預算辯論 · 2026-03-04 · 屆國會 15
2026交通部供給委員會辯論：AI驅動基礎設施與跨境智慧工廠
交通部供給委員會辯論涉及兩個重要AI議題。一是大士新一代港口利用自動化、先進感測器、預測分析和AI保持基礎設施全球競爭力，但需負責任部署以管理勞動力轉型。二是議員提出更宏大的願景：在新柔廖(Sijori)框架下，國家AI使命可作為"力量倍增器"，實現跨境智慧工廠、多式聯運最佳化、貿易金融嵌入和區域醫藥生物製造供應鏈強化，將基礎設施擴張升級為協調的AI驅動經濟引擎。
關鍵要點
- • 大士新一代港口部署AI和自動化
- • 國家AI使命作為區域經濟"力量倍增器"
- • 跨境智慧工廠和多式聯運AI最佳化
- • 需要負責任部署並管理勞動力轉型
積極推動交通基礎設施AI升級
Gerald Giam和Sylvia Lim關注勞動力影響
AI從單點應用走向區域經濟引擎定位
參與人員 (6)
完整譯文（中文）
Hansard 原始記錄 · 2026-05-02
主席：交通部（MOT）W項負責人。田佩玲女士。
下午3時43分
戰略未來的全球連通性
田佩玲女士（海濱坊-布萊德爾高地）：主席，我提出動議，“將預算中W項的總撥款減少100元”。
我們與世界的連線對於國家的相關性和經濟活力至關重要。作為一個小型開放的城市國家，新加坡的繁榮依賴於與其他國家和全球樞紐的緊密聯絡。為了維持這一優勢，我們必須保持最先進的空中、海上和陸地節點，具備處理當前需求和未來需求的能力和靈活性。
為此，新加坡正在進行重大且長期的投資，正如我們在過去和現在的預算中所見。在硬體基礎設施方面，一個龐大的第五航站樓（T5）正在建設中，其規模超過我們現有幾個航站樓的總和，此外，兀蘭超級港口正在分階段擴建，預計將在2040年代全面完成。這些專案旨在將新加坡定位為人流、貨物流和資訊流的持續樞紐。
如果這些專案順利完成，將幫助新加坡吸引資本、人才和先進技術。更重要的是，為我們的企業創造新機遇，為新加坡人創造優質就業。改善生活必須是這些投資的最終目標。
然而，我們也必須認識到這些是跨越數十年的專案，消耗大量公共資源。它們是在一個不同的全球環境中規劃的，而該環境變得更加動盪和不確定。近年來，出現了突如其來的關稅壁壘、供應鏈重組和“熱戰”，擾亂了能源和關鍵材料供應。這些衝擊可能迅速改變貿易和人員流動。新加坡不會對這些變化免疫。
因此，我有以下問題要提出。
下午3時45分
首先，需求和相關性。我們對T5、兀蘭港和其他重大專案能夠滿足持久的實際需求有多大信心？我們有什麼保證這些資產在建設完成時仍對區域和世界保持相關性？隨著全球宏觀環境的變化，有哪些機制可以調整專案的進度、範圍和成本，以最大限度地降低財政和戰略風險？我們能否分階段或模組化交付，以便在有利時加速，或在不利時放緩並重新校準？有哪些應急措施來管理成本上升並保護納稅人的價值？
第三，時間和能力。交通部能否向議會更新T5和兀蘭港發展的當前狀態？我們是否按計劃抓住近期機會？在可行的情況下，能否加快交付而不影響質量、安全或長期靈活性？
具體到我們的海事部門，容量和連通性，以二十英尺標準箱（TEU）和港口停靠次數衡量，是競爭力的關鍵決定因素。兀蘭港完成後，將如何實質性提升新加坡的吞吐量、連通性和服務方案？交通部預計其對國內生產總值（GDP）貢獻、增值服務以及為新加坡人創造的就業和生計型別有何經濟影響？為迎接這些機遇，將有哪些針對性計劃培養和維持海事人才儲備？
我們還必須為數字時代準備基礎設施。兀蘭的下一代港口就是一個好例子。利用前沿技術——自動化、先進感測器、預測分析和人工智慧（AI）——將保持我們的基礎設施在全球的競爭力。但我們必須負責任地部署技術，以提高生產力，同時管理勞動力轉型和再培訓需求。
因此，我們必須積極思考如何利用技術推進新加坡的連通性和經濟優勢。為此，交通部政府議會委員會（GPC）計劃在今年晚些時候，可能在七月，提出一項實質性動議。
最後，全球連通性是一項必須積極維護、面向未來且包容的戰略選擇。我們應建設得足夠快且足夠好以捕捉價值，同時也要足夠靈活以預見任何宏觀衝擊。與此同時，我們必須始終審慎地適應並保護公共利益。主席，我請求通過該動議。
【（程式文本）提議問題。（程式文本）】
主席：田佩玲女士，您的第二項削減。
陸路交通的未來
田佩玲女士：陸路交通關係到每個新加坡人的日常生活。它塑造了我們的工作、學習、照顧家庭和參與社群的方式。多年來，我們的陸路交通系統變得明顯更高效、更可靠、更一體化。
對公共交通的大量投資——擴充套件地鐵（MRT）網路、現代化列車和訊號系統、升級公交車隊和開發綜合交通樞紐，僅舉幾例——提升了容量並改善了連通性。這些升級使多模式出行更順暢，幫助乘客轉向公共和主動出行方式。
展望未來，技術進步、人口結構變化和生活方式演變意味著我們的陸路交通必須繼續適應。無論是步行還是騎行，乘客都期望更多選擇、更快的首末公里連線，以及一個安全、包容和有韌性的系統。
因此，我想問交通部正在實施哪些具體計劃，以建設一個更可靠、以使用者為中心、更包容且更安全的陸路交通系統，以滿足這些不斷變化的乘客需求？具體來說，將引入或擴大哪些措施以拓展首末公里選項？
基礎設施也會老化。因此，更新和擴充套件必須齊頭並進。交通部如何平衡緊迫的資產更新任務，同時交付新線路和容量？有哪些治理和資金方法確保升級及時、成本效益高，並在施工期間最大限度減少對乘客的干擾？
技術將重塑交通運營和服務交付。一個確定趨勢是隨著脫碳，電動車（EV）將增加；另一個是自動駕駛車輛（AV）的試驗和部署日益增多。
為支援更綠色、更智慧的出行，交通部正在做些什麼以提升支援基礎設施的容量、可用性和可靠性，包括電動車充電網路、電網準備、互操作支付和遠端資訊處理標準，以及自動駕駛車輛就緒的路邊系統？交通部如何與其他機構和行業協調，確保有足夠電力、快速充電標準和有效通訊，以支援大規模電動車和自動駕駛車輛的採用？
隨著更多技術的部署，陸路交通的轉型令人期待。隨著感測器和連線系統，包括越來越智慧的電動車和自動駕駛車輛，即時共享資料，智慧道路和交通管理成為可能，實現更緊密的協調和更準確的交通預測。這應帶來更順暢、更可預測的出行，顯著改善道路使用者體驗。
值得一提的是，自動駕駛車輛的大規模部署可能顯著改變車輛數量和擁有模式。如果自動駕駛車隊增加共享出行和拼車，可能會對減少私家車使用產生壓力。相反，更便捷的門到門交通可能增加車輛行駛公里數。
配額證（COE）是管理汽車數量和道路需求的重要政策槓桿。交通部如何預見自動駕駛車輛的採用影響中長期的配額證系統設計和其他擁有控制？是否有計劃重新校準需求管理，例如對共享自動駕駛車隊與私人擁有車輛採取差異化措施？
我期待一個預見未來需求、以使用者為中心的陸路交通系統。一個擁有靈活基礎設施、能適應不確定性的系統。技術有效部署以提升乘客體驗，需求管理工具設計反映不斷變化的出行模式。
主席：沙拉爾·塔哈先生，請一併發表您的兩項削減。
新加坡航空增長戰略
沙拉爾·塔哈先生（巴西立-樟宜）：謝謝主席。主席，如果我們退一步，想象並審視T5及樟宜東部城市區的建設規模，這不僅僅是機場擴建。
這是經濟架構，T5每年增加1500萬乘客容量，樟宜東部工業區將貨運量從每年300萬噸擴大到540萬噸，配合機場物流園2、淡濱尼物流園、樟宜南、巴西立、晶圓廠園區、實裡達航空園區、樟宜和羅陽的維修、修理和運營（MRO）業務，以及通過羅陽高架橋增強的連通性。新加坡正在組建世界上最綜合的航空航天半導體物流平臺之一。
但僅有基礎設施並不能創造優勢，生態系統才是關鍵。樟宜東部城市區必須發展成為下一代航空城市，整合先進的MRO、可持續航空燃料、數字航空服務和與樟宜商務園及羅陽工業區相連的AI驅動物流指揮中心，形成從創新到生產再到出口的無縫走廊。
連通性還必須超越航空，延伸至丹那美拉渡輪碼頭，並與柔佛-新加坡特別經濟區及巴淡-民丹-卡里蒙自由貿易區整合。新加坡可以錨定高價值職能、資本、智慧財產權（IP）、人工智慧、金融和先進製造協調，而柔佛和廖內群島則可在Sijori框架下提供工業規模和能源深度。
國家人工智慧使命可以成為倍增器，實現跨境智慧工廠，最佳化多模式流動，嵌入貿易融資，加強區域醫療和生物製造供應鏈。戰略問題是如何將這次基礎設施擴充套件提升為協調的AI驅動經濟引擎，創造高價值就業，錨定資本，並確保新加坡東區和東北區數十年的競爭力。
關鍵是交通部如何與貿易與工業部、數字發展與信息部、人力部、財政部及區域合作伙伴攜手合作，不僅僅是協調，而是統籌這一國家級生態系統轉型？
航空和海事人力
隨著新加坡鞏固其全球物流樞紐地位，我將就三個方面尋求澄清。
首先，隨著空海連通性的擴大，我們是否跟上了航空和海事的人力需求，併為更高價值崗位建立了強大的本地人才儲備？此外，“一航空人力計劃”和“海事叢集基金”在吸引和培養人才方面取得了哪些進展？最終，增長必須轉化為優質就業、更強技能和新加坡人的真實機會。
女性在航空業
傅麗珊女士（森巴旺西）：主席，當我18歲成為飛行員時，我是少數，因為空軍中女性飛行員不多。如今，女性飛行員增多了，但我們仍是少數，不僅在空軍，在整個天空中也是如此。
主席，作為一名搜救飛行員，我必須說，航空作為職業選擇是終生冒險，是我無可替代的選擇。但這也是非常個人的選擇。因此，我的發言目標不是設定女性航空人員的目標或配額，而是提供更多機會和可能性，在我們充滿活力且世界級的航空樞紐中。
首先，我想問一些資料。我們航空業高階領導層中女性的比例是多少？我們知道她們很可能是少數，但1%和20%之間差別很大。
第二，我想提供一些資料。航空業正處於黎明期。全球前景非常光明。全球客運量預計到2040年將翻倍。區域內航空樞紐正競相擴大跑道和航站樓容量，以應對疫情期間的放緩。樟宜機場在T5建成後，年容量將再增加5000萬乘客。
但我們遠非唯一。香港國際機場正在建設第三條跑道。印度，世界上人口最多的國家，過去十年建成了75個新機場，且即將再建70個。中國計劃到2035年建成200多個新機場。
第三，我想說這對我們的意義。2025年7月，新加坡民航局（CAAS）宣佈設立2億新元的一航空人力基金，旨在吸引、培養和留住航空人才。鑑於航空業快速增長且男性佔主導，交通部採取了哪些措施吸引人才，特別是理工科年輕女性畢業生？航空公司飛行員、航空工程師、地勤操作員、空中交通管制員、機場規劃師——這些崗位機會眾多，且近年越來越多女性從業。
這些都是藍天上的好工作。在亞太地區，新加坡擁有有利生態系統，培養強大的女性航空專業人士網路。我們是領先的區域航空樞紐，擁有繁榮且互聯的機場、全球主要航空貨運樞紐和成熟的MRO生態系統。航空公司、機場、貨運和物流公司，以及飛機制造和維修公司都提供大量崗位。
當然，確保女性在航空業順利發展不僅是政府的責任。若要改變男性主導的工作環境，營造更包容的文化轉變是必要的。
舉兩個前線崗位的例子，如飛行、地勤和飛機維修。基本設施如女性洗手間的適當配置不可忽視。此外，孕期和產假期間的人力資源政策也需妥善考慮，以及獎學金和實習機會。
政府不必獨自承擔這些工作。航空業中有組織，如2021年成立的“國際女性航空新加坡分會”，連線女性航空專業人士，提供指導支援和獎學金機會。
在此，我宣告本人為該組織顧問及航空業從業者。我想問部長，交通部如何與此類組織、航空公司和高等院校合作，吸引更多女性進入該行業？
主席：請總結髮言。
傅麗珊女士：目前航空業女性員工約佔20%。隨著行業擴充套件和對技術勞動力需求增加，天空無限廣闊。無論男女，凡在航空業找到熱情者皆是如此。
自動駕駛車輛部署
楊婉玲女士（榜鵝）：主席，我的榜鵝居民對自動駕駛班車試點專案非常關注。這些試驗是瞭解自動駕駛服務如何最終融入更廣泛公共交通生態系統的重要步驟，尤其是在加強首末公里連線方面。
下午4時
同時，居民有實際問題。成本是一個。隨著自動駕駛服務規模擴大，它們是否能保持作為日常通勤的可負擔性，還是成為高階選項？信心是另一個。是否會與不同群體，包括可能對乘坐自動駕駛車輛感到不確定的長者，進行更深入的交流？採用不僅關乎技術準備，也關乎公眾準備。
在監管方面，仍需明確。在發生故障或事故時，責任歸屬如何？當系統失效時，是否期望人類操作員或安全司機承擔責任？我們也必須坦誠，勞動力影響尚未解決，尤其是對我們的公交司機和點對點（P2P）司機。
我們尚未明確定義新的自動駕駛相關崗位將如何設定，合理報酬應如何，以及職業路徑如何從現有駕駛和技術維護崗位演變為未來自動駕駛崗位。
