Miscellaneous Transport News

[JediAlf]

Originally Posted by kurakura

i think this is just lip service lah...the govt is not willing to let go the tax it gets from the sale of petrol and diesel here.

It would appeal to the investors more. Investors can bring in ideas and solutions into Singapore, bringing in millions of dollars in by setting up offices and plants here to invent things.

So that the fuel would be put to better usage.

If we manage to have more efficient electric cars that can perform well as petrol cars in terms of acceleration and less refuelling.

[ddes]

Actually, if you realize the government is now preferring to lower CEOs, petrol prices and focus on taxing more usage related activities such as ERPs, more expensive carpark charges.

Anyway, when world economies are bad, govts tend to search for new industries as the next form of growth, and with the developed countries such as Japan, China and even the USA recently announcing the growth of green industries as a way to combat the "was-dwindling-but-now-on-road-to-recovery economy", I'm not surprised with this announcement.

[Tunasa]

Originally Posted by jpatokal

Garbage = waste = bad
Garbage + marketing = eco = good

marketing is everything.

The solid waste/byproduct from wastewater/sewage treatment was rebranded as biosolids and eco friendly. It change the public perspective regarding the product.

[mcarling]

Ever heard of manure? It really is eco-friendly.

[kurakura]

how about bullshit and crap?

[mcarling]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoTqRQ29Od8

[Aranho]

I watched this before. It's one of my favourite vids about Hitler's spin-off. Damn funny.

[aaron77]

To show that ERP is not for raising Singapore Government revenue, Transport Minister Raymond Lim announced that road tax will be cut by 15 per cent across the board, a move that will cost the Singapore Government $110 million a year.

[ddes]

Sorry.

Didn't know where to put this question...

Maybe I haven't been to Sentosa for a while, but when I was there this past weekend, I realized that Hui Yuh, the new voice of SMRT, very clearly and obviously providing her voice for announcements for Sentosa buses and trams.

My question is, is it her?

[RafflesCity]

Bartley Viaduct to open; 4 new ERP gantries for CBD

15 Jan 2010


THE Land Transport Authority (LTA) is kicking off the new year with the news that a long-awaited flyover will be opened and four new electronic road pricing (ERP) gantries will be added to the central business district.


LTA yesterday announced its new road developments in 2010 - the new Bartley Viaduct and the new road network for Marina Bay.

The Bartley Viaduct will open to traffic on Sunday, Jan 17 and provide motorists with a direct connection from Bartley Road East to Bartley Road, spanning across Airport Road, Hougang Avenue 3 and Upper Paya Lebar Road.

This 1.9-km-long dual two-lane viaduct was supposed to have been completed five years ago but was delayed by its former contractor's financial problems. Its opening marks the overall completion of the Bartley Road extension project, which started in 2000.

The completion of the Bartley Road extension project means motorists from Tampines and Bedok towns will have a direct link to the central region via Bartley Road and Braddell Road.

This new direct central-east connection is an alternative to the Pan-Island Expressway.

LTA also announced that it will be completing a new road system to serve the new developments in the new downtown Marina Bay area.

When the Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort is opened, a vehicular bridge across Marina Bay and the new Bayfront Avenue will connect Temasek Avenue to Central Boulevard and Marina Boulevard.

By connecting directly to the Marina Centre area, the Marina Bridge provides an alternative way to enter the CBD. When it is ready by the end of this quarter, an ERP gantry will be installed along Bayfront Avenue leading towards Temasek Boulevard to close off the Bugis-Marina Centre ERP cordon.

And when the new roads serving the Marina Bay Financial Centre are completed in the third quarter of this year, the Shenton Way-Chinatown ERP cordon will also be adjusted to include new developments in the Marina Bay area.

There will be three new gantries. The existing gantry along Central Boulevard will be removed and replaced by a new gantry at Marina Way.

Two other gantries will also be installed - one on the other side of Bayfront Avenue and one at Marina Station Road leading into Central Boulevard to close off the Shenton Way-Chinatown cordon.

The new ERP gantries will operate as part of the CBD cordon and follow the prevailing CBD rates and operating hours. LTA will announce the actual dates of operation later.


By SAMUEL EE
Business Times

[sandstorm6299]

Good news for the Bartley Road project! This has been dragging on for way too long.

[mcarling]

Originally Posted by sandstorm6299

This has been dragging on for way too long.

How long do you think the Bartley Road project should have taken?

[sandstorm6299]

Considering that it was "supposed to have been completed five years ago", that pretty much says it all. I know it was unfortunate that the previous contractor had problems with the project, but it was still dragged on for too long.

[y2koh]

For reference, the Bartley road flyover should have been completed at the same time as the Tampines Ave 10 extension and flyover, and way before the Braddell Road-Lornie Road direct link. So that's a good 4-5 years late.

[mcarling]

It is five years late. The contractor failed due to financial problems. So what could LTA do? They had to rebid and start all over.

[Woz2024]

I think technically they could have approached the second-place tenderer and negotiated with them to take the contract as per their original tender.

[kurakura]

i guess no ministers or higher ups stay around that vicinity

[mcarling]

Originally Posted by Woz2024

I think technically they could have approached the second-place tenderer and negotiated with them to take the contract as per their original tender.

I think too much time had passed for that to be viable. It also probably would not have been legal. At best it would have saved less than a year.

[ddes]

I agree it's a step in the right direction BUT the MRT network's not dense enough yet... and the existing lines seem to be reaching capacity levels already...

New long distance bus services will no longer be introduced in S'pore
By Joanne Chan | Posted: 28 March 2010 1942 hrs

SINGAPORE : The days of long distance bus services in Singapore may soon be a thing of the past.

Second Minister for Transport, Lim Hwee Hua, said commuters can expect to rely more on short-haul buses that connect to train stations.

She said this during a ministerial visit to the Kampong Ubi-Kembangan division on Sunday.

Mrs Lim spent Sunday morning meeting residents and participating in community activities, before fielding a slew of mostly transport-related questions during a dialogue with residents.

With the Land Transport Authority taking over central planning of bus routes, Mrs Lim took time to explain some key principles - including the need for bus-train integration.

She said: "As we now build intensively a lot more rail lines, the 'hub and spoke' - in other words, working from the MRT stations and you have feeder bus services - becomes more viable, and it is a way that most of the other cities which have successful public transport systems have survived on."

Mrs Lim also told reporters that long bus routes - or what she calls "cross-country buses" - may no longer be needed.

She said: "We will not introduce new cross-country services, because those are really legacies of the past. But we will review every (existing) one to see whether they need to be sustained."

Mrs Lim pointed out that as a bus journey gets longer, it becomes harder to accurately predict its arrival time. Small delays at each bus stop can snowball and lengthen the overall waiting time for passengers.

And with the Circle Line coming on board next month, even more commuters can be served by Singapore's MRT system.

Mrs Lim also addressed concerns on the new quota system for vehicles.

She explained: "If you have a drop in the number of cars that are de-registered, then the number of COEs available obviously goes down. So it is very difficult to say which way it will go. I would say it is driven more by economic conditions."

She cited two instances when the number of COEs dropped in the past, but prices did not shoot up.

From next month, the number of COEs available will be determined by the number of cars de-registered. - CNA/ms

[Simon91]

EWL is at peak. I'm quite sure NSL and NEL too. This move is 5 years too early. I'm seriously scared of what will become of trains now...