve as “safe return points” for those living with dementia. SMRT and AIC are training SMRT staff members to assist in reuniting those with dementia with their caregivers.
Commenting on the efforts made by SMRT to make public transport more inclusive for all commuters, SMRT Chairman, Seah Moon Ming said: “We continue to contribute towards sustainable communities in our role as a public transport operator, by transporting commuters efficiently and making our network more inclusive for commuters.”
Seah Moon Ming further added: “The Woodlands Integrated Transport Hub and SMRT Go-To initiative are recent examples. To better assist commuters with special needs, frontline staff receive training on inclusive service delivery conducted by partners such as the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) and Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore (MINDS).”
More Baby Care Rooms
Currently, all interchange stations on the Thomson-East Coast Line and 60 percent of bus interchanges have Baby Care Rooms to help nursing mothers and parents to attend to their babies. LTA will create more baby care rooms at the stations of Jurong Region Line and Cross Island Line stations to improve the commuting experience for parents or caregivers travelling with babies and young children.
Communication Enhancements for Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing Commuters
Deaf and Hard-of-hearing commuters often face discomfort from the reactions of other commuters to their disability. To help such commuters, LTA is working on the following enhancements:
• Passenger Service Centres at all new MRT stations will be equipped with Hearing Enhancement Systems (HES). HES helps to transmit sounds intelligibly to a person wearing hearing aids without any background noise or reverberation.
• LTA, the Singapore Association for the Deaf, Building and Construction Authority, and the public transport operators have collaborated to create a visual communication tool. It will be rolled out to all MRT stations and bus interchanges by end-2022.
• All MRT stations now have detectable warning surfaces for helping visually impaired commuters to navigate independently. For persons with special needs, MRT stations are now wheelchair-friendly and have ramps and lifts for better accessibility to all public areas.
New Transit Priority Corridors and Walking and Cycling Paths
LTA will increase the Transit Priority Corridor (TPC) network by approximately 60 kilometres by 2030. The new TPC will be constructed along Sin Ming Avenue, connecting the North-South Corridor and Bright Hill MRT station to a bus line, cycling paths, and footpaths. Currently, Woodlands Ring Road is being pedestrianised, which will be completed by the third quarter of 2022.
Conclusion
LTA has been working with local communities and transport operators including SMRT to reimagine the public transport infrastructure. With the aforementioned navigational enhancements, LTA and transport operators will be better able to support commuters and improve their accessibility to the transport systems.