正如我在預算辯論澄清中早先強調的，雖然擁抱新技術很重要，但必須以不破壞生計的方式進行。因此，我敦促運營商在三方框架內與工會密切合作，共同制定公平的自動駕駛職業路徑，確保工人在轉型中得到支援。進步應同時強化我們的公共系統和人民。
主席：劉路易斯先生，請一併發表您的兩項削減。
加速自動駕駛車輛推廣
劉慶偉先生（盛港）：主席，新加坡在城市道路上對自動駕駛車輛的研究和小規模測試已經進行了相當長時間。最早的研究和試驗之一是在one-north與nuTonomy合作進行的。另一項由新加坡科學技術研究局（A*STAR）於2014年在one-north啟動的試驗，是新加坡自動駕駛車輛計劃的一部分。
2015年，交通部（MOT）與新加坡港務集團（PSA Singapore）簽署了一份諒解備忘錄（MOU），以進一步擴大自動駕駛車輛（AV）的試驗；同時還與聖淘沙發展公司（Sentosa Development Corporation）和新加坡科技工程有限公司（ST Engineering）簽署了另一份諒解備忘錄，我有幸親自體驗過。
此後進行了各種試驗，快進到2025年，由代理部長主持的17人委員會成立，負責研究自動駕駛車輛在新加坡道路上的推廣。如今是2026年，少量車輛已在榜鵝的住宅區參與試驗，陸路交通管理局（LTA）計劃採購六輛自動駕駛巴士，預計於2026年年中開始運營，初期運營期為三年。
相比之下，在此期間，中國和美國等地的自動駕駛車輛產業蓬勃發展，其最大企業Pony AI、WeRide和Waymo已在其運營的城市中開展完全無人駕駛的商業服務。Waymo目前擁有約2,500輛車輛，目標是至少達到10,000輛車輛和每週一百萬次機器人計程車乘坐。Pony AI計劃到2026年擁有超過3,000輛車輛，WeRide的目標類似。
中東國家在自動駕駛車輛的實施方面也表現出明顯更快的速度。迪拜自動駕駛交通戰略目標是到2030年，迪拜總交通量中25%實現自動駕駛。沙烏地阿拉伯交通總局設定目標，到2030年，所有貨運車輛中25%實現完全自動駕駛。
此外，據SMRT稱，我們的公共巴士系統在招聘巴士司機方面面臨困難，尤其是本地勞動力。作為巴士的自動駕駛車輛將緩解這一壓力，然而儘管全島各地進行了多次試驗，新加坡的自動駕駛車輛推廣仍處於試驗階段，已持續約12年。除了宣告新加坡將在五年內擁有“許多自動駕駛車輛”（原話），交通部能否提供具體的數字目標以體現我們的自動駕駛車輛雄心？
正如我的同事Gerald Giam先生在2015年十多年前所分享，新加坡處於引領全球無人駕駛汽車採用的絕佳位置。但我們必須確保立法促進而非阻礙這些車輛的測試和公共使用。我希望我們能夠加快新加坡自動駕駛車輛的推廣，尤其是巴士領域，鑑於司機嚴重短缺。
加快電動汽車快速充電器推廣
作為新加坡實現淨零排放目標的一部分，新加坡旨在減少陸路交通排放，車輛電氣化是幫助新加坡實現這一目標的關鍵舉措之一。
路線圖的關鍵支柱之一是部署電動汽車充電基礎設施。根據我今年2月的議會質詢，我瞭解到新加坡目前約有28,300個充電點。絕大多數（約88%）為交流電（AC）充電點，其中約50%功率等級為7.4千瓦（kW）及以下。TotalEnergies的充電器佔新加坡充電站的13%，其充電器功率為3.7 kW，是公眾可用充電器中最慢的，充滿一輛典型電動汽車需時長達16小時。
相比之下，只有約11%的充電器為直流電（DC），其中大多數DC充電器可歸類為“快速充電器”。典型的交流充電器充滿電需四至八小時，而根據2024年5月SP集團的文章，直流快速充電器可在30至45分鐘內將電池充至80%。
我想強調的是，該領域技術發展迅速。2025年3月，比亞迪（BYD）宣佈其超級電平臺，五分鐘充電即可實現400公里續航。比亞迪目前正在中國推廣此類兆瓦級充電基礎設施。相比之下，1,000 kW約等於1兆瓦，這比新加坡典型的7.4 kW充電器高出135倍。
這一差異極為重要。陸路交通管理局已認識到，高功率快速充電器對於滿足高里程使用者，特別是計程車和商業車隊的需求至關重要。2025年註冊的所有汽車中，已有45%為電動車。
目前，組屋多層停車場通常僅配備三個慢速充電器。隨著電動車普及超越早期採用者，普通居民將發現這一配置日益不足。我強烈敦促政府加快電動汽車快速充電器的推廣，或增加高使用率組屋多層停車場的充電器數量，這已成為盛港部分社群的重大挑戰。
組屋停車場的電動汽車充電
侯旺區議員陳立豐先生：過去幾年，交通部指出大多陣列屋停車場已有充電器。現已是2026年2月，雖然“覆蓋率”提高，但各區“接入質量”仍不均衡。
交通部為當前擴充套件速度的主要辯護理由是平均使用率仍低。然而，“平均”使用率是誤導性指標，可能掩蓋高峰時段的實際情況。對於晚上9點回家的組屋居民來說，當多層停車場的三個充電位全滿時，低“平均”使用率毫無安慰。
更重要的是，我們必須立即擴大規模，以應對未來停車場中大多數車輛將為電動車的情況——這是我們應爭取提前實現的目標，符合2030年和2040年的目標。如果註冊量持續上升，何時才能實現所有心臟地帶停車場的“規模擴大”？
此外，存在“快慢兩速”過渡。新建組屋通常配備更高功率充電器，但許多成熟社群仍僅有7.4 kW的慢速充電器。
我想問部長：觸發在組屋停車場增設充電器的具體高峰時段使用率閾值是多少？交通部何時承諾實施“成熟社群快速充電”規定，確保包括侯旺部分地區在內的老社群居民不被落下？最後，交通部如何計劃在所有公共充電運營商中強制實施“空佔費”，以防止佔用充電位？
為更多電動車推廣做準備
西海岸-裕廊西區議員洪偉能先生：主席，我宣告本人為Strides Premier執行長，該公司租賃超過300輛電動車等業務。隨著新加坡近45%的新車註冊為電動車，強化充電基礎設施正當其時。雖然組屋停車場慢速充電器的推廣支援了便捷的夜間充電，但許多電動車使用者，尤其是點對點使用者及商業司機，需要白天快速充電設施以維持運營。
因此，我敦促陸路交通管理局在組屋區內，特別是在便利且人流密集的地點，如餐飲場所和鄰里中心附近，主導部署更多快速充電器。
同時，電動車的快速增長要求未來具備相應技能的勞動力。車輛技師必須掌握新的技術能力，以安全有效地維護電動車，並獲得適當的培訓和認證。我鼓勵交通部與行業夥伴及培訓機構緊密合作，支援技師順利完成這一關鍵轉型，確保我們的汽車維修勞動力保持技能、相關性和為新加坡電氣化交通未來做好準備。
人行道上的安全騎行
阿裕尼區議員嚴彥松先生：主席，行走在人行道上應是無壓力的體驗，但許多行人，尤其是老人和帶小孩的家長，常感必須時刻保持警惕。一些騎腳踏車者在人多的人行道上持續按鈴，彷彿期待行人讓路。我本人經歷過，許多居民也向我反映類似情況。
陸路交通管理局需強調行人始終享有優先通行權。公眾教育必須明確，鈴聲僅用於提醒，而非要求清空道路。我們還應教育行人靠左行走，避免突然變向，以保障自身安全。
居民經常遇到騎車者穿越公交站，危及下車乘客。同樣，居民在電梯口出入時，也面臨騎車者高速經過的風險。
夜間無照明時危險更大。2023年至2025年間，因缺燈被開出167張罰單，但大多發生在道路上，而非人行道，顯示人行道安全存在漏洞。為何在人行道上對燈光要求的教育和執法不夠積極？
此外，2025年7月，靠近腳踏車道的人行道改為僅限行人，但反之不成立——行人未被禁止走腳踏車道。如果有專用人行道，為什麼不強制行人使用？混合使用增加事故風險。交通部是否會重新考慮立法禁止行人在有專用路徑時使用腳踏車道？
無障礙基礎設施與通勤
阿裕尼區議員林秀雅女士：主席，最近我一位親戚中風，需使用輪椅。雖然我認為開車接送他理想，但發現乘坐公交在某些路線更方便。我們的公交站和巴士均適合輪椅使用，巴士司機也會及時起身協助輪椅升降平臺。這類基礎設施和最後一公里考慮極大提升了輪椅使用者的出行便利。
然而，行動不便的情況多種多樣。除了輪椅使用者，還有許多依靠柺杖或其他輔助工具的通勤者，他們往往無法上下樓梯。我們的系統在多大程度上為他們提供無障礙環境？
以一些新型電動巴士佈局為例，越來越多巴士設計旨在最大化站立空間及輪椅和嬰兒車空間，導致座位數量減少。有些巴士前半部僅有四個座位，其餘座位位於巴士後部的高架區域，乘客需攀爬較陡的臺階。許多能行走但無法爬樓梯的乘客因此遇到困難。交通部能否審視巴士佈局，如何更好地滿足此類行動不便乘客的需求？
另一個長期問題是行人天橋缺乏電梯。這是全島普遍問題，我所在的阿裕尼集團選區巴耶利峇區居民也面臨同樣情況。
2023年2月，我曾就後港大道3段沿線天橋何時安裝電梯提出議會質詢。時任交通部長許文遠先生表示，老年人和行動不便通勤者數量將作為優先考慮因素，並確認後港大道3段的四座天橋將被優先處理。
兩年後，即2025年4月，我再次提出質詢，確認優先天橋及電梯安裝時間表。時任交通部長齊鴻達先生指出，優先天橋為101、172、241和248座樓附近的天橋，施工計劃自2025年第四季度逐步展開。
根據陸路交通管理局顧問向我們鎮議會的最新資訊，電梯工程預計僅於2027年第三季度開始，較齊部長所述的2025年第四季度晚近兩年。為何會有如此長的延遲？
我希望新任負責部長能給出更令人滿意的答覆。
公寓區的有蓋人行道
陳立豐先生：主席，我原本為國土發展部提交此問題，但被轉交給交通部。打造無車新加坡的願景必須為每位新加坡人提供無縫且有遮蔽的首末公里體驗。政府已取得實質進展，但仍有提升空間。
2025年7月，位於侯旺街32號的Parc Vera公寓176名居民提交請願書，要求建造一條80米長的有蓋人行道，將公寓後側大門連線至現有組屋有蓋連廊。後側大門通向一條開放人行道，該人行道兼作有蓋排水溝，居民頻繁使用，連線至組屋有蓋連廊，通往最近的公交站——侯旺大道3段1座，步行僅需數分鐘。
對於老人和帶小孩的家庭來說，這條路徑最為便捷，但在大雨時存在挑戰。
我代表公寓向陸路交通管理局提出申訴。請求建造有蓋人行道的嘗試遇到困難。土地歸公共事業局（PUB）管理，但其不建設有蓋人行道。陸路交通管理局不受理距離地鐵站800米或公交換乘站400米以外且非地鐵管理道路的最後一公里連線請求。鎮議會無權為非主要惠及組屋居民的專案撥款。
該請求主要通過機構邊界而非通勤者體驗進行評估，形成系統性“無人區”問題。為何居民是否能在遮蔽下抵達公共交通，取決於其腳下土地或排水溝由組屋、陸交局或公共事業局管理？若目標是鼓勵公共交通使用並氣候適應基礎設施，最後一公里應視為連續旅程。
為解決此類情況，我提出三項具體建議。
第一，能否在設計階段制度化連通性？當侯旺的Riverfront Residences公寓建設時，相關部門允許開發商建造通往最近公交站的有蓋連廊。此舉可作為標準要求，提前規劃有蓋連廊，而非事後補救。
規劃許可階段，城市重建局（URA）和陸路交通管理局能否強制開發商提供至最近公共交通節點的有遮蔽連通，包括從各公寓側門的有蓋通道，或將此納入開發控制手冊，指導開發商確保設計階段即具備連通性？
第二，對於現有公寓如Parc Vera，能否啟動彌合差距框架，實施協調共資或促進計劃？
第三，政府能否指定連通性主責機構？若管理公司願意推動具有明確公共連通目的的人行道，政府應由指定機構提供一站式資金和審批服務，機構可為城市重建局、建築與建設局或陸路交通管理局。
為家庭打造包容性公共交通
碧山-大巴窯區議員陳慧莎女士：主席，我的兒子未來入伍時，每次外出都要攜帶15公斤的標準戰鬥裝備。如今，當我抱著13公斤重的兒子和尿布包乘坐公共交通時，也感覺像是出征。曾有一次，我獨自帶孩子，試圖單手抱著尿布包和嬰兒車上車，差點把兒子從嬰兒車裡摔出來。
許多帶小孩的家長分享了類似的挑戰，如何安全順暢地使用公共交通。家長們還指出運營商之間存在不一致，尤其是嬰兒車坡道的部署。高峰時段上下車對家長和殘障人士仍然困難，嬰兒車和輪椅區空間有限。
支援安全順暢的通勤對新加坡成為家庭宜居地至關重要。
感謝陸路交通管理局和公共巴士運營商採取措施，使公共巴士對年輕家庭和殘障人士更友好。但我們還能做得更多。
交通部能否分享計劃採取哪些進一步措施，使巴士和地鐵對年輕家庭和殘障人士更具包容性？陸路交通管理局是否會研究他們的通勤體驗？能否統一運營商間坡道部署的標準操作程式（SOP），並配合公眾教育？
家長肩負重任，讓我們通過確保公共交通安全、便捷和支援家庭，減輕他們的負擔。
為聾人提供公共通訊
