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  • Congestion At New Bedok Integrated Transport Hub

    Congestion At New Bedok Integrated Transport Hub

    While the opening of the Bedok Integrated Transport Hub on Sunday (Nov 30) was marred by some commuter complaints of traffic jams, LTA said on Tuesday that anti-congestion measures had been put in place ahead of the opening of the transport hub.

    These measures include the widening of roads, assigning traffic marshals to control traffic, and the installation of sensors within the interchange that are meant to interact with the traffic lights to control the flow of buses in and out of the terminus, an LTA spokesperson told Channel NewsAsia.

    “However, some time is required for bus operations to familiarise with the new interchange, and to allow some fine tuning during the start of operations,” added the spokesperson.

    ‘BUS FLOW WAS PRETTY BAD’

    After Bedok Integrated Transport Hub opened, some complained that buses seemed to take longer than acceptable to leave and enter Singapore’s largest bus interchange.

    “The bus flow was pretty bad” on Sunday, said a commuter who chose to remain unnamed. He pointed the finger at the traffic light at the junction of Bedok North Drive – the road leading to the transport hub – and Bedok North Ave 1. “The roads here are also too narrow,” he added.

    Ms Emily Kan, 73, said the feeder bus trip from her home to the interchange, which used to take less than 15 minutes, took about half an hour on Sunday and Monday.

    Another commuter, Mr Eric Ng, said that the bus he took to the interchange on Monday at 8.30am took about 15 minutes just to enter the interchange. He noted that on the return journey, the bus he boarded left the interchange without any delays.

    The owner of a shop nearby, who identified herself as Ms Lin, 27, said one of her staff was late for work on Monday evening, having waited 40 minutes for the bus she was on to turn into the interchange. From 5pm to 5.40pm, the staff “could see the interchange but could not get down”, Ms Lin said.

     

    On Tuesday, a resident of one of the blocks directly facing the interchange said the traffic situation had improved since the day before, when she said there was a traffic jam during the morning rush hour. “Traffic has been smooth today,” said the resident, who also asked to remain unnamed.

    “LTA is monitoring the traffic situation closely and will continue to review for further adjustments to enhance the traffic flow,” the LTA spokesperson added.

    “THERE ARE SO MANY BUSES HERE”

    When Channel NewsAsia visited during the morning off-peak period, a string of buses were seen waiting for the traffic light to change in their favour, allowing them to turn right into Bedok North Drive from Bedok North Ave 1. Previously, buses entered the old terminal via New Upper Changi Road. No marshals were seen assigned to direct traffic.

    A commuter at the interchange on Tuesday afternoon, Madam Fathma Adam, 73, said she was not surprised about the jams. “There are so many buses here, and roads are very small, and there’s only one lane leading to the terminal,” she said.

    A shopowner, Ms Liang, noted that compared to the previous interchange, in which about “five or six” buses could stop concurrently to let passengers alight, only three buses can stop at the same time at the new transport hub.

     

    A bus captain who asked to remain unnamed also cited the number of traffic lights outside the terminal and the narrow lanes as possible causes of delays. “There is also limited parking space for the buses inside the interchange,” said the bus captain, who added that it was confusing that two of the three lanes exiting the terminal filtered to the left.

    Not all the chatter on social media was negative, with many lauding the new addition to the Bedok landscape.

    New bedok interchange. Life is good now pic.twitter.com/qnr5p1hjMj

    bedok inter expanding eastpoint opening whitesands renovating airport expanding & siglap restaurants life in the east has never felt so good

    Post by StarHub.

     

    The 1.6-hectare interchange, which is linked to Bedok Mall, allows commuters an air-conditioned transfer to Bedok MRT Station. A total of 29 bus services call at the hub.

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

  • Lee Hsien Loong On His Children And Their Political Inclinations

    Lee Hsien Loong On His Children And Their Political Inclinations

    Although grownup, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong says his four children are, “at the moment”, not interested to enter politics.

    PM Lee shared this in a televised Mandarin interview with Chinese television host Yang Lan ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Beijing in the first week of November. When asked if he would specially encourage or lead them in that direction, he said his children “have to find their own path in life”.

