Rilek1Corner

Tag: LTA

  • Move To Ease Traffic Congestion In Punggol, Sengkang, To Kick In End-September

    Move To Ease Traffic Congestion In Punggol, Sengkang, To Kick In End-September

    From end September, drivers entering Sengkang and Punggol towns from Tampines Expressway (TPE) can enjoy smooth travel, even during peak hours, according to the Pasir Ris-Punggol and Punggol East Grassroots Organisations and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) on Friday (Aug 28).

    Over the past year, residents have complained about the bottleneck in traffic at the Sengkang-Punggol exit, which was the result of two bus lanes that opened in 2014. The bus lanes serve two bus stops and 11 bus services, while motorists currently travel on the other two lanes.

    The bottleneck issue was brought up to the Chairperson of the Public Transport and Traffic Committee for Punggol North Loke Choon Wai, and Chairman of the Punggol East Citizens’ Consultative Committee Raymond Lye.

    “When the bus stop opened in August last year, I think what became apparent very soon was that the traffic flow changed, because there were two dedicated bus lanes and there were two car lanes,” said Mr Lye. “So when the bus stop opened, I think the bus users were very happy because the bus stop was generally clear all the time for the buses, so the buses had a very smooth journey.

    “But for the car owners, they realised that the traffic flow became worse. Jams started to build up, and during peak periods the jam could go all the way back to the KPE exit into the TPE.”

    Mr Lye went on to explain that they had received feedback that the bus lanes were sometimes relatively empty while motorists faced congestion in the other two lanes during peak hour.

    “I think some of the car owners got a little bit frustrated when they were caught in the jam, and they started driving into the bus lane,” he said, adding that when there appeared to be more unhappiness when traffic enforcers took photos of motorists who drove through the bus lanes.

    “It’s like, ‘look, the car lanes are congested, the bus lanes are empty, so when I use the bus lanes, I’m not causing any congestion for the buses, so why are you doing this?’” said Mr Lye.

    After months of discussions with the LTA, motorists will be able to travel on the outer bus lane, although they must still give way to buses when on this lane. The lane will feature a second Mandatory Give-Way To Bus road marking.

    This will benefit buses exiting the first bus stop at the exit, before they continue straight on to TPE or turn right towards Punggol Town. It is expected to ease traffic congestion, and ensure commuters can continue enjoying smooth rides while travelling on public transport.

    Mr Teo Ser Luck, Minister of State for Trade and Industry, and Vice Chairman of Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council Janil Puthucheary, who lobbied for the enhancements to improve traffic at the exit, welcomed the approval of the proposed solution.

    “This new bus lane enhancement is actually quite useful, because it gives the bus the right and also a path that is clear to bring our residents home,” said Mr Teo.

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

  • Soldiers Will Be Roped In To Assist In Major Train Disruptions

    Soldiers Will Be Roped In To Assist In Major Train Disruptions

    Soldiers will be roped in as marshals to give directions to stricken commuters in the event of a massive train breakdown, The Straits Times has learnt.

    The Land Transport Authority (LTA), which is beefing up its contingency plans, has approached the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) to explore deploying the men in green to give directions and manage crowds. They will be tapped only during large-scale disruptions.

    LTA said that personnel from the police, Public Transport Security Command (Transcom) and the Singapore Civil Defence Force are already helping LTA and the public transport operators in managing such incidents.

    An LTA spokesman told The Straits Times that it “will also work with other agencies like the Defence Ministry (Mindef) to provide additional manpower resources if necessary”.

    When contacted, Mindef confirmed the move, saying that SAF will work with LTA in the event of a major disruption, “while maintaining our primary responsibility to safeguard our security environment”.

    The latest move comes on the back of a spate of major incidents involving Singapore’s rail system.

    The most recent was the massive July 7 breakdown of the North-South and East-West MRT lines, which affected some 250,000 commuters during the peak hour.

    When trains broke down around 7pm, there were accounts of people not managing to reach home until close to midnight. Some walked all the way.

    A review was conducted in the wake of the incident, said Senior Minister of State for Transport Josephine Teo in Parliament on Monday.

    It was found that the contingency plans of rail operator SMRT were “not adequate” to handle the scale of the breakdown, she added.

    As a result, trunk bus services calling at MRT stations hit by delays or breakdowns will be ramped up to provide alternative travel options for commuters, said Mrs Teo.

    Transport expert Park Byung Joon said that tapping on the military during massive disruptions makes sense, as soldiers can be called up and deployed at short notice and “can channel commuters to the right places as quickly as possible”.

    The adjunct associate professor at SIM University said using the military as “an alternative backup manpower” during such incidents is not unheard of.

    He pointed out that some special force troops in the South Korean army learn how to operate trains, to ensure train services continue in the event of a strike by train drivers.

    Alex Yam, deputy chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Defence and Foreign Affairs, said deploying SAF personnel at MRT stations is not entirely new as soldiers are already put in key installations like Jurong Island and Changi Airport to conduct patrols.