丹戎巴葛區議員王慧玲小姐：主席，去年地鐵中斷時，一位聾人乘客分享她感到困惑和害怕，因為乘客開始下車時，沒有視覺或手語更新說明發生了什麼。
雖然如牛車水地鐵站的手語虛擬助理SiLViA等舉措令人鼓舞，但此類支援尚未覆蓋整個網路。政府能否更新是否會擴大視覺和手語通訊工具，使中斷和緊急公告對聾人乘客在公共交通系統中均可訪問？
快車與縮短通勤時間
非選區議員盧武揚先生：主席，陸路交通總體規劃2040設定了雄心勃勃的目標，即90%的高峰期公共交通行程在45分鐘內完成。作為榜鵝居民，我有切身體會。對我和大多數鄰居來說，45分鐘門到門的市區通勤幾乎是夢想。
在一個住房極為昂貴的城市裡，居住在榜鵝、盛港、兀蘭及其他偏遠城鎮的家庭，在選擇安家地點時做出了務實的決定。每天早晨，他們都要為這個選擇付出時間的代價。
我們不應有一個兩速的新加坡，讓時間成為少數人的特權。
雄心勃勃的目標需要雄心勃勃的基礎設施。要了解雄心不足時會發生什麼，我們只需看看東北線（NEL）。
我和其他議員在過去幾個月裡多次提交關於東北線容量危機的議會質詢。解決方案寥寥無幾。加長列車需要進行挖掘工程，這將導致線路停運超過一年。選擇性車門操作已被研究並否決。即使在最高峰頻率下，後港和高文的乘客也只能眼睜睜看著滿載的列車從身邊駛過。東北部的居民已對漫長擁擠的通勤感到無奈。
我們建造了一個沒有增長餘地的東北線。這個決定現在已成定局。
實裡達線給了我們一個做得更好的機會。2018年，跨島線的快車服務曾被研究，但因成本效益原因被否決。但基於某一時點的成本效益計算，並不適用於需要服務多代人的基礎設施。
在首爾，他們的地鐵9號線的快車服務也曾遭遇相同的質疑。需求趕上了，甚至超過了預期。這種規模的基礎設施不僅僅是滿足需求，它還會創造需求。
因此，我敦促政府從一開始就在實裡達線中納入快車服務的相關條款，特別是在非換乘的郊區車站設定旁通軌道。旁通軌道將使我們能夠用本地列車服務沿線所有主要未充分服務的客源區——三巴旺和義順東、實裡達和惹蘭加尤、黃埔及更廣泛的南部海濱——同時快車服務可在這些車站超越本地列車，快速抵達市中心。
做出這一決定的時機是在當前的可行性研究階段，而不是在動工之後，更不是線路投入運營後。
先生，我們要求年輕家庭為了負擔得起的住房搬得更遠。我們至少應該讓他們能夠快速回到市區。我敦促交通部以東北線所缺乏的遠見和下一代新加坡人應得的雄心來規劃實裡達線。
快速交通系統
Poh Li San 女士：主席先生，預計今年年底，通往柔佛的快速交通系統（RTS）將開通。它將連線湯申-東海岸線的兀蘭北地鐵站。很快，去一個有好折扣和家庭出遊的地方，車票可能只需5至7新元。
我在三巴旺西的許多居民都期待RTS的開通。有些人有親戚在柔佛，許多人去那裡購物、家庭旅行以及做理髮、配眼鏡、牙科治療和麵部護理等簡單服務。RTS將幫助新加坡人更好地利用他們的錢。
但每一次變化都會帶來波動。使用湯申-東海岸線的新加坡人將增多。同時，我們已從報紙報道中得知，曾在新加坡租房的馬來西亞工人可能會搬回去，並乘坐RTS來新加坡工作。每天10新元的通勤費用，可能在經濟上比在新加坡租房和消費更划算。
我們確實希望人們使用這條線路，我預測需求不足不會是問題。問題可能恰恰是需求過旺。
由於這些流動的增加，兀蘭北站的早高峰時段和湯申-東海岸線的客流可能會大幅激增。陸路交通管理局（LTA）有何計劃確保居住在兀蘭並使用湯申-東海岸線前往市區的新加坡人在高峰時段仍能享受順暢且便捷的公共交通服務？部長能否更新實際票價將是多少？
許多馬來西亞人在兀蘭工業區的半導體和食品製造工廠工作。工人們可能選擇乘坐RTS通勤，然後騎腳踏車或步行兩公里到工作地點，而不是在這裡租房。LTA是否有計劃拓寬居民也使用的共享路徑，以更好地應對潛在的騎行和行人流量增加？
新地鐵站及最後一公里連線
Ang Wei Neng 先生：主席，我想宣告我是SMRT旗下子公司Strides Premier的執行長。
地鐵仍是我們公共交通系統的骨幹，塑造著新加坡人的生活、工作和聯絡。全島居民都熱切期待下一階段的軌道擴充套件。
首先，請問環線第6階段，連線港灣坊至濱海灣，途經吉寶、軍營和愛德華王子路車站，是否會如早前宣佈的那樣在今年第二季度開通？居民和企業都期待環線閉環的長期完成。
其次，部長能否確認湯申-東海岸線和市區線將在2026年下半年通過西林和勿洛南車站在雙溪勿洛站交匯？這一關鍵換乘站將顯著增強網路韌性，為乘客提供更可靠的出行選擇。
主席，在西部，裕廊區域線（JRL）的期待尤為強烈。對於南洋及裕廊各地的許多家庭來說，這條線路意味著更短的通勤時間和更便捷的就業及設施訪問。
請問裕廊區域線第一階段計劃於2027年底開通的目標是否仍在軌？如果時間表有風險，交通部是否會投入必要資源確保專案按計劃推進，使數十萬居民如期受益？
最後，軌道擴充套件必須配合強有力的最後一公里連線。居住在裕廊西91街的居民靠近未來的吉寶地鐵站，但距離步行範圍之外。沒有直達公交線路，包括聚英中學的學生。
我敦促交通部在公交連通性提升計劃下引入新的公交服務，使居民、學生和工人能夠充分受益於裕廊區域線。
提升軌道可靠性
Sharael Taha 先生：謝謝，主席。軌道可靠性工作組已提出明確建議——加快更新老化的核心繫統，包括列車訊號和牽引電力，加強備份和韌性措施，改善資產管理和備件規劃，深化勞動力能力建設，並提升中斷期間的乘客溝通。關鍵問題是執行。
誰對每個里程碑負責？具體時間表是什麼？我們如何平衡必要的服務關閉與乘客不便？有哪些具體應急計劃能最大限度減少困難？乘客能獲得哪些保證的服務水平，如備用巴士、響應時間和公平對待？
我們如何加強關鍵軌道部件的供應鏈韌性？除了硬體，我們如何建設工程深度，完善恢復協議，確保即時乘客資訊準確、及時且可操作？
主席：請姚婉玲女士。請將您的兩項質詢一併發言。
軌道發展與車站更新
姚婉玲女士：主席先生，我的第一項質詢關於軌道發展。主席，隨著我們繼續加強軌道網路，我們必須認識到人力資本是建設韌性可靠軌道生態系統的關鍵。隨著部分網路老化，包括線路、資產和裝置，更新和升級工作將加劇。
在此背景下，我想了解軌道工作人員在公平競爭的薪酬待遇、培訓和更安全的工作環境方面可以期待什麼更新。
我們理解根據軌道安全報告，將推動軌道技術員的統一培訓。這一點非常重要。
目前，軌道系統在維護實踐、裝置和維修流程上仍存在顯著的本地化差異。缺乏統一培訓，工人的技能將侷限於某一系統、線路或運營商。統一培訓將幫助確保軌道工人發展可遷移技能——這些技能可應用於不同線路、系統和運營商——從而增強運營韌性和工人的長期就業能力。
我還想了解2019年1億新元軌道人力發展計劃的延續情況。雖然運營商可靈活使用這筆資金，我們如何確保其影響惠及更廣泛的軌道工人群體？例如，是否可考慮設定行業層面的關鍵績效指標，如到2030年使50%的工人掌握新技能？
下午4點30分
最後，隨著公共交通的發展，越來越多乘客使用個人代步工具和腳踏車作為出行補充，軌道工作人員越來越需要引導乘客遵守安全和禮讓的行為規範。我們如何更好地保護軌道工作人員免受言語辱罵或衝突？一個強大的軌道生態系統不僅依賴現代資產，也依賴技術嫻熟且受保護的勞動力。
公交網路與勞動力
隨著公交合約模式進入第十年，我們正是時候審視其執行情況——不僅是運營效率，也包括我們的公交司機。他們仍是公共交通系統的中堅力量。然而，目前新入職司機的起薪約為每月2250新元。雖然廣告的總薪酬可能在3000至4000新元及以上，但很大一部分仍依賴加班，而高加班實際上是該行業的結構性問題。
這提出了一個重要問題：我們是在打造一個可持續的職業，還是一個收入依賴於長時間工作的職業？如果我們想保持強大的新加坡籍司機核心，必須重新審視公交司機的薪酬、工作條件和職業發展。
如今，司機們要應對分班、短暫用餐時間、長時間工作、疲勞、變化的乘客模式和日益複雜的乘客行為。隨著社交媒體的興起，他們也越來越容易遭受網路騷擾和人肉搜尋，尤其是事件被錄製和傳播時。我們還能做些什麼更好地保護他們的工作安全？
展望未來，預計到2030年，我們一半的公共巴士車隊將是電動的。現有的培訓路徑是否足以讓公交司機為這一轉型做好準備？同時，隨著今年下半年預計開始的營運巴士自動駕駛服務，我們必須確保受影響的工作人員獲得明確的職業路徑和公平待遇。
轉型應提升而非擾亂。我們已見證軌道人力發展計劃如何支援軌道工人應對變革。隨著公交合約模式進入下一階段，是否可考慮為公交司機提供類似的轉型支援？更新後的公交合約模式應實現乘客、運營商和維持新加坡運轉的工作人員的共贏。
加強交通無障礙
Abdul Muhaimin Abdul Malik 先生（盛港）：先生，Compassvale Crescent居民公交連通性持續存在差距，值得我們關注。政府雖多次引用400米標準和周邊14條公交線路的事實，但這一技術標準未能完全反映居民的實際生活，尤其是老年人和殘障人士的需求。
新加坡正快速老齡化。到2030年，每四位公民中就有一位年齡在65歲及以上。同時，我們正建設一個更具包容性的社會，關注身體殘障人士的需求。對這些居民來說，即使是400米的步行距離也不僅僅是不便，而可能是真正的障礙。行動不便的老人、使用輪椅或助行器的人、術後康復者及慢性病患者在熱帶氣候下可能難以承受這段距離。
技術無障礙與實際無障礙的區別極為重要。紙面上，Compassvale Crescent有公交服務，但實際上，弱勢居民每天面臨無法獲得基本服務、醫療和社群活動的挑戰。
我理解LTA對權衡的關注。延長371路公交可能會增加現有乘客的行程時間。但我敦促當局探索創新方案，比如引入新的短環線接駁服務，直接連線Compassvale Crescent與盛港地鐵站——且不影響現有線路，或專為行動不便者試點社群穿梭巴士。我們的公交連通性提升計劃應體現國家包容和關懷弱勢的價值觀。良好的公交連通性不是奢侈，而是實現獨立、尊嚴和全面參與社會的基礎。因此，我再次呼籲LTA重新考慮此事，關注的不應是居民是否技術上能搭乘公交，而是我們的交通網路是否真正服務所有新加坡人。
樟宜的出行與宜居性
Valerie Lee 女士（巴西立-樟宜）：主席，選舉期間，我倡導支援夾心階層、推動可持續發展和賦能青年。這些議題依然令我關切。但巴西立-樟宜的居民讓我對另一件事充滿熱情——我們的陸路交通系統。
讓我們從Flora Estate的公交連通性說起。該區位於新加坡東北角，是一個人口密集的住宅區，僅有兩條沿Flora Road的公交線路和一條沿Flora Drive的線路，且班次頻率較低，尤其是非高峰時段。
從資料上看，低乘客量似乎不足以支援新增服務或提高頻率。但我認為，回顧性資料未能反映被抑制的需求。許多居民不得不勉強轉向更昂貴、更汙染的出行方式，導致道路擁堵加劇，因為他們覺得沒有可靠的公共交通替代方案。
我的第一個建議是：交通部能否減少對回顧性乘客資料的依賴，在最佳化公交服務計劃時更多地直接調查居民並利用社群反饋，以釋放真實的乘客需求？連通性與道路擁堵密切相關。當公共交通選擇有限或不可靠時，更多居民轉向私家車，給已繁忙的道路如羅陽大道帶來更大壓力。
LTA曾分享即將進行的臨時車道關閉模擬顯示，可能導致最長9分鐘的延誤。我想問，交通規劃模型是否模擬過公交服務增強的情景，這將有助於降低總旅行時間？
除了效率，我們必須確保安全。在最近的陸路交通法案辯論中，我提到我們巴西立居民Malar Singam女士去年12月被一名電動助力腳踏車騎手嚴重傷害。雖然法規已加強，但仍可做更多工作，明確劃分路徑，確保像Malar這樣的老人安全。
道路安全也是關注點。羅陽大道與舊淡濱尼路交界處在2023至2025年間發生了13起事故。居民要求加強執法和在特定地點安裝測速攝像頭，但執法仍不一致，攝像頭也未安裝在報告的高風險點。交通部能否分享已採取哪些替代執法措施以提升該路段安全？
即使我們為長期改善建設，如羅陽高架橋和跨島線，巴西立和羅陽的居民仍需承受基礎設施施工帶來的即時影響，如噪音和揚塵，相關投訴較2023年幾乎增加了三倍，達到每年約230起。
即時噪音監測系統已部署。我的請求是執法也應做到即時。超標的承包商應迅速受到處罰，而非僅在投訴後才採取行動。
該地區許多居民也被深夜非法改裝摩托車的噪音所擾，許多涉及外籍註冊車輛。我們如何加強入境口岸的執法檢查？是否已與人力部合作，探討反覆違規是否應影響工作準證？
