Taxi adding to congestion

Taxis adding to congestion

TO ADDRESS Singapore's congestion problem, it has to be attractive for those from higher-income households to switch to public transport.

They comprise the bulk of car owners, and getting them to drive less will certainly improve the situation.

My colleagues in Japan, Britain and the United States may own multiple cheap cars but do not drive to their cities. Instead, they take buses or trains - but not taxis.

In advanced countries, taxis are considered an expensive mode of transport. Our Government once likened them to chauffeur-driven private cars. There was even a proposal to have taxis here based in depots and deployed only when calls were received.

That proposal seems to have fizzled out.

Now, corporations derive income from taxi rentals and let drivers devise their own means of making money.

Cruising taxis are major contributors to congestion.

Having worked in companies that sold taxis, I learnt that the average taxi has six times the annual mileage of a private car.

This means that the 28,000 taxis here cause as much congestion as at least 130,000 more cars.

To make public transport more accepted, the connection of the last 500m to the commuter's final destination has to be improved.

There have to be covered walkways or adequate bicycle lanes and secure parking bays.

Only with a totally integrated approach to transport can we rightfully claim that Singapore is a well-connected city.

Lee Chiu San

source: http://www.straitstimes.com/premium/forum-letters/story/taxis-adding-congestion-20130923

Persona

The taxi driver with 20 years of driving experience told me that he half mocked at tourists who commented that the traffic conditions in Singapore was really bad. His retort was, "Tell me where in the world without traffic jams?" and he looked visibly pleased when he told me it left his passengers dumbfounded. I didn't want to hurt his feelings, so I remained as dumbfounded as his previous passengers. Having said that, I wouldn't be really surprised if many Singaporeans thought the same way. Everywhere also traffic jam. Everywhere also corrupt scumbag politicians. Everywhere also bad working conditions, every company same. You work less in Australia but you have no life, you earn more but you pay more tax, you have more personal space but there is racism so it all works out to be the same. Everywhere is the same. There is no greener pastures. It's all illusions in the mind, they said.

Lan jiao, understand. The next thing you know people started to call every elderly man with the surname 'Lee' their Ah Gong. Same lah. Is it really?

Living in Perth has been a privilege. I had met up with my counterparts living in the more populated Eastern cities and had been informed about the traffic situation in their cities. Though Perth has grown very much over the last decade in population, the traffic condition outside the smallish Perth city is still favourable, somewhat the level of Singapore in her 80s. Unless one commutes to and fro the city everyday, it is probable to drive home without getting trapped in a traffic jam everyday. Comparing that to my last driving memories in Singapore during 2010-2011, a mere 25 km drive from Choa Chu Kang to Marina Bay took me at least an hour in the morning and 1.5 hours for the opposite direction at the end of the day. The same 25 km drive to and fro work in Perth takes me 22 minutes everyday, 99% of the time. Same?

Since Singaporeans like to talk about money, we'll talk about this in dollars and cents then. The differences in my time taken to drive to and fro work in Singapore and Perth was 38 and 68 minutes respectively. That equates to me being trapped on the roads unnecessarily by 106 minutes per working day, 27560 minutes per working year. That works out to be a grand total of 7.6 days spent waiting on a fucking Singapore road to get to point B in a working year. Since you are so calculative, tell me how much is 7 days of your life worth? If I were to work ten years driving the same route everyday, I'll tell you where I rather spend 70 days of my life - elsewhere.

Don't even try telling me to move closer to my work place in Singapore. Don't get me started on housing topics. Just don't. You'll not regret it. That will be good for everybody.

Having said that, Perth is not immune to traffic jams. In fact it will only get worse, just like anywhere of a growing city. I experienced a Great Freeway jam in Perth a few times. Normally there would be a real nasty truck accident of some sort. The key differences of being trapped in a traffic jam here in Perth, as I observed:

1) Drivers still kept a reasonable distance from car to car in a standstill situation. There is a distinctive (positive) difference in general driving patterns.

2) Drivers do not weave in and out of lanes to gain an advantage over a couple of cars around them.

3) If they do (2), it is rarely at the expense of another driver's safety and done in a courteous manner.

