Being recognised as one of the most technologically advanced state in the world, Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) just took another plunge into the technological bandwagon to boost efforts in enhancing our overall commuting experience. Shared on last Wednesday at “Future Mobility” at the National University of Singapore (NUS), Mr Pang Kin Keong, Transport Ministry’s permanent secretary highlighted a few key areas of improvement which mainly comprise of enhancing the Singapore train commuting system and the freight transportation sector, with the power and aid of technology.
If you have yet to read LTA plans to improve travel with tech trials, here is my bite-sized summary of the 3 things you can expect when the tech trials kick in later this year and how it will affect us.
1) Not sure where your ez-link card went? Fret not, you still have your phone.
Instead of tapping your ez-link card, LTA is looking at ways you can simply scan your phone or personal accessories and items, to pass through the fare gates as quickly as possible. This is one of the main highlights of the article and is most certainly a feature which would get commuters extremely excited about. Absent-minded commuters like me will no longer have to constantly worry about forgetting to bring our fare cards as long as they are carrying their phone along. To add on, this initiative reduces the time commuters spent at the fare gate, leading to an overall reduction in travel time per individual, faster flow of commuters in and out of the platform, and most importantly, a more satisfied & happier commuter!
Even though it is still unclear at this point about the technology and mechanism involved to drive such efforts, I am still most definitely looking forward to be experiencing a completely cardless commuting experience in the near future.
On a side note, for our friends who do not know what an ez-link card is, here is a little snippet from to help you better understand.
Credits: http://sisc.sg/host-city/34-2/
2) What if I have no cash on hand to top up my ez-link card?
It’s not an uncommon scenario where commuters only bring their phone and ez-link card to board a train. Unfortunately, there is also a possibility that upon tapping your ez-link card, you realized that there is insufficient purse value. With no additional cash on hand to add value to your ez-link card, you’re left stranded in front of the fare gates. In that case, what would you do?
Small incidents like this would probably ruin your day and you would probably been late for your appointment after making a round trip back home to retrieve some cash.
To ensure we have sufficient purse value at all times, we often set regular reminders to remind us when the purse value is low and to top up our ez-link cards. Thankfully, moving forward, this issue would never be a burden again as LTA is also looking at plans on a “use-first-pay-later” system which would definitely eliminate the possibility for such instances of recurring.
3) Monkey see, monkey do, trucks see, trucks do
Imagine a day where one truck driver is able to command and convey five trucks in total. How much manpower effort and operational cost would be reduced? In Singapore, logistics business is often plagued with a constant shortage of drivers. The percentage of Class 4 or 5 licenses vehicle license holders are extremely low. Vehicles under this category are heavy and long vehicles and mainly commercially used in Singapore. To make matters worst, there are only a handful of people in Singapore who will consider a driving career.
Therefore, in an effort to combat this current situation, LTA is looking at plans to test truck platooning. Quoted from the article, truck platooning means, “lead truck steered by a driver, followed by a convoy of 3 to 4 drive-less trucks”.
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