總之，我意識到良好的交通政策，如加強連通性、提升安全和減少干擾，實際上是在切實支援夾心階層及其周圍的人，這也是我從一開始就致力於的目標。
交通管理
梁榮華先生（武吉班讓）：先生，新加坡的交通擁堵明顯加劇。不再侷限於高峰時段或中央商務區。即使在週末，主幹道和高速公路網路上也常見嚴重堵塞。交通事故和持續施工進一步加劇延誤，影響的不僅是駕車者，還有公交乘客和私家車乘客。
先生，我必須承認我曾猶豫是否提交此質詢，擔心交通部的預設回應可能只是提高電子道路收費（ERP）價格或擴大ERP範圍。因此，我希望這不是後續的回應。道路收費在管理需求方面有效，但它增加了企業和家庭成本，不能成為我們唯一的槓桿。因此，我敦促交通部也考慮非價格手段來管理擁堵。
先生，儘管我們實行了車輛零增長政策，交通擁堵壓力依然存在。我們這座小島上擁有超過一百萬輛汽車，更高的車輛使用率似乎是擁堵的根本原因之一。私家車租賃服務和配送平臺的增長加劇了道路使用。隨著汽車擁有成本的上升，車主理所當然地希望最大化汽車的使用率，因為他們已經付出了沉沒成本。
鑑於這些結構性趨勢，我們應探索互補的解決方案。首先是工程和基礎設施的提升。先生，Keppel路上的雙層道路展示了垂直擴充套件如何增加容量。與地下隧道相比，這類方案可能更具成本效益且實施更快。由於土地有限，無法拓寬道路，垂直擴充套件可能是某些走廊中最可行的選項。那麼，交通部是否有計劃在易擁堵區域開發更多雙層道路系統？是否有計劃在交通繁忙的交叉口建設更多多層立交橋？
除了容量擴充套件外，小而有針對性的工程改進也能帶來顯著收益——改進匝道幾何形狀、更好的車道合流設計以及在瓶頸處增設轉彎車道。先生，在關鍵交通瓶頸處的漸進式改進可以產生不成比例的好處。
第二，更智慧地管理商用車輛流動。電子商務的增長大幅增加了配送交通。物流貨車、服務車輛和承包商卡車加劇了白天的擁堵。我們能否鼓勵在密集商業區實行非高峰時段配送？是否也能擴大城市整合中心以減少重複行程，或推廣共享的最後一公里配送樞紐以提升物流效率？
第三，更快的事故檢測和清理。輕微事故常常引發連鎖擁堵，尤其是在高速公路上。檢測和清理的速度至關重要。我們能否在主要走廊部署更多快速響應拖車單位，以迅速清理故障車輛？
在事故發生時，許多司機仍持有舊觀念，認為車輛必須等警察到場後才能移動車輛。在當今環境下，車載攝像頭和移動裝置普及，這種做法往往不必要。相反，我們應考慮要求輕微且無傷害事故的司機在記錄事故後，在固定時間內（例如僅10分鐘內）清理車道，並對無理拖延實施執法措施。先生，我們需要縮短事故清理時間，相信這將顯著緩解交通擁堵。
第四，跨境摩托車流量。根據我最近提交的一項議會質詢，2025年平均每天約有69,000輛馬來西亞註冊摩托車進入新加坡，其中約22,000輛被開具交通罰單，約1,600輛涉及事故。
雖然這些騎士為我們的經濟做出貢獻，但高峰時段的集中流入已導致如武吉知馬高速公路和泛島高速公路等走廊的擁堵。請問交通部是否已研究跨境摩托車對交通流的影響，並是否有針對性的交通管理措施來管理高峰流入？
第五，更智慧的交通訊號燈管理。司機常遇到紅燈，即使交叉方向交通稀少或無車輛通行。雖然已有自適應系統，但訊號時長似乎不夠響應或智慧。我們能否朝著更先進的基於人工智慧的訊號最佳化邁進？一些建議包括整合車輛和公交的即時GPS資料，利用預測模型預判擁堵形成，並實施走廊範圍的訊號同步以創造更順暢的“綠波”效應？
更動態和預測性的系統可減少停車啟動交通，提升通行效率。一些城市已使用相當先進的計算技術，如量子技術，來增強交通管理。交通部是否也在研究此類技術？
第六，關於資料透明度和行為措施。除了物理和技術干預，行為引導也可能有幫助。提供更細化的即時擁堵資料並整合進導航平臺，可能鼓勵自願改道或錯峰出發。此外，通過跨機構協調的靈活工作安排，也可幫助平緩高峰需求。
先生，道路定價仍然重要，但必須採取多管齊下的方法管理擁堵。我提出的所有建議，希望也能幫助緩解擁堵。我期待交通部的回覆，闡述新穎且前瞻性的非定價策略來管理擁堵。
道路安全的共同責任
林傑克遜先生（義順）：主席，新加坡的道路是全球最安全的之一，這反映了數十年來在基礎設施、執法和教育上的投資。最新資料顯示，人均死亡率逐年下降。
但一個持續的挑戰依然存在：道路交通事故責任的不匹配。碰撞或違規發生時，公眾話語往往將責任完全歸咎於“他人”——魯莽司機、不體諒的騎行者或分心的行人。
這種心態可能掩蓋了安全出行是共同責任的現實。行人、騎行者、司機和交通規劃者各自承擔確保道路安全執行的角色。
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例如，歐洲和北美部分地區採用的“零願景”框架強調系統設計應預見人為錯誤並減少其後果。
因此，我想問部長，交通部是否考慮過採用適合新加坡的零願景元素，使系統設計、速度管理和明確責任在所有道路使用者間協調一致？
其次，雖然工程和執法仍然重要，交通部計劃有哪些超越傳統宣傳活動的新教育或行為倡議，以促進道路使用者間的相互尊重？
最後，鑑於微型出行工具使用的增加，將採取哪些措施明確行人與微型出行使用者在共享空間中的權利和責任，並以資料驅動的執法支援，而非臨時措施？
主席先生，這段政策發言旨在鼓勵更深入、更系統地討論我們如何共同承擔道路安全責任，認識到僅責怪“他人”不足以推動有意義的行為改變。
配額證改革以實現准入和公平
謝炳輝先生（荷蘭-武吉知馬）：主席，我將談三個方面：一是ERP 2.0帶來的車輛供應增加；二是重新整理配額證（COE）系統以實現更大公平；三是下一階段陸路交通政策中汽車擁有的可及性。
先談ERP 2.0。在《陸路交通法案》辯論中，我指出ERP 2.0為超越擁堵收費、邁向更智慧交通最佳化提供了機會。通過利用更細化的即時資料，我們可以將ERP洞察與智慧交通訊號等自適應系統整合，引導基礎設施規劃和網路調整。
部長在總結髮言中確認，通過ERP 2.0實現更好的交通管理可能為增加車輛數量創造潛力。
這是一個重要轉變。如果供應增加，更多需要汽車照顧家庭的家庭可以獲得汽車。配額證價格也可能趨於平穩。配額證價格受預期影響，訊號不明確時市場會反應。
關鍵問題不是是否應增加車輛數量，而是任何調整是否與可衡量的擁堵結果掛鉤並清晰傳達。最佳化必須強化交通流和政策信心。
第二，重新整理配額證系統以實現更大公平。配額證分類的初衷是公平，區分大眾市場和高階車輛。
如今，這一區分日益模糊。製造商調整規格，無論是發動機功率還是電機設計，使得高階車型符合A類標準，而實用車型因技術標準落入B類，儘管它們並非豪華車。
例如，豐田Noah混合動力車，開價約28,000新幣，屬於B類。與此同時，寶馬216 Gran Coupe豪華車型，開價約35,000新幣，屬於A類。這表明高階車可能歸入A類，而實用車型歸入B類，削弱了最初區分大眾與豪華的意圖。技術門檻已不再可靠反映負擔能力或市場定位。
A類和B類之間的價格差距也在縮小，表明類別間的顯著差異減少。事實上，在最近的配額證競標中，A類溢價甚至超過了B類。這引發了當前框架是否仍實現預期細分的疑問。
如果公平仍是政策目標，我們應問發動機容量和功率輸出是否仍是合適的衡量標準。
主席先生，開價（OMV）提供了更強的區分基礎。它反映了車輛的真實購買成本，而非僅技術規格。我們已通過分級結構使用OMV計算額外註冊費（ARF）。基於此，配額證框架可從分開A類和B類，演變為基於OMV的單一競標池。將供應合併為一個類別，將平滑因類別間供需不匹配引起的價格波動。
第三，可及性與照護需求。隨著社會老齡化，更多家庭照顧殘疾或特殊需求成員，出行成為必需而非便利。
雖然配額證框架聚焦擁堵管理，我們應考慮校準機制支援真正的照護需求，同時不破壞系統完整性。對最終配額證價格進行分級調整，對低OMV車輛給予折扣，對高OMV車輛收取溢價，可提升低中收入家庭的可及性，同時保持市場紀律。此方法比引入額外特殊類別更清晰透明，後者定義和管理複雜。
主席先生，ERP 2.0讓我們更好地最佳化有限土地資源，可能允許適度增加車輛供應，讓更多家庭獲得出行機會。通過以OMV為錨重新整理配額證框架，能更清晰區分大眾與豪華車輛；分級調整則能增強有照護需求家庭的可及性。如此，我們在保持市場紀律的同時，加強汽車擁有的公平與可及性。
配額證
洪偉能先生：主席，我宣告本人為Strides Premier執行長。2024年11月，時任交通部長謝鴻達先生告知本院，未來幾年計劃注入20,000個額外配額證，A、B、C類配額證配額將逐季上升，直至2026年達到預期峰值。
然而，陸交局最近公佈的2026年2月至4月配額證配額實際上低於上一季度。這是自2025年以來首次下降，似乎與交通部此前立場相悖。因此，我希望交通部澄清是否政策方向發生變化，如有，變動原因為何。
此外，我們觀察到2026年2月至4月期間，A類配額證數量下降，而B類配額證供應較上一季度增加。因此，2026年2月首輪競標中，A類與B類配額證價格差距急劇縮小至4,570新幣，為58個月以來最小差距，自2021年3月以來首次。2月第二輪競標中，A類配額證價格甚至比B類高出1,500新幣。
剛結束的3月首輪競標中，A類與B類配額證價格差距也較小，僅為5,782新幣。這種趨同可能受市場發展驅動，包括電動車更易調校以符合A類標準，以及更多低排量高階內燃機車輛歸入A類。
若A類配額證供應持續下降，B類供應持續上升，A類與B類配額證價格趨同將持續。這與維持乘用車細分類別的初衷相悖。
交通部曾表示，A類配額證的主要目標是保留部分車輛配額給大眾市場汽車，確保普通新加坡車主更易獲得和負擔得起汽車。因此，我希望交通部澄清是否政策意圖發生變化，如有，原因何在。
主席，許多居民向我表達了對持續高企配額證價格的沮喪。人生不同階段，部分新加坡人對汽車需求更大，如有幼兒家庭、照顧年邁父母者，或依賴出行謀生的銷售人員。我希望交通部繼續關注這些新加坡人，確保政策公平平衡。
取消摩托車配額證
阿扎爾·奧斯曼先生（提名議員）：謝謝主席。新加坡實行配額證制度旨在防止道路擁堵，這是控制車輛數量的值得稱讚的目標。然而，對摩托車徵收配額證似乎不合邏輯，因為它們對交通擁堵貢獻不大。值得注意的是，每天約有超過60,000輛摩托車通過關卡進入新加坡通勤和工作。
這一流入表明，新加坡人擁有的摩托車並非擁堵源頭。我們面臨的交通問題並非由摩托車引起，但配額證卻給購買者帶來經濟負擔。摩托車買家通常是低收入和中等收入者，他們依賴摩托車工作，包括配送服務。對他們徵收配額證是不公的，尤其當他們並未加劇交通擁堵時。
取消摩托車配額證將減輕經濟壓力，讓這些人節省開支，最終能賺取更多收入，改善生活。
主席：感謝各位議員的發言。現在請交通部長蕭志傑先生回應。
代理交通部長（蕭志傑先生）：主席，首先感謝各位議員提出的深思熟慮的發言。
聽著各位的發言，我感到非常感激，感謝議員們提出的許多好建議和想法。今天我們可能無法回答所有問題，但會盡力而為。
交通部歷來有許多發言，我深知這一點，因為我曾是該部公務員。我們常說“千刀萬剮”，但這也顯示出交通對新加坡人日常生活的重要性。
每天早晨，數百萬人走出家門，信賴系統的正常運作。交通順暢時，它成為日常生活的一部分；不順暢時，則影響工作、家庭時間和心情。
我們交通部深知這份沉重責任。能處理如此重要的事務，是我們的榮幸。為履行好職責，我們秉持三大原則：第一，全球視野，因為新加坡的生存始終依賴與世界的連線；第二，面向未來，始終規劃長遠；第三，以人為本，因為交通存在是為滿足人民需求。
先談全球視野。新加坡通過航空與世界相連，我們所吃、買、用的大部分物資通過海運運來。世界其他地方發生的事對我們影響重大，包括我們密切關注的中東衝突。
隨著周邊世界日益動盪，我們需加強新加坡生存與繁榮的基礎。國際規則和標準對航空和海運至關重要，這些領域跨越國界。
為塑造這些規則和標準，新加坡在國際民航組織（ICAO）和國際海事組織（IMO）理事會任職逾二十年。去年，我和團隊競選連任兩理事會。我被其他國家對新加坡的強烈支援所感動。他們認可我們多年來的領導力、共識構建及培訓專案的推動。
新加坡以本類別最高票數成功連任ICAO和IMO理事會。我們對此結果深感鼓舞。
與此同時，顯而易見的是，以規則為基礎的全球秩序正面臨壓力。國際民航組織（ICAO）和國際海事組織（IMO）達成共識變得更加困難，尤其是在可持續性等長期問題上。立場更加極化。我們看到更多的派系沿著國家利益劃分，而非全球利益。