4) Impatient drivers have the liberty to exit a traffic jam by doing an 'illegal U-turn' at the unblocked dividers. In Singapore, most if not all central dividers are fenced or railed so a traffic jam cannot be defused in that manner.

5) I've witnessed drivers turning off their engines, stood by their cars and chatted with the next few random blokes who did the same while waiting. In Singapore, these folks would be blasted mercilessly with honks.

6) You don't get an ERP fee even if you are trapped in a jam.

7) There is still a plenty of 'unknown' short cuts or longer routes with much lesser traffics available as alternative routes. In Singapore, it has became open over the years and there isn't secret paths for 'emergencies' anymore

8) I hardly hear a single sound of the honk in a week on Perth roads. When I honked at very rare occasions, I couldn't recognise it.

9) If I do (8), it would be a tap, not a 'press and hold' and expect a god to split the traffic jam like the ocean.

10) Drivers do stop to help another distressed driver by the roadside, especially in the regional areas. This may be another post, another day about what happened to us in 2007.

 Source:http://therealsingapore.com/content/traffic-jams-singapore

car ownership

Car owners in Singapore do not have it easy.

First, it is costly to own and drive a car. Apart from the purchase price of the car itself, an owner has to contend with various fees and taxes (costing tens of thousands of dollars) imposed by the Singapore government, such as:

• Registration fee: Currently $140.


• Additional registration fee: Currently equivalent to the open market value of the car in question. This is costly. For example, the open market value of a Toyota Corolla Altis 1.6 Auto is $17,850.


• Certificate of Entitlement (“COE”): To own a car, a person must first successfully bid for one of a limited number of such certificates released monthly by the Land Transport Authority (“LTA”). The certificate can be quite costly, typically costing thousands of dollars. For example, the recent 21 October 2009 open category COE cost $19,901.


• Excise duty: Currently equivalent to 20% of the open market value of the car.


• Road tax: Based on a formula that is pegged to a car’s engine capacity. For example, the current annual road tax for a 1,600 cc car is $744.


• Electronic Road Pricing (“ERP”) tolls: This toll (currently costing between $0.50 and $4) is imposed each time a driver uses certain roads or highways during peak hours.

Second, traffic congestion, especially during peak hours, is a frequent occurrence in Singapore. Based on the figures provided by the LTA, as of the year end 2008, there are a total of 894,682 vehicles in Singapore. The average daily volume of traffic entering the city alone is 278,300 vehicles. And the average speed in the CBD during peak hours? A paltry 26.7 km/h.

The LTA is the governmental agency in charge of all road matters, and the main measures it has adopted to deal with traffic congestion in Singapore are:

• COE: Through the issuance of the COE, only a limited quota of new cars are allowed each month. The high cost of the certificate itself also serves as a deterrence to would-be car buyers.


• ERP: High toll charges are imposed along certain main roads and highways during peak hours in the anticipation that these will deter drivers and hence provide for smooth traffic.


• Off-peak car scheme: Car owners under this scheme may drive their cars only during off-peak hours. In return for this compromise, they pay discounted rates for the COE and other vehicle related taxes.

Do these measures work? Well, to some extent, they do. Still, many Singaporean drivers will readily attest that these measures are not nearly enough to curb traffic congestion.

The problem is that Singapore is not only a small country, but also a densely populated one. Nonetheless, if you want to have smooth traffic flow, the solution is simple: either (a) build more roads or (b) reduce the number of vehicles.

So, can an already built-up Singapore build more roads? Yes. In fact, Singapore’s road density, i.e. road length per land area (approx. 4.75 km/sq km), is significantly lower than other metropolitan cities such as London (2 times denser at approx. 9.5 km/sq km), New York (2.5 times denser at approx. 12 km/sq km) and Tokyo (4 times denser at approx. 19 km/sq km). So how do we achieve a higher road density? By building multi-level roads and expressways, as Tokyo did. Presently, our roads and expressways are only single level for the most part. Just doubling the road level will ease traffic flow by half. Is there a downside to this? Well, some people may argue that multi-level roads and expressways are unsightly. However, this may be mitigated to some extent if properly planned, and besides, adding another level to an already existing expressway would not likely make it much worse.