    “They have to choose [their lives], because a child’s personality and aptitude have to be taken into consideration,” he said, in a transcript translated by national newspaper The Straits Times. “Every child is different, parents would of course wish that their children can fly high, but they all have different natures, some may be more inclined towards the arts, some may be more interested in computers or science, this will have to be developed according to their interests.”

    Not much is known about PM Lee’s children, the first two of whom — 34-year-old Li Xiuqi and 32-year-old Li Yipeng — were born to his first wife Wong Ming Yang, who passed away after a heart attack, three weeks after she gave birth to Yipeng, an albino. His two sons with his current wife Ho Ching, whom he married three years later, are 27-year-old Li Hongyi and Lee Haoyi, now 25 years old.

    Lee’s third child Hongyi made the news in 2007, while he was serving his National Service, when he sidestepped the usual chain of command to file a lengthy complaint in an email sent to senior military officers and then-Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean. Li, a Public Service Commission scholarship holder, studied economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and then spent two years working as a product manager at internet giant Google, as part of a programme allowing scholars to spend a stint in the private sector before starting work in the Public Service. He later returned to Singapore, where he now works at the Infocomm Development Authority as a consultant. According to his LinkedIn profile, he started work there a year ago.

    Lee’s father, former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, revealed in a dialogue in 2008 that Hongyi had written to his younger brother, Haoyi, to advise him not to take up a scholarship — this after Haoyi had scored 43 out of a possible 45 in his International Baccalaureate exams. Lee’s sister, Lee Wei Ling, wrote in a 2011 column that Haoyi had later joined his brother at MIT. According to his Facebook page, Haoyi interned at Facebook and also spent time at Dropbox.

     

    Source: https://sg.news.yahoo.com

  • KPMG Names Singapore’s Intelligent Transport System Among Best Infrastructure Development Globally

    KPMG Names Singapore’s Intelligent Transport System Among Best Infrastructure Development Globally

    Developing countries should take a leaf from the republic’s book.

    Singapore’s Intelligent Transport System has been named among the best infrastructure developments currently under way around the world, according to KPMG International’s latest Infrastructure 100: World Markets Report 2014.

    The republic’s pay-as-you-use system was described by judges as “clever” for the way it maximizes the capacity of the road network and shapes motorist behaviour with sophisticated electronic road pricing (ERP) tolls that vary according to traffic flows and are controlled in real time from an operations centre.

    With a total estimated value of over US$1.73 trillion, the 100 projects illustrate a range of infrastructure investment, some with a potentially transformative impact that could change the face of nations, particularly developing ones.

    Several other ASEAN projects were also selected among the 100.

    These include Myanmar’s brand new communications network being built by an international consortium which, when completed, would improve internet connectivity for three main cities. It would enable Myanmar to leap directly to a wireless-driven society faster than a more mature market, empowering business and e-commerce.

    Cambodia’s US$10 million Hak Se Mill Biomass Gasification which generates more affordable renewable power by turning rice husks into biogas too, was recognised for its innovation and social impact.

    Alongside Singapore’s Transport System, Indonesia’s upcoming second line of its Mass Rapid Transit system in Jakarta was also honoured for the way it is designed to improve urban mobility.

     

    Source: https://sg.finance.yahoo.com

  • An Encounter With A Young And Arrogant IRAS Tax Officer

    An Encounter With A Young And Arrogant IRAS Tax Officer

    Such claims and actions by the PAP Town Council such as lawyers letters, etc are certainly typical.

    A visit to the Income Tax office informing the officer of my reasons for not being employed for a certain period of time plus proof of non payment such as mortgage, PUB, etc, and thus not able to pay my outstanding income tax on previous years was rejected by the young BITCH officer. Her demeanour during the interview came across rather pompous and arrogant. She asked me to wait for her foe about 30 minutes while she reviewed my case with a SENIOR officer.

    She got back to me after 50 minutes and told me that she did NOT believe my reasons for non payment thus she has to impose a penalty fee.

    These young and stupid bookworm Tax officers, WHAT do they know about hard life? They come from comfortable generation and up bringing and is now being put in the TAX Government office as a intern/under study and behave like Demi Gods in deciding the faith of pheasants.