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為了增強我們在海外的影響力，我們依託國內的優勢。我們的航空和海運樞紐都是世界一流的。樟宜機場是世界上最好的機場之一；PSA國際是全球最成功的港口運營商之一。
田佩玲女士詢問了第五航站樓（T5）和兀蘭港的最新進展。T5的建設於去年開始，預計將在2030年代中期完成。正如薄麗珊女士所指出的，這將使樟宜機場的年旅客容量增加約5000萬人次。根據旅客增長趨勢，我們有信心這項容量將滿足潛在需求。T5的完成也將為未來改造較舊的1至4號航站樓開啟可能性。
我很高興邀請田女士和各位議員，實際上是所有在座的議員，參觀樟宜機場的“T5建設中”展覽，您可以預覽T5及航空業的未來。
沙拉爾·塔哈先生詢問了將配合T5的更廣泛航空生態系統。確實，我們正在建設的生態系統不僅限於航站樓本身，還包括樟宜東工業區、樟宜東城市區，以及可能的丹那美拉渡輪碼頭，以實現更好的空海聯運。借用沙拉爾先生的說法，這個航空城將是可持續且技術密集的，將創造許多優質就業機會，同時更好地服務乘客、航空貨運使用者和維修保養（MRO）公司。
關於兀蘭港，我們去年開放了第12個泊位，今年將再開放四個泊位。第二階段填海工程正在推進。高階國務部長穆拉利將分享更多資訊。
這些重大基礎設施專案的實現，得益於政府對長期規劃的重視。我們13年前開始規劃T5，兀蘭港則近30年前開始規劃。
在設計這些專案時，我們不僅考慮今天，更是為未來規劃。這也是我很高興聽到田佩玲女士和運輸總委員會今年晚些時候將提交關於運輸技術部署的動議。我期待幾個月後關於運輸未來的另一場精彩辯論。
對於地鐵線路，我們也進行遠期規劃。我聽到了薄麗珊女士、洪偉能先生、劉安德先生和沙拉爾·塔哈先生對各地鐵專案更新的請求。
一條地鐵線路大約需要15年建設。在短短20多年裡，我們幾乎將整個地鐵網路的長度翻了一番。這是一個了不起的成就，我們仍在建設中。
湯申-東海岸線第五階段和市區線第三期延伸段將於今年晚些時候開放。兩條線路將在雙溪布洛站連線。
今年晚些時候，我們還將開放環線第六階段，環線將真正成為一個完整的環路。
明年，我們計劃啟動跨島線第三階段的建設，將線路從裕廊湖區向西延伸。
我也答應了黃志明先生關於實裡達線和中部線的更新。我有好訊息告訴他。我們計劃今年開始工程研究。黃先生的居民會高興知道，我們將優先研究服務盛港西和實龍崗北的走廊。這也可能包括未來與跨島線和環線的連線。
洪偉能先生詢問了裕廊區域線（JRL）。他會高興知道我們今年晚些時候將啟動JRL西海岸延伸段的工程研究。延伸段第一階段將連線JRL與跨島線。
我還有更多好訊息。陸路交通管理局（LTA）已開始建設一座新的JRL車站，位於中部和蔡厝港站之間。該站的工作名稱為JS2a——非常缺乏想象力，因為上次我們嘗試有創意時，當需要移動車站時很難改變人們的想法。JS2a計劃於2030年代中期開放，將服務中部森林山地區的居民，配合該區住房開發的完成。
JRL原計劃於2027年底開放。我的許多居民，尤其是中部的居民，都期待著它，因為這將極大改變他們的交通選擇。不幸的是，由於施工延誤和測試，JRL的開放將推遲約六個月，至2028年中。我知道一些已經搬入中部的居民會感到失望，但我們將盡最大努力盡快完成工程。
與此同時，我已要求LTA推出兩條臨時穿梭巴士服務，從選定的JRL車站前往該地區的主要目的地，直到JRL開放。
薄麗珊女士詢問了跨柔捷運連線線（RTS Link）的最新情況。這是另一個長期專案，經過多年與馬來西亞方面的討論。
RTS連線線的經濟效益明確。但該專案仍需兩國政府持續承諾。RTS連線線將連線新加坡湯申-東海岸線的兀蘭北站與柔佛巴魯的武吉查加站，車程僅需五分鐘。
我們已規劃湯申-東海岸線的容量，足以容納通過RTS連線線抵達的乘客數量。
薄女士詢問RTS連線線的票價。我知道馬來西亞方面已宣佈票價為5至7令吉。我尚未與對方討論票價。但根據雙邊協議條款，票價由運營商RTS運營私人有限公司（RTSO）決定。我們將等待RTSO適時公佈票價。
開通新地鐵線路令人興奮，宣佈新地鐵線路更令人興奮。但同樣重要的是維護已建成的系統。
我們地鐵網路中最老的部分——南北線和東西線——已有近40年曆史。去年，當我們退役了第一代地鐵列車川崎C151型時，我對此印象深刻。許多與我同齡的人會懷念小時候第一次乘坐這些列車的經歷。我珍藏一張照片，是我和父親第一次乘坐地鐵的合影。
現在也是對一些老舊且深受喜愛的地鐵站進行翻新的好時機，不僅僅是列車。例如，我們去年宣佈將翻新義順地鐵站，新增入口、增設電梯和擴大站廳。LTA目前正在研究包括海軍部、加冷和三巴旺在內的其他車站翻新計劃。
除了地鐵網路，我們還在規劃自動駕駛車輛（AV）的未來。自動駕駛車輛對我們來說並不陌生，自2013年起我們就開始試驗。技術成熟花了一些時間，但隨著人工智慧、感測器、地圖和計算技術的進步，自動駕駛車輛終於成為現實。
最近，我們在機場和港口等封閉環境中積極部署自動駕駛車輛，用於行李和貨物運輸。但要在道路上大規模部署自動駕駛乘用車，還需要一段時間。畢竟，目前全球自動駕駛車輛不到7000輛，在新加坡的車輛總數中佔極小比例。我們現在所做的是提前規劃和早期準備，一如既往。
自去年9月起，我們在榜鵝試驗自動駕駛車輛，瞭解其在新加坡環境中的運作情況。自今年1月起，我們開始邀請乘客乘坐自動駕駛車輛。試驗執行順利且安全，許多榜鵝居民表示強烈支援。他們一直詢問高階國務部長孫雪玲和我，何時可以開始乘坐自動駕駛車輛。為此，我高興宣佈，從4月1日起，我們將向公眾開放乘坐申請。這不是愚人節玩笑；4月1日起，公眾可報名乘坐。短期內乘坐免費，之後將開始收費運營。孫高階國務部長將提供更多細節。
如果一切順利，我計劃在新加坡其他地區試驗自動駕駛車輛。我們正在考慮聖淘沙、兀蘭和萬禮等地，具體取決於自動駕駛車輛公司和通勤者的興趣。我感謝蔡厝港議員劉志豪支援加快自動駕駛車輛，特別是自動駕駛巴士的推廣，正如他指出的，我們缺乏足夠的巴士司機。
LTA計劃今年下半年通過濱海灣的400路巴士和One-North的191路巴士啟動自動駕駛公共巴士試驗。但由於技術和商業原因，自動駕駛巴士的發展比自動駕駛汽車慢。因此，我們將繼續密切關注這一領域。
自動駕駛車輛只是我們未來交通格局的一部分。我們正在制定下一版陸路交通總體規劃。在制定過程中，有許多令人興奮的內容想與新加坡人分享，也希望聽取大家的意見，瞭解您的交通需求，共同創造解決方案。國務部長梅業成一直領導這項工作。過去三個月，LTA已與200多人進行面對面焦點小組討論，並收到3500多份公眾書面反饋。未來幾個月，我們希望聽到更多聲音，進一步加強公眾參與。
讓我分享一些迄今收到的常見反饋。
關於公共交通，一個普遍反饋是旅行時間過長，尤其是來自遠離市區的組屋區。如今，公共交通的時間可能是私家車的兩到三倍，尤其是那些只有巴士連線而無地鐵的地區。
我希望縮小這一差距，使其接近一到兩倍。即將開通的地鐵線路，如裕廊區域線和跨島線，將助力實現這一目標。我們還需改善巴士網路以及首末公里連線。
針對劉安德先生關於快車線路的建議，快車服務確實能為部分通勤者略微縮短旅行時間，因為新加坡面積較小。但通常需要獨立軌道和額外訊號系統，這意味著佔用更多土地、更高成本和更長建設時間。跳站服務本質上是快車與普通車共用軌道，技術上可行，但運營複雜，普通列車需在車站等待快車通過，這將對普通乘客造成顯著不利影響。
我們會關注這一問題。如果技術進步，我們會考慮。但對於實裡達線，我認為實施可能性不大。
另一個常被提及的話題是列車擁擠，劉先生談到了東北線（NEL）——我認為他有些誇大了，但確實提到了。
從長遠看，跨島線和實裡達線等新地鐵連線將改善東北部居民的狀況。但短期內，我已恢復東北線和盛港-榜鵝輕軌的免費早晨非高峰時段乘車，以鼓勵更多乘客避開早高峰。
實施時間尚短，因為是在年初開始，但我高興地分享，這項措施迄今相當有效。約8%的乘客已轉移至非高峰時段，減輕了早高峰時段其他乘客的擁擠。
擁擠程度下降，相當於增加了兩列額外列車或20輛巴士的效果。
第三個熱門話題是是否能增加更多巴士服務。我收到許多此類請求，包括剛才半小時內在議會中提出的兩項，我已記錄——花園路和羅盤谷路。
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我的交通部同事和LTA一直盡力而為。自從10億新元的巴士連通性提升計劃啟動以來，我們已新增25條巴士線路，並提升了全島60多條現有線路。
我非常希望能開通更多巴士線路。為此，我需要購買巴士，還需建設車廠和換乘站，包括盛港河換乘站。但最重要的是，我需要招聘巴士司機。願意成為巴士司機的新加坡人太少，我們已達到可招聘外籍巴士司機的上限。
楊婉玲女士建議提高巴士司機起薪，目前約為3600新元（含加班費），以吸引新員工。我支援她的建議。我們正與巴士運營商和全國交通工會討論此事，以及進一步改善現有巴士司機的工作條件和職業發展。
第四個收到大量反饋的領域是車輛擁車證（COE）。
田佩玲女士和謝家輝先生詢問，鑑於電動車（EV）、自動駕駛車輛（AV）和電子道路收費2.0系統（ERP 2.0）等新發展，我們是否會審視COE制度。
COE制度於1990年引入，旨在控制車輛數量，因為新加坡土地有限，不可能讓每個人甚至每戶家庭都擁有汽車。如果每戶都有車，我們的道路上將有約150萬輛汽車，是當前車量的兩倍多。道路將在高峰和非高峰時段都堵塞，類似世界許多城市的狀況。
每輛車都佔用道路空間並加劇擁堵，包括摩托車。因此，回應阿扎爾·奧斯曼先生的提問，我們不能將摩托車排除在COE制度之外。但回應梁榮華先生的問題，我們正密切關注馬來西亞摩托車的數量。我們預計，車輛入境許可證費從每天4新元漲至7新元，以及2027年RTS連線線開通，將減少新加坡境內的外國摩托車數量。
謝家輝先生觀察到，最近A類和B類COE價格趨於一致。
這並非首次出現此現象。2014年，我們增加了功率評級標準以區分A類和B類汽車，回應公眾反饋，因越來越多小排量但高功率汽車出現，A類和B類汽車界限變得模糊。此舉曾奏效一段時間。
但正如謝先生指出，近年來製造商調整汽車規格以符合A類標準，導致A類和B類價格再次趨同。上個月，A類價格甚至超過B類，儘管剛剛結束的競價中，B類價格又恢復高於A類。
由於A類配額供應去年達到峰值，而B類配額今年繼續增加，兩者價格可能在一段時間內持續趨同。因此，我已要求LTA審視此問題。我們將收集公眾和業界意見，探討如何改進汽車COE分類，包括謝先生提出的根據市場開放價值調整折扣或附加費的具體建議。
我希望議員們能從上述例子看到，交通部如何傾聽反饋並盡力解決問題。我知道這對您們很重要，對我們也同樣重要。然而，在陸路交通領域，許多問題是零和博弈。幾乎每項決策都有權衡，因此，若有人覺得自己處於不利一方，難免不滿。
例如巴士路線規劃，李慧玲女士和阿卜杜勒·穆海敏先生曾詢問。
LTA的巴士規劃師在規劃路線時，會考慮當前和未來的乘客量——不僅是當前，還有未來的乘客量——行程時間、出行模式、替代路線等因素。他們是專業人士，但即便如此，也幾乎不可能滿足所有人的偏好，儘管他們盡了最大努力。
讓我分享我在蔡厝港的親身經歷。
我轄區一部分居民一直問，為什麼一條受歡迎的巴士線路沒有在他們家樓下的一個車站停靠。我向LTA詢問後，經過進一步分析，LTA發現確實可以調整路線，於是進行了調整。調整後，那些組屋樓的多數居民非常滿意。但幾乎立刻，LTA和我收到了許多其他乘客的投訴郵件，抱怨他們的行程變長，巴士因多了一個停靠點而更擁擠。
我理解作為乘客，我們每個人都有具體的個人情況和需求。但同時，我希望新加坡人能理解，管理這些權衡並不容易。有人必須做決定，這就是我們交通部的責任，要採取系統視角，最大限度地造福最多人。
主席先生，我已分享我們將如何保持全球視野、規劃未來並以人為本。當我說“人”時，不僅指乘客，也包括我們交通行業的工作人員，他們是我團隊的核心。
過去九個月，我與許多交通工作者共進餐食、參加節慶和頒獎典禮。我知道他們工作多麼辛苦。我們的軌道維護工人在夜間靜謐時分辛勤工作。我們的海員遠離家人數月。我們的空中交通管制員在高壓環境中保持冷靜。
這只是我們超過30萬交通工作者大家庭中的幾個例子。他們的工作雖不為人所見所聞，但正是他們讓我們得以出行，他們永遠擁有我的支援。