    They also have experience in crowd control during major national events like the National Day Parade.

    Mr Yam added: “Transcom already has a sizeable pool of officers, so activating military men will not be the first course of action. It is a last resort.”

     

    Source: http://news.asiaone.com

  • Gangster LTA Officer Threatened Me With Fxxk Word!

    Gangster LTA Officer Threatened Me With Fxxk Word!

    On 07/07/2015 around 5pm I was passing by North bridge road I saw an LTA officer suddenly got down from his bike rushing towards a black car. Shortly he just took some picture and started to type on his device as the black car drove off. I also saw him printed the slip and put it inside his pouch.

    I approached and asked him, Sir why do you issue the summon though the car already moved off? I was appalled when the LTA officer answered me arrogantly, Who the f*** are you? Is that your car? What f*** do you want?

    I calmly told him to talk nicely and don’t have to be rude, instead he continued talking to me abusively along with his “fluent” vulgarities for the next 5mins or so. I was taken aback and told him to stop or I call the police for assistance. He finally stopped when I whipped out my handphone. He went back to his bike, continued uttering his vulgarity and rode off!

    It is not my car nor anyone related to me but for the next few moments, I started to wonder is this Singapore? Is this my country which I grew up in? Is this how an LTA Officer does his job? Do we need such an attitude person as an enforcement officer? Why must he misused his authority? Why must he used vulgarity publicly? Why do they simply issue a ticket as and when they wish?
    Our father of nation brought us up to SG50 and as a Singaporean, we are excited and looking forward to celebrate the joyous occasion next month.

    I have called LTA to complain about this incident and taken down some contacts from the members of public who witnessed the incident. There are so many innocent driver in my country. I dont want them to be the victim of such LTA officer who simply issue summons to achieve their target in order to get their allowance.

    This is the photos of the LTA officer or more appropriate to label him, the Hooligan LTA officer?

    Ummi Iza

     

    Source: www.allsingaporestuff.com

  • Workers’ Party: Authorities Should Take More Enforcement Action Against Errant Rail Operators

    Workers’ Party: Authorities Should Take More Enforcement Action Against Errant Rail Operators

    The Workers’ Party is deeply worried over the 3.5 hour disruption of train services along the entire stretch of both the North-South and East-West MRT lines on 7 July 2015. The severe inconvenience caused to an estimated quarter-of-a-million commuters during the evening rush hour makes this the most serious MRT disruption in Singapore’s history.

    The latest breakdown comes on the heels of repeated assurances by both SMRT and the authorities about the improved reliability of our transport system. Yet, the number of significant train delays reached an all-time high of 12 in 2014 and stands at 8 in 2015. This is despite billions of dollars of government funds being pumped into improving the existing MRT infrastructure since 2011.

    Even as the LTA and SMRT work together with their engineers and external consultants to identify the precise cause of the breakdown, we find it particularly troubling that two of our country’s main rail lines can be fully disrupted by what appears to be an electrical fault. This raises questions about our transport system’s resilience, particularly as such a system-wide failure could have repercussions on our nation’s economic and national security interests.

    We call on the authorities to enforce a more rigorous maintenance regime on the rail network, with effective measures in place to ensure that commuters’ interests take precedence over corporate profits. For key performance indicators (KPIs) such as the number of unscheduled train withdrawals per 100,000 train kilometres and the number of service delays exceeding 30 minutes, concrete targets must be set and disclosed to the public.

    In the meantime, engineering and front-line staff should also be provided with proper support by their employers to ensure that they are equipped to handle any similarly challenging situations in the future. Their efforts and tireless work – many working through the night – should be recognised, and we would like to express our appreciation for their hard work.

    THE WORKERS’ PARTY
    9 July 2015

  • Singaporeans Shoud Stop Complaining And Spare A Thought For SMRT Workers And Their Families!

    Singaporeans Shoud Stop Complaining And Spare A Thought For SMRT Workers And Their Families!

    We were having family dinner when my dad received notification that he is activated. Without further ado, he put down his dinner and report within 30 minutes to the assigned station. He did not grumble about how he had to work again. The previous time when he was activated, he came back to us and shared with us how he could understand the feelings of the passengers who were shouting and pushing him and his coworkers. He stood and said sorry at least 100 times to everyone who was trapped. He is just a maintenance guy in SMRT.

    But, there was no negativity in him despite being shouted at, at the efficiency of the company, at the long standing hours or at anything. He came back to announce that he was glad that it’s settled.

    So, before we throw our frustrations and ill mannerism to any of the ground staff, please remember that they are just doing their best to get lives moving. They apologized on behalf of SMRT, not themselves. And most importantly, they have families waiting for them back home, or the unfinished dinner to eat too. A little empathy goes a long way to consider the various stakeholders invoked in this whole process. And I am sure we can do this!

    And for now, my family and I are waiting for my dad to come home safely.

     

    Source: Iris Lee