    Not accepting the outcome, I decided to ask to speak with the senior officer whom she claimed to have a discussion regarding my case. This b*t*h told me that the officer in charge is engage in a staff meeting. I then told her to assign me to another officer. She told me they are all engaged. Thus, I told her that I will wait for the senior officer to finish the meeting and to get back to me while I wait at the desk where I was interviewed.

    The b*t*h officer tried to wayang with me and told me she would try her best to get the officer to attend to me. Five minutes later, the senior officer attended to me. It took me within 5 minutes to explain my predicament, showed paper proof and mentioned of the wasted time which the young b*t*h officer had put me through including the statement she made to me earlier regarding her disbelieve. The senior officer returned within 5 minutes and gave me an acceptable solution. The young b*t*h who was with her appeared slightly upset and her demeanour seems deflated. My point is some of the officers working in PAP Government offices or under the umbrella of the PAP acts like a big fcuk thinking that we owe them even after we show proof of our predicament.

    Please note that the income tax office of Sinkapore uses high end PLANTRONICS earphones and some high end Herman Miller office chairs. Tax payers are paying for expensive chairs in the Tax Dept to accommodate to these tender backsides working there. Is it necessary??

    GOH PANG SAI

     

    Source: www.therealsingapore.com

  • Khaw Boon Wan: Housing Policies Continue To Support Family Formation And Ties

    Khaw Boon Wan: Housing Policies Continue To Support Family Formation And Ties

    National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said on Monday (Dec 1) that housing policies will continue to support strong family formation, and more will be done to help extended families live close to each other in 2015.

    In a blogpost, Mr Khaw said in the November Build-To-Order (BTO) exercise, there were several firsts. Firstly, the Housing & Development Board (HDB) launched the first housing project in Tampines North, and with about 1,500 units, it is HDB’s largest offering in a mature estate in a long time.

    “Children growing up with their parents in Tampines can now hope to buy new flats near them,” he wrote.

    Secondly, 56 units of 3Gen flats were offered – the first time these are available in a mature estate such as Tampines. Lastly, MND introduced quotas to make it easier, and offered greater priority, for married children and their parents to apply to live together or close by through the enhanced Married Child Priority Scheme (MCPS).

    Close to 6,000 family applicants have applied to live with or close to their parents and married children through the enhanced MCPS. The enhancements started from November’s BTO and Sale of Balance Flats exercises, which were launched on Nov 25.

    “Not surprisingly, the response to these initiatives was very positive. One in three family applicants applied to live with or close to their parents or married children through the enhanced MCPS,” Mr Khaw revealed.

    “One hundred and twenty-three multi-generation families applied for the 56 units of 3Gen flats at Tampines GreenRidges. The supply at Tampines North was oversubscribed by more than 1.3 times,” he added.

    Property firm ERA Realty said the numbers showed that housing demand for BTO flats has stabilised. “HDB’s move to ramp up the BTO (supply) from 2011 to 2014 has paid off, and it is timely that they slow down the BTO programme for 2015 to about 16,000 flats,” said ERA Realty’s key executive officer, Mr Eugene Lim.

    “By also conducting four BTO launches next year (once a quarter) versus the six BTO launches in the past (once every two months), the resale HDB market could see the return of more buyers and hopefully in 2015, will see an increase in transactions from the expected all-time low resale volume this year of around 17,000 units,” he added.

    For 2015, even more will be done to help families stay close to each other. HDB will launch another 360 3Gen flats, including 150 units in Tampines. It will also launch another 1,200 new flats in Tampines North, giving priority to those whose parents or married children are already living in the neighbourhood.

    HDB will also launch its first BTO project in Bidadari, with over 2,200 units to be put on offer in the second half of next year. Parents or married children currently living in Toa Payoh will get special priority under the MCPS for the Bidadari project, the minister pointed out.

    “Our family is what makes us happy, and that which gives meaning to our life. As 2014 draws to a close, let us be reminded again, to always make time to spend with our family and loved ones, and enjoy life to its fullest,” Mr Khaw said.

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

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