去年八月，我在中轉巴士換乘站遇到了Hasri Bin Abiden。他當了十多年的巴士司機。最近新開通了一條巴士線路，Hasri主動要求負責這條新路線。對於一位經驗豐富的巴士司機來說，這是一個挑戰。這意味著要改變日常習慣，應對陌生的環境。Hasri告訴我，在被派遣之前，他自發地騎著摩托車，在夜間獨自多次練習這條路線。他想熟悉路線，以便更好地服務未來的乘客。
Hasri並不孤單。每天早晨，他和許多像他一樣的人都努力做到最好，因為他們為自己的工作感到自豪。這樣明天早晨以及之後的每一個早晨，新加坡人都能自信地走出家門，前往他們想去的地方。[掌聲]
主席：高階國務部長孫雪玲。
交通部高階國務部長（孫雪玲女士）：主席先生，我將回應議員們關於空中和陸地交通的問題。
我們專注於建設一個全球化、面向未來且以人為本的交通系統。新加坡的航空故事是不斷演變的。從一個小島國，我們已經建成了世界上最互聯的航空樞紐之一。我們現在與全球170多個城市相連。
然而，作為樞紐，我們也無法免疫於全球的干擾。我們正在密切關注中東衝突。航班和乘客的安全仍是我們的首要任務。新加坡航空和Scoot已暫停飛往受影響中東目的地的航班，直至3月7日。我們將繼續監控局勢。其他從樟宜飛往中東的航空公司也取消或延遲了航班。
但即使在全球不確定的環境中，我們也從未忽視更長遠的視野。
未來十年，我們預計樟宜機場將繼續增長。迄今為止，我們的增長已直接創造了超過6萬個優質航空相關崗位，從管理繁忙空域的空中交通管制員到管理飛機的工程師。到2040年，全球航空旅行需求將翻倍，亞太地區將推動其中三分之二的增長。我們已經在建設第五航站樓，為此做好基礎設施準備。
同樣重要的是我們的“一航空”勞動力。樟宜的增長將為所有人帶來更多機會，包括為新加坡人提供良好且高薪的工作。
Sharael Taha先生問我們如何投資航空勞動力。民航局已承諾投入2億新元設立“一航空人力基金”，以吸引、培養和留住“一航空”勞動力。過去六個月，民航局廣泛諮詢了航空公司、學校、工會和員工，瞭解如何幫助新加坡人獲得航空業的優質工作並在職業上進步。形成了三個優先重點。
首先，民航局將與高等院校合作，將專業培訓與本科教育結合。航空業提供許多有回報且高薪的職業，如空中交通管制和飛機工程。我們有一批正在接受此類培訓的高等院校學生。
其中包括目前在淡馬錫理工學院攻讀航空航天工程文憑的Wong Rui Qi。
我去年見過Rui Qi。他向我分享了對航空航天工程的興趣，以及儘快成為持證飛機工程師的渴望。今天，畢業後，Rui Qi仍需接受長達44個月的專業培訓，才能獲得民航局頒發的專業執照，成為持證飛機工程師。通過將業界認可的技能培訓納入高等院校課程，像Rui Qi這樣的學生將更具就業準備，能更快開始航空職業生涯。
第二，民航局將改善樟宜機場勞動力的工作環境和體驗。這可能包括提升基礎設施、改善機場的交通可達性，尤其是在深夜和清晨時段，以及為員工提供更好的休息設施。
第三，民航局將與全國職工總會合作，開發全行業的導師計劃，支援新入職航空勞動力在關鍵運營崗位的職業發展。這將幫助我們培養未來具備準備和韌性的下一代航空專業人才。
民航局將在未來一年分享這三方面的更多細節。
為配合這些努力，我們也加強了推廣工作，讓航空機會更貼近新加坡人。
上週六，我參加了在Heartbeat@Bedok舉辦的東區“一航空”職業博覽會。航空和航天領域有超過2000個職位空缺，18家機構參與。
我期待與有興趣的社群發展理事會合作，將航空和航天職業帶到新加坡更多本地社群。讓我再說一遍，我期待與有興趣的社群發展理事會合作，將航空和航天職業帶到新加坡更多本地社群。
Poh Li San女士問我們如何吸引女性加入航空業。
我最近見到了Megan Zheng女士，她擔任空中交通管制員已有12年。她分享說這是一份獨一無二的工作。除了深感滿足，她知道自己發出的每條指令都幫助飛機安全著陸，她對機上所有乘客和機組人員的生命負責。
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雖然空管員輪班工作，Megan解釋說她的排班提前規劃，最長可達一年。這讓她這樣的有兩個年幼孩子的員工能自信地安排家庭和個人時間。
目前約40%的空管員是女性，且比例穩步增長。隨著空中交通持續增長，我們期待更多空管員加入。
除了天空，我們運營機場的方式也在演變。機場運營和規劃是一門激動人心的學科，隨著我們為第五航站樓做準備，將越來越依賴技術。
兩個月前，我們在樟宜部署了首批無人駕駛自動行李拖車，這將提升員工安全，減輕體力負擔，並允許全天候運營。自動輪椅也在第二航站樓試驗，幫助滿足未來乘客不斷變化的出行需求。
這就是吸引像淡馬錫理工學院Ng Yu Jing這樣的學生的激動人心的未來。Yu Jing和她的同學們向我表達了參與第五航站樓建設、書寫新加坡航空故事下一章的熱情。
吸引女性進入航空業的努力不僅僅依靠政府。去年我參加了新加坡航空女性分會晚會，看到女性和企業積極為各級女性提供機會，我感到欣慰。這包括新加坡航空女性分會的導師計劃，為年輕學員提供組織外的寶貴視角。過去四年，該計劃支援了100多名學員。民航局也與該分會密切合作，開展面向學校女生和剛入職年輕女性的推廣活動。
我們期待更多女性加入航空業，尤其是在我們持續面臨人力短缺且有許多高薪職位空缺的情況下。“一航空”勞動力將繼續走在航空業增長的前沿。
現在讓我談談陸路交通領域。
我們確保公共交通網路保持便利和可達。但人力仍是限制因素。可持續的長期解決方案是利用技術，如自動駕駛車輛（AV）。
Yeo Wan Ling女士詢問了榜鵝自動駕駛班車運營、自動駕駛車輛監管框架及人力轉型支援的最新情況。
在榜鵝，約有740人試乘了1號和3號線路的自動駕駛班車。許多人評價乘坐平穩舒適，99%的人表示會推薦該服務。班車提供了此前無直達交通連線的最後一公里服務，減少了多達15分鐘的出行中斷。榜鵝居民看到班車巡迴運營，表示期待儘快體驗。
鑑於積極反饋，我們將從4月1日起向公眾開放1號和3號線路的乘坐。乘坐時將配有自動駕駛車輛功能解說，初期免費。這將讓更多人體驗技術併為運營商提供改進建議。運營商Grab將公佈註冊乘坐的詳細資訊。今年中旬起，乘客可在1號和3號線路任意站點上下車，統一票價為每人4新元。
ComfortDelGro在榜鵝2號線路的自動駕駛班車熟悉度提升良好，我們期待不久後開始邀請制乘坐。
在榜鵝巡查時，我與自動駕駛班車上的安全員交談。Victor Tan先生過去15年是ComfortDelGro的計程車司機和駕駛教練。他說，接受自動駕駛班車安全員培訓讓他能將駕駛經驗與機器無縫結合。
Vincent Teo先生和Sarah Binte Ahmad女士在多年駕駛後想嘗試新事物，見識新技術。他們在GrabAcademy和WeRide接受安全員培訓，需達到90%及格分數。我聽說Sarah的四個孩子為酷媽媽感到驕傲，Vincent很快將參加自動駕駛遠端操作員課程。
這些是計程車和私家車司機嘗試自動駕駛技術的例子。新工作不僅限於安全員崗位。
還會有更多個性化的現場客戶服務崗位，這些是機器無法提供的。還有自動駕駛車隊的維護和運營崗位。軟體和工程崗位也將增加。這些是未來更高薪的工作，不僅當前司機可考慮，也適合對自動駕駛未來感興趣的年輕一代。
這是一個不斷發展的領域，許多國家如中國、日本、阿聯酋和美國都在部署自動駕駛車輛。我們的最佳策略是準備好人才、基礎設施和法律。正如總理所說，我們將確保自動駕駛技術和人工智慧為我們服務。
我們與工會合作，開發司機培訓和轉崗專案。我們正在規劃司機的新崗位和機會。我瞭解到全國職工總會正在舉辦自動駕駛車輛相關的交流會。這裡呼籲——如果你感興趣，歡迎報名參加！
我們還在制定更全面的自動駕駛車輛法律框架，明確生態系統中關鍵方的責任和問責。這將為員工、行業和公眾提供清晰指引，明年我們將諮詢各方意見。
我們也利用技術改善生活環境。電動車零尾氣排放。空氣質量將改善，孩子們不必再吸入車輛有害廢氣。電動車也更安靜。我們經常收到交通噪音的反饋，電動車將改善這一點。
2026年1月，電動車新車註冊佔比創紀錄達到55%。Louis Chua先生和Tin Pei Ling女士問我們的電動車充電網路是否足以支援不斷增長的電動車隊。我很高興地分享，全島已有超過29,000個充電點。我們已實現目標，為所有組屋居民提供便利充電，超過90%的組屋停車場配備慢速充電器。這滿足了居民夜間充電的需求。
Ang Wei Neng先生和Dennis Tan先生建議增加快速充電器。我們已在組屋市鎮中心和裕廊西JTC場所的70個停車場部署了150個快速充電點。
技術持續快速發展。越來越多電動車支援更快充電。新型超快速充電器能在10分鐘內為電動車增加數百公里續航。還有更先進的電網管理方案，幫助我們減少昂貴的基礎設施升級。
我們設想多樣化充電選項以滿足不同需求。喜歡夜間充電的車主可繼續使用家附近的慢速充電點。喜歡在辦事時充電1至2小時的，可在快速充電樞紐使用功率約50千瓦的多個快速充電點。需要10至20分鐘快速充電的，類似現有加油站體驗，可使用功率超過150千瓦的超快速充電點。
目前，快速充電樞紐設在商業和工業場所，如巴西立商場、濱海藝術中心和裕廊西Corporation Place。我們將部署更多快速充電樞紐，確保明年底前每個組屋市鎮至少有一個快速充電樞紐，每個樞紐配備至少六個快速充電點。我們將優先在充電需求高、電力容量充足的區域啟動，如盛港Compass One附近停車場、麥波申市場和中轉Plaza。
我們也與業界合作探索超快速充電方案，並與相關機構最佳化電網以滿足增長的充電需求。
Ang Wei Neng先生和Yeo Wan Ling女士強調為勞動力裝備電動車轉型技能的重要性。我們於2022年推出國家電動車安全專家認證，已為2000多人提供電動車維護基礎安全培訓。
我們將繼續推進。交通部國家交通學院、SkillsFuture Singapore和新加坡工程師學會將推出電動車技術專家技能路徑，規劃電動車維護職業發展路線，包括高等院校、公交學院和全國職工總會學習中心提供的培訓。主要汽車僱主如Borneo Motors、比亞迪、Cycle & Carriage和Komoco，以及公共巴士運營商也將提供就業機會。符合條件的個人和員工將享受至少50%的SSG批准課程學費補貼。
現在談談公共巴士及其勞動力。
巴士連通性提升計劃於2024年7月推出，旨在增強巴士連通性，特別是距離地鐵站較遠的新興住宅區，同時為高客流量軌道線路提供替代交通方式。
針對東北區，過去一年半內新增了12條巴士線路，包括11條高峰期線路，並延長了兩條現有線路。居民對新巴士服務表示讚賞，但常問是否能增加更多通往其他目的地的巴士連線。
主席先生，限制更多巴士服務的不是巴士數量，而是巴士司機數量。正如Yeo Wan Ling女士所述，巴士司機的工作不易。多年來，我們與巴士運營商和全國交通工人總會合作，改善司機工作條件，如延長輪班休息時間和限制輪班時長，但本地招聘下降趨勢未能扭轉。
正如代理部長Jeffrey Siow所說，我們將加大力度鼓勵本地人加入巴士行業，包括中年轉職者。這包括與巴士運營商和工會合作，提高薪資，改善巴士司機的工作條件和職業發展。
Yeo女士還問我們如何為巴士司機準備自動駕駛轉型。我們將於今年晚些時候在191和400號公共巴士線路開展自動駕駛巴士試驗。政府由陸交局新加坡巴士學院牽頭，與公共交通運營商如SBST、工會及自動駕駛技術供應商緊密合作，準備巴士司機。通過支援和培訓專案，我們將提升司機技能，確保他們具備承擔安全員、遠端操作員、車隊經理及技術和乘客服務等新崗位所需技能。我們的首要任務是確保巴士司機具備所需技能，能在安全負責地試點自動駕駛服務過程中承擔新且有意義的角色。
我還想談談改善工人交通安全。政府機構與行業和非政府組織密切合作，提升工人交通安全。我們取得了良好進展，推出了要求運送工人的貨車必須配備車篷和更高的側護欄，限速更低，並滿足最低空間要求。
在與我們的三方合作伙伴密切協商後，我們將邁出進一步的步伐。從2027年1月1日起，我們將不再允許用籠式貨車運送工人。籠式貨車的貨臺對後部乘客存在額外的安全風險。例如，如果一輛帶有從外部鎖定或扣緊的籠門的貨車發生事故或火災，工人可能無法逃生。