The incumbent government, however, is unlikely to implement this approach for a simple reason – because building roads involves expending a large sum of money. In contrast, sticking to the status quo scheme of COEs and ERPs allows the government to collect a great deal of revenue – even though it does little to address the problem of over-congested roads.

Nevertheless, it may be worthwhile for the government to consider channelling the substantial funds amassed over the years from road related revenue (i.e. COEs, ERPs, road taxes etc.) towards building additional roads to ease traffic congestion and benefit the country. The use of road related funds for this purpose will ensure that there is no prejudice against taxpayers who do not drive.

The second way to deal with traffic congestion, is to reduce the number of cars. As highlighted above, the government attempts to do this by way of the COE quota system among others, with mixed success.

So how else can we reduce the number of cars? Well, we can make it expensive to own a car. Like, really expensive. Forget the COEs, the ERPs. Simply increase road tax to $10k a year just for the privilege of owning a car. Or an even higher sum, if necessary. The prohibitive cost alone will be certain to deter many from driving.

But lest this be thought an easy solution, there is one fundamental challenge associated with trying to reduce the number of cars. That is, the public transport infrastructure must be able to provide effectively for both present commuters and additional commuters who will no longer have access to private means of transport. Can the public transport infrastructure do this? Unfortunately, it appears that at present, the public transport system is already stretched beyond its limit, but that’s a whole story in itself for another day.

Source: http://singaporeaspirations.blogspot.sg/2009/10/on-traffic-congestion-and-car-ownership.html

case study

Case Study

Tokyo, Japan's capital with population over 13 million people, live and commute.

Over four and half million vehicles rush through these streets of Japanese metropolis, daily.

And like any other cities in the world, traffic problems are not unique.

The Metropolitan government tackle vigorously to find spaces and increase traffic lanes. Widening roads, going underground, or even building expressways on top of each other.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government, said, "In order to ease traffic congestion, we have to increase the road capacities. However, to do so we would need large sums of budget and time. We would need to manage road in the meantime."

How did Tokyo increase the capacities?

1. Gate Tower Building is a 16-story office building in Japan. It is notable for the highway that passes through the building.

2. Multi-level roads and express ways

3. Underground expressway planned as a solution to the chronic traffic jams in central Tokyo is the Central Loop Shinjuku Line, part of the Tokyo Metropolitan Expressway system.

What can we learn from Tokyo, Japan to reduce the traffic jam?

1. By building multi-level roads and expressways, as Tokyo did. Presently, Singapore's roads and expressways are only single level for the most part. Just doubling the road level will ease traffic flow by half.Well, some people may argue that multi-level roads and expressways are unsightly. However, this may be mitigated to some extent if properly planned, and besides, adding another level to an already existing expressway would not likely make it much worse.

2. We can also make underground expressway to increase the capacities of the road in Singapore. 


JAKARTA

Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia is one of develop countries that has the same problem with Singapore, which is traffic jam.  Traffic jams are everywhere in Jakarta. It is hard for people in Jakarta and in its suburbs to move around. It takes too long than it should be to get to one place from another.

There are some causes of traffic jam in Jakarta. The first one is too many vehicles on the road. There are many kinds of public transportation and also too many private cars and motorcycles (fig 1.2a.). The second one is indiscipline motorists like bus drivers that likes to stop everywhere they like, motor bikers do not obey the traffic signs and regulation, also most of the bus drivers also drive carelessly (fig.1.2b.).

Figure 1.2a. Too many vehicles that caused traffic jam in Jakarta

Figure 1.2b. Indiscipline bus driver in Jakarta

Beside that, traffic lights in Jakarta are sometimes in malfunction and take long time especially at the intersections, they take too long that they don’t suit the frequency of vehicles and make vehicles pile up.

However, even though Indonesia and Singapore has the same problem, these two countries are different. Unlike Singapore, Indonesia has the absence of long-term infrastructure, such as: MRT system and monorail. Moreover, “Busway” as another alternative to reduce traffic jams in fact also gives a problem to the traffic. Also, there are not enough road and highways in Indonesia.