PTC Releases Inaugural Report Suggesting Public Transport Improvements for Commuters

Commuters’ voices shaped recommendations

The Public Transport Council (PTC) has submitted its inaugural Advisory Report on public transport improvements to the Minister for Transport. In January 2016, the PTC assumed a new role to promote the interests of public transport commuters through recommending ways in which service quality and commuter experience could be improved. PTC has completed a wide-ranging consultation exercise with commuters and public transport stakeholders in the past six months to develop these recommendations.

Placing Commuters at the Heart of Public Transport

2. PTC’s public engagements in the six-month period covered 44 in-depth interviews, 51 focus group discussions and a commuter survey of 2,132 respondents, all geared towards understanding and appreciating commuters’ experiences on the ground. PTC also commissioned a 12-month trend analysis of commuters’ views on mainstream and social media.

Embargo against release

3. For balance and objectivity in its recommendations, PTC then integrated commuters’ views with those of public transport operators, bus captains, taxi drivers, train station staff, the Land Transport Authority, National Transport Workers’ Union, the National Taxi Association and other industry actors. PTC also engaged international experts from London, Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo to glean international best practices to strengthen its recommendations.

Better Public Transport through Recommendations

4. The Advisory Report contains the voices of commuters. The findings from PTC’s engagements are a rich resource for understanding commuters. The recommendations developed from these findings relate largely to commuters’ personal experiences on public transport, such as the day-to-day challenges they face. The recommendations are reflected under four main themes covering: improvements for seniors, wheelchair users and families with young children; better information provision; more commuter-centric design, and a deeper sense of community on public transport.

5. The recommendations are meant to be integrated with evolving public transport governance, planning and design to lead to a better public transport system.

Mr Richard Magnus, Chairman of the PTC said:
“Most of our commuters’ concerns and needs were immediate felt needs. They may appear small but taken collectively and in the context of 7.9 million passenger trips daily, they are important. The recommendations can  truly make a difference to commuters’ journeys if the relevant stakeholders consider them for implementation. This will demonstrate to commuters that we care about them.

One intent of this Report is to reiterate to the public transport stakeholders that they should remain connected to the ground, to commuters. Our commuters’ views, concerns, needs and suggestions should be integrated into the larger plans and developments for our public transport system.Together, these will contribute significantly to a better public transport system for all.”

Enclosed : Factsheet on PTC’s Findings and Recommendations
PTC’s Advisory Report is accessible here.

For enquiries, please contact:
Audrey Lee,
Senior Manager, Communications & Public Engagement
Public Transport Council
Email: audrey_lee@ptc.gov.sg
Tel: 6354 9031
Fax no: 6258 5463
510 Thomson Road SLF Building #12-03 Singapore 298135

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