公司仍可使用其籠式貨車運輸貨物。如果公司需要靈活地在後部貨臺運輸工人或貨物，可以選擇用車篷、側欄杆和雨罩替代籠式結構。
感謝非政府組織提出這一建議，並感謝他們在我們評估風險期間的耐心等待。
下午5時45分
針對林傑克遜先生關於交通部道路安全措施的提問，我們通過基礎設施改進和社群參與不斷提升道路安全。我們的“友好街道”計劃就是一個典範，陸路交通管理局（LTA）建設新的訊號控制人行橫道、無障礙過街設施和更寬的中央隔離帶以保障安全過街。此外，還實施了限速和其他交通緩解措施。
在五個“友好街道”試點地點，車輛平均速度降低了多達25%。更多居民也開始沿著這些友好街道步行或騎行。還有25個新地點正在籌備中，如荷蘭/布奧納維斯塔和榜鵝。鑑於積極反饋，我們將在未來幾年內再推出20條新的友好街道。其中一些新地點包括班丹花園和甘榜格南。居民可以期待參與道路基礎設施改進，以提升安全性、便利性和舒適度。
到2030年，每個鎮至少將擁有一條友好街道。這意味著全島至少有50條友好街道。
主席先生，交通將我們所有人連線起來，連線家人、工作和世界。我們對基礎設施、人才和技術的投資將確保這些聯絡保持強大、安全和可持續，惠及新加坡和新加坡人。
主席：高階國務部長穆拉里·皮萊。
交通部高階國務部長（穆拉里·皮萊先生）：主席先生，大海一直是新加坡通往世界的開放通道。我們在整個歷史中都依賴它。
如今，海面波濤洶湧。當我們談論供應鏈中斷時，正是海上航道決定了全球供應鏈的通行與否。當我們談論地緣政治緊張局勢時，正是這些實際的停靠港口在更大的波動和全球不確定性中發生變化。
【議長主持】
自上週末以來，我們這邊世界的人們對中東持續的局勢感到悲痛。這不僅奪去了生命，也開始擾亂約20%全球石油和天然氣通過狹窄的霍爾木茲海峽的流動。已有多家航運公司宣佈暫停通過該海峽的船隻通行。這必然會對這些商品價格產生上行壓力。所有這些後果僅在幾天內發生。
在這場動盪中，海事行業可以成為穩定的通道，保持新加坡與世界的連線。新加坡的建立依託於兩條海峽——馬六甲海峽和新加坡海峽。只要我們堅守經過時間考驗的本能和技能，培養我們的海員和海事勞動力，海洋依然能為我們帶來過去的財富。如果我們做得好，我們將像歷史上一樣乘風破浪。
我們將推進四個重點方向。
首先，我們必須保持開放，支援貿易、人員和夥伴關係的自由流動。開放的海洋不是帝國的征服物件，而是受國際公認規則和法律約束的全球公地。作為一個小島國，新加坡依賴這一規則作為我們的堅固防線。
但全球公地的治理不能由單一國家承擔，尤其是像我們這樣的小國。代理交通部長蕭傑輝先生已說明我們將如何繼續在國際海事組織（IMO）等關鍵國際機構推動集體努力。
我們還承諾與志同道合的夥伴合作，推動國際航運規則和標準的制定。一個途徑是與其他國家建立綠色和數字航運走廊。這些合作使我們能夠共同開發技術、基礎設施和標準，促進更可持續和互聯的海事生態系統。我們將繼續尋找新的機會拓展這些聯絡。
第二，新加坡必須繼續作為全球供應鏈中的關鍵節點。尊敬的議員沙拉爾·塔哈詢問交通部如何加強海事行業的長期競爭力。
新加坡海事及港務局（MPA）正在制定《海事新加坡總體規劃》。這將是一個面向未來的行業藍圖，指導該行業未來幾十年的發展。目標是加強新加坡作為關鍵節點和樞紐港的競爭力，提升新加坡作為國際海事中心的吸引力，確立新加坡在海事創新（包括人工智慧領域）的全球領導地位，並培養未來適應性的海事勞動力。
我們不會單獨制定總體規劃。未來幾個月，MPA將成立一個由主要企業領導組成的本地行業小組，收集見解，同時與工會和公眾溝通。MPA計劃於2027年正式釋出總體規劃。
作為一個節點，意味著提供多入口點，並激發現有企業間的協同效應。我們正在發展新加坡成為海事技術、創新和研發中心。
正如代理部長蕭傑輝所提，我們也在投資港口的能力和容量。尊敬的議員陳佩玲詢問了大士港的發展進展及其如何提升新加坡競爭力。第二階段填海工程已完成近80%，第三階段規劃正在進行中。大士港預計於2040年代完工，屆時將擁有6500萬標準箱的吞吐能力，成為全球最大的全自動化集裝箱碼頭。這將進一步保障新加坡與世界的連線，鞏固我們作為國際航運可信節點的競爭力。
未來幾十年，我們將繼續最佳化大士港設計，以適應運營環境的變化。這是我們採用分階段開發大士港的優勢所在。
作為全球最繁忙的港口之一，新加坡也是尋求在真實運營環境中試驗創新海事解決方案的理想試驗場和活實驗室。MPA將於今年晚些時候推出海事叢集基金業務發展計劃下的新創新軌道，更好地支援企業深化技術和創新能力。根據該計劃，在新加坡設立創新技術部門或企業風險投資職能的公司可獲得資金支援，並增加研發專業知識及監管支援的獲取。這將助力新加坡成為人才、創意和資本的全球節點。
我最近會見了Everllence新加坡的董事總經理尼古拉斯·布拉貝克。Everllence是航運業主要的發動機製造商之一。我很高興聽到Everllence選擇在這裡設立其歐洲以外最大的服務中心，不僅因為新加坡的基礎設施和戰略位置，還因為我們擁有技術嫻熟且有韌性的陸上和海上勞動力。
我們將繼續確保畢業生和工人具備抓住該行業眾多高薪機會的能力。這些職位對新加坡人來說可能較為陌生，但它們是好工作。例如，陸上海事職位包括船舶租賃員和船舶經紀人，2024年其競爭力中位數總薪約為1萬新元；海事及技術主管從2021年至2024年間的中位數總薪介於8千至1.3萬新元。
事實上，海事行業不僅適合航海人員，也適合許多陸上工作人員。我幾周前遇到的迪維卡·吉爾女士就是一例。她三個月前從新加坡理工學院畢業後加入該行業。她現在是一名裝配工，這在海事界是對一名高度熟練技術員的低調稱呼，負責支援工程操作並維持最高安全標準，使船舶適航。她立志成為海事工程師。她是越來越多在海事職業中找到意義和目標的女性之一。
沙拉爾·塔哈議員還詢問我們如何培養新加坡技術人才。
首先，我們將繼續投資海事人才。根據企業反饋，MPA正在簡化海事叢集基金管理培訓生計劃的要求，並更新該計劃以跟上人才培養的最新實踐。
通過這些調整，中小企業等較小公司將能夠為員工創造結構化的職業發展機會。培養管理和領導人才有助於企業長期發展。MPA還將增加管理培訓生在不同海事崗位的輪崗機會和時間，以加深專業知識。這將通過拓寬他們對海事價值鏈的理解，早期培養年輕專業人才。
其次，我們希望培養新加坡人擔任海事行業領導職務。由於海事行業具有全球性，海事領導者需要具備管理國際運營和跨文化團隊的經驗和能力。這就是我們推出海事叢集基金全球輪崗計劃的原因。該計劃為企業提供資助，共同承擔本地中層管理人員的海外派遣費用，幫助他們獲得擔任監督職務的能力。
但吸引頂尖人才進入海事行業並留住他們，不僅僅是政府自上而下制定政策的問題。必須與行業領導者、企業、工會和高等院校緊密合作。
海事行業通過獎學金和實習支援有志者的良好記錄，證明了該行業對人才培養的重視。事實上，如果尊敬的議員們向我右側看，今天有五位獎學金獲得者和新加坡海事基金會主席何永耀先生一同出席。他們來自不同背景，包括工藝教育學院（ITE）和理工學院，獎學金由多家海事公司和組織贊助。
我希望他們的榜樣能激勵新一代新加坡年輕人迎接挑戰，推動海事行業轉型。
我最近會見了李正威船長，他於1970年代初首次加入海事行業。他響應《海峽時報》上的一則招聘港口引航員的廣告。他以為能在新加坡水域飛行，結果大錯特錯！他發現這實際上是海上工作。雖然他進入海事行業是偶然，但他在海事行業度過了五十多年的持久職業生涯。2008年至2013年，他還擔任過我們的港務局長。
幾十年來，李船長見證了我們港口和海事生態系統的發展。對他而言，行業與工會的緊密合作關係是海事新加坡成長和創造新工作的關鍵因素。
像李船長這樣的觀點對於我們理解三方合作在現實中的意義非常重要。我們將與行業利益相關者和工會一道，繼續設定海事行業的共同目標，確保我們的海事勞動力準備好迎接下一階段挑戰。
最後，我們將利用技術幫助海事行業的每個人做更多工作，創造有意義的崗位。為此，MPA將在今年晚些時候擴大無人水面船的試驗。無人水面船將實現自主執行，同時保留遠端操控能力。它們將利用人工智慧感測器和即時資料傳輸，提升MPA在海事監控和水文測量方面的運營效率。這也減少了人員暴露於危險環境的風險。釋放的人力可投入其他增長領域。
去年，MPA推出了新加坡海事數字孿生，這是我們港口的動態虛擬模型。我很高興宣佈，MPA將擴充套件該數字孿生，邀請行業合作伙伴參與，測試其新產品和服務，以更好地為港口使用者提供海事服務。今年將試點兩個應用案例：第一個最佳化來新加坡船舶的補給服務；第二個提升對油汙等事故的應急響應和準備能力。
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我們歡迎企業與我們合作，利用數字孿生構建其應用和模擬模型，包括人工智慧相關應用。
在採用這些新技術的同時，我們將繼續建立適當的保障措施，應對可能出現的風險。作為這些努力的一部分，MPA已推出加強網路安全培訓的專案，包括利用船載技術測試平臺培訓船舶交通管理人員。
主席先生，大海一直是創新的場所。在海事傳說中，《白鯨》常被引用為警示故事——人不可像亞哈船長那樣教條和自負，而應像以實瑪利那樣靈活且能生存。但對我而言，《白鯨》也充滿了關於導航科學和航海技術作用的啟示——我們現在難以想象，寫作時，航海者確定精確經度的能力才剛剛有90年曆史。正是約翰·哈里森發明的計時器，即使在海上也極為精準，使得經度得以繪製，航程足夠精確以追蹤靈活的鯨魚。
同樣，新加坡必須保持對新技術變革力量的敏感，掌握新任務，開闢未曾試探的航程。舊方式已逝，現在是我們用自己的計時器成為新航海家的時刻。
主席先生，即使烏雲密佈，波濤洶湧，只要我們擁有全球強大夥伴，鞏固作為可信節點的地位，培養人才，睜開眼睛擁抱技術力量，海事新加坡依然能乘風破浪。
最重要的是，只要我們銘記作為島國的歷史。大海塑造了我們的貿易和商業命運，賦予我們獨特的繁榮——只要我們勇於維護和發展，保持航海的勇氣和能力，這份繁榮將永遠屬於我們。
主席：交通部國務部長梅業成。
交通部國務部長（梅業成先生）：主席先生，我將詳細說明我們如何讓陸路交通以人為本並面向未來。新加坡人將在這段旅程中發揮重要作用。我們將共同塑造交通系統的下一階段。
我先談談《陸路交通總體規劃》的更新，然後介紹我們促進積極乘客文化和公共路徑安全的努力。
陳佩玲女士詢問陸路交通的未來以及交通部如何建設更好更安全、滿足乘客需求的陸路交通系統。
正如代理部長所述，陸路交通管理局已啟動全國範圍的公眾諮詢，更新《陸路交通總體規劃2040》。這是指導我們陸路交通系統下一階段發展的長期戰略藍圖。
為何需要更新總體規劃？因為許多新興趨勢要求我們重新審視優先事項，強化戰略。
首先，人口結構變化，如人口老齡化和人們生活方式的演變，意味著交通服務也必須發展，以滿足遠離工作地點的新住宅區的上班族、帶小孩的家庭、老人、殘障人士及其他乘客群體的需求。
氣候變化和更極端的天氣模式的影響也不可忽視。例如，我們需要持續改善交通基礎設施，使乘客儘可能舒適地步行、騎行和乘坐交通工具。
同時，我們正處於重大變革的邊緣。智慧和自動系統的進步擁有巨大潛力，改善和擴充套件我們的出行選擇。
這對交通的未來意味著什麼？自去年底啟動總體規劃更新的公眾參與以來，我們聽到了許多新加坡人的聲音。我想分享出現的“三個C”優先事項：連通性、舒適性和社群感。
為了實現第一個C，即保持新加坡人與不同出行需求的連線，我們必須繼續投資公共交通網路，以及共享和主動出行方式。
代理部長之前已更新在建新鐵路線的進展。隨著新線路和車站的建設，我們也將繼續維護和更新舊線路，以支援日益增長的需求，並確保對所有乘客包容和無障礙。
談到最後一公里的連線，我們希望在基礎設施規劃中涵蓋更多全島範圍的腳踏車和微型出行網路。這為城鎮內較短距離的出行提供了安全、便利和積極的交通選擇，例如使用腳踏車和主動出行裝置。這種方法對於像新加坡這樣密集的城市國家尤為重要且有益。
南北走廊就是一個很好的例子。隨著更多交通轉移到其地下隧道和高架橋，地面街道將騰出空間優先考慮步行、腳踏車、公交車以及公共和綠色空間。完工後，北部居民可以享受更快的通勤到市中心，以及沿走廊各地更愉快舒適的出行體驗。
第二個C是舒適。我們希望旅程舒適愉快，使公共交通繼續成為新加坡人的首選出行方式。
我們的陸路交通總體規劃參與活動的一方面是讓來自各行各業的新加坡人分享他們的日常通勤情況——不僅是關於旅行時間和連通性，還包括他們的出行體驗。
參與者談到了他們如何使用社群空間以及如何到達交通節點。正如高階國務部長孫雪玲所分享的，我們將在2030年前將“友好街道”擴充套件到所有城鎮。
議員們還詢問了支援步行的通勤基礎設施，如有蓋連廊和行人天橋。
陸路交通管理局（LTA）持續改善通往交通節點的首末公里旅程。例如，我們已經在地鐵站400米半徑範圍內設有有蓋連廊。現在，這一範圍已在我們的“友好街道”擴充套件到800米半徑。
我們還在為現有的行人天橋安裝電梯。我們已完成主要交通節點附近天橋的電梯改造，目前重點是服務更多老年人的天橋。
林秀韶女士詢問了後港四座行人天橋的電梯升級情況。主席先生，我代表代理部長確認沒有延誤。我們分階段進行天橋電梯改造。林女士提到的四座天橋屬於當前階段，該階段於去年年底開始。此階段共有100多座天橋正在升級，工程必須逐步進行。
我們將在2027年年中開始對林女士提到的其中兩座天橋施工，隨後再進行另外兩座。希望林女士對這一答覆感到滿意。
主席先生，每個專案我們都必須優先排序並逐步實施。基礎設施的建設和驗證需要時間和資源，而這些資源同樣被其他同樣重要的專案所需要。
我們的原則是：儘快惠及儘可能多的通勤者。隨著時間推移，我們將覆蓋所有已確定需要提升的地點。
最後一個C是培養社群意識。交通是一種共享體驗。一個滿足我們需求、令我們自豪的交通系統，不僅僅是政策和硬體的問題。
這還關乎我們在共享空間中日常如何相互對待，無論是在道路和公共路徑上，還是在公交車和地鐵中。
雖然我們可以改善基礎設施和硬體，但這些改變並非沒有權衡。交通空間最終是我們所有人共享的。時不時會出現需求衝突。例如，自2018年以來，LTA採購了更多設有開放空間的公交車，方便輪椅和嬰兒車停放，以滿足越來越多有多樣需求的通勤者。
但正如林秀韶女士指出的，為了騰出這些空間，LTA不得不減少座位數量。為緩解這一問題，LTA將在可行的空間內安裝可摺疊座椅。
陸路交通總體規劃的一部分工作是創造機會進行這些重要對話，讓不同需求的人們相互傾聽，並就我們交通系統共享空間背後的社會契約達成共識。
一個需要更多共識的例子是公交車上為輪椅和嬰兒車預留空間的使用。陳艾麗莎女士提出了讓公共交通對年輕家庭更具包容性的需求。對於推著開放式嬰兒車的家長，我們的公交司機也樂意應要求啟動輪椅坡道，方便他們上車。
我們也聽到家長反饋，有時公交司機會要求他們摺疊嬰兒車並抱著孩子，因為公交車擁擠且有輪椅乘客上車。
我們正在積極審視這一問題並諮詢各方利益相關者。除了增加為輪椅和嬰兒車分配的空間（這也有權衡），LTA已開展小規模運營試驗，靈活使用這些空間，並收集了初步運營見解。我們現在準備在更大範圍內測試。
從2026年4月起，在約10條服務更多輪椅或行動輔助裝置使用者及帶小孩家長的公交線路上，公交司機將按先到先得原則協助輪椅和開放式嬰兒車使用這些預留空間。根據試驗結果，我們將考慮將此做法推廣至整個網路。我們也將在即將舉行的陸路交通總體規劃諮詢中，聽取通勤者、家庭和倡導者的意見，共同尋找平衡的前進道路。
我們的目標是讓公共巴士和地鐵成為包容所有需求通勤者的空間，包括輪椅使用者和帶小孩的家長。新加坡人積極參與這場對話和體貼的通勤行為，將帶來巨大不同。
除了改善交通系統的建議，我們還聽到交通系統對新加坡人日常生活產生的積極影響，這令人鼓舞。
我們知道陸路交通是每個人生活體驗中極為個人化的一部分，也是許多人關心的問題。未來還會有更多陸路交通總體規劃的參與活動，包括學校推廣、快閃活動和專題小組討論，深入探討特定議題。
我們希望聽到您的故事和觀點，討論必要的權衡，並與您合作共創一個我們都引以為傲的交通系統。
接下來，我將談談我們培養更有禮貌和關懷的通勤文化的努力。
除了更快更便捷的旅程，確保包容性的公共交通系統同樣重要，正如陳艾麗莎女士所提。除了公共交通的可達性，我們希望每個人在乘坐公交和地鐵時都感到安全和自信。
多年來，我們已使系統更易於滿足各種需求的通勤者。我們的公共交通系統現在幾乎完全無障礙。LTA和我們的運營商也在擴大支援其他多樣需求通勤者的努力。
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舉個例子，勝安巴士在牛車水地鐵站試點了名為SiLViA的手語虛擬助理亭。該亭利用人工智慧，配備女性虛擬形象，可將口語或公共廣播翻譯成手語。
Rachel Ong小姐問是否有計劃推廣該設施。迄今為止，聽障通勤者認為該亭很有用。LTA將與勝安巴士合作，在更多地點部署該專案。
除了硬體和技術，所有通勤者都能發揮作用。“我們優先”的社會始於我們在公共交通系統中的日常互動。
排隊乘坐地鐵並讓乘客先下車，過去在這裡並非普遍習慣。然而，自2009年LTA發起“禮讓運動”並在地鐵站臺劃定排隊線後，這已成為自然而然的行為。
建立此類規範是一個持續過程。公共交通理事會定期與通勤者交流，探討如何使公共交通系統更有禮貌和包容。
他們收到的一些反饋包括，具有多樣需求的通勤者難以找到座位，尤其是當他們的狀況不明顯時。推開放式嬰兒車的通勤者有時也需在電梯前排長隊等待。
由公共交通理事會和LTA領導的“關懷新加坡通勤者運動”將啟動新活動，塑造公共交通系統中的積極行為規範。
首先，我們將在地鐵站內的優先登車門和公共交通節點的電梯處逐步設立優先排隊線。如果您使用輪椅、懷孕或帶嬰兒車，可使用這些優先排隊線等候列車或電梯。其他通勤者則鼓勵使用扶梯和樓梯，以便電梯優先供有更大需求者使用。如仍需使用電梯，請讓優先排隊者先行。
其次，我們鼓勵所有需要座位的通勤者，如孕婦或有不明顯健康狀況者，到車站和巴士換乘中心的乘客服務中心領取“助人之手”卡。我也鼓勵通勤者通過主動讓座給更需要的人，包括持有醒目黃色“助人之手”卡的人，來展現關懷。
我們還希望讓需要座位的人主動請求座位成為常態。雖然有些通勤者可能未察覺您的需求，但我相信大多數人理解並願意在禮貌請求時讓座。
最後，嚴傑理先生、林傑信先生和李慧玲女士詢問了改善行人與行動裝置使用者共用公共路徑安全使用的不同方法。
確實，我們希望鼓勵主動出行，同時確保安全。為此，我們制定規則和法規，執行監管，建設基礎設施，並通過教育和參與促進公共路徑的安全和禮貌共享。
關於燈光要求，腳踏車、電動腳踏車和個人行動裝置在晚上7點至早上7點的黑暗時段騎行時，必須配備前白燈和後紅燈，確保騎行者在夜間對行人和其他路徑使用者可見。LTA定期開展執法行動確保遵守。
關於騎行禮儀及路徑使用者的權利和責任，《公共路徑使用者行為準則》提供指導，確保和諧共享路徑。
騎行者應注意並禮讓行人。鈴鐺用於在超車前輕聲提醒，而非要求優先通行。接近公交站和公共路徑交叉口時，騎行者應減速並在必要時停車，降低與上下車乘客等其他路徑使用者發生事故的風險。
同時，行人也應保持警覺，注意來車或潛在危險，保持眼耳開放。
在可能的情況下，我們設計了基礎設施以支援安全使用和共享路徑。例如，LTA在公交站後方建設繞行路徑，將騎行者與公交乘客分開。標識、標線和減速帶提醒騎行者在公交站附近減速並禮讓行人。LTA也對超速或魯莽騎行者進行執法。
我們將繼續監測事故和公眾反饋，識別改進空間。
關於是否在提供專用替代路徑時禁止行人走腳踏車道，此前已有討論。我們不計劃禁止行人在毗鄰僅限行人路徑的腳踏車道上行走。這為作為最大使用者群的行人提供了靈活性，在安全時也可走腳踏車道。
我們的做法是明確劃分路徑，並通過教育和宣傳加強使用者對路徑安全的意識。根據行為準則，使用者應遵守各自路徑。執法人員和主動出行社群大使計劃的志願者將勸導在腳踏車道上行走的行人回到僅限行人路徑，以保障安全。主席先生，我現在用普通話說幾句話。
（普通話）：[請參閱方言發言。]自去年11月起，我們啟動了為期一年的公眾諮詢，更新陸路交通總體規劃，旨在共同探討不同的通勤需求，共同塑造未來交通系統。
過去四個月，我們收到改善交通連通性和提升旅程舒適度的建議。
大多數人期望建立更包容和關懷的通勤文化。這需要每個人盡一份力。無論您乘坐地鐵還是公共巴士，是否注意到需要座位和電梯更多的乘客，如老人、輪椅使用者、孕婦和帶嬰兒車的家長，並主動讓座？
我們也理解許多帶嬰兒車的家長乘坐公共巴士時面臨的困難。因此，我們將於今年4月啟動試點專案。在約10條公交線路上，公交司機將協助帶嬰兒車的家長和輪椅乘客使用指定空間，按先到先得原則。
有時公交車可能較為擁擠。我鼓勵乘客彼此理解，幫助有需要的人。您今天伸出的援手，實際上是在為您家人和親人的未來需求鋪路。
相互禮讓和關懷的精神也應延伸至公共道路使用。為確保不同使用者如行人和個人行動裝置使用者的安全，LTA已實施相關法規並最佳化道路基礎設施。我們將繼續開展公眾教育和執法，打擊危險和違法行為。
希望大家在使用共享路徑時更加小心，不把安全留給偶然，解決分歧時保持禮讓，互相關照。
（英語）：主席先生，最後，我們將繼續與新加坡同胞攜手合作，提升陸路交通系統和通勤文化，確保其面向未來，滿足人民多樣化需求。
主席：我們還有時間進行澄清。田佩玲女士。
田佩玲女士：謝謝主席。有兩個問題。
一是聽說今年晚些時候會對配額證（COE）制度進行審查。我想問是否有具體時間表可以期待。
第二是關於整體陸路交通，涉及人口老齡化和基礎設施老化的影響。隨著人口老齡化，需求自然增加。更多有蓋人行道，如果較長，可能需要沿途設定長椅，天橋需要電梯等等。這些需求會增加。
關於老化基礎設施，隨著時間推移，顯然需要維護，甚至翻新或重建。這會增加成本。我想了解這類成本隨時間增長的趨勢，包括建設和生命週期維護成本，以及長期是否可持續。如果可持續或不可持續，我們將如何應對？
蕭志傑先生：主席，我先回答第一個問題，貝殷慶國務部長將回答第二個。
關於COE審查，我打算立即啟動。我們需要用餘下時間進行諮詢。正如貝殷慶國務部長所述，這將作為陸路交通總體規劃的一部分。希望今年年底能有某種結論。
貝殷慶：正如田女士提到，隨著人口需求變化，我們的基礎設施需跟上需求。比如天橋電梯，我們當前階段已有100多座天橋電梯改造，這是第四階段。我們現在重點關注服務更多老年人的地點。
這可能需要幾年時間，正如我們之前在議會提到，天橋安裝一對電梯並不簡單。需考慮地下管線可能受影響等多種因素，確實需要時間和資源。
議員指出，不僅是建設，還要後續維護電梯。
第四階段之後是否有第五階段及後續階段？確實有議員要求在其轄區的天橋安裝電梯。我相信，新加坡大約有700多座天橋。我認為我們不可能在所有天橋安裝電梯，或者以此理由改善所有基礎設施以滿足所有人口需求。
我認為交通部和陸路交通管理局將逐一評估請求，制定策略，儘快滿足儘可能多通勤者的需求，正如我演講中提到的。這是平衡不同需求，審慎管理資源的過程，同時考慮建設成本和後續維護成本。
我們一定會確保無論建造什麼設施，都能得到妥善維護。我們呼籲公眾和通勤者正確使用這些設施，確保它們能長久使用，這樣我們就不需要頻繁進行維修或翻新。我相信，採取這種方式，我們將能夠及時滿足我們日益老齡化人口的需求。
主席：貝國輝國務部長，我的選區也有不少公共辦公樓（POB），所以不要忘了我的。洪偉能先生。
洪偉能先生：主席，我有兩個澄清。首先，我們很高興部長向我們保證，交通部正在努力建立更明確的標準，以區分A類和B類汽車擁車證（COE）。同時，我想澄清一下A類COE供應量減少的問題。交通部是否仍然承諾在2024年增加總COE供應量2萬個？
如果是這樣，交通部是否可以考慮利用新的配額重新平衡A類和B類COE的供應，至少在未來12個月內採取這種做法？這種方法有助於在等待交通部年底前審查A類和B類COE標準期間，調節A類COE的價格。
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其次，我們很高興交通部也計劃提升巴士司機的薪酬和工作條件，以吸引更多本地居民加入巴士行業。我們想詢問交通部是否會增加公共交通補貼，以確保這些措施不會導致交通票價上漲？
蕭志成先生：主席，正如洪先生所指出的，我們計劃在未來幾年內注入多達2萬個額外的COE。該計劃保持不變。前提是總行駛里程下降，我們利用ERP 2.0管理擁堵的能力將得到增強。因此，這些理由依然有效；我們將在未來幾年繼續注入這些COE。
我們一直基於一定的方法論進行操作，包括通過“切割與填充”重新分配保證的登出量，然後再進行注入。目標是整體平滑COE配額供應。
至於是否要引入另一個引數，即重新平衡A類和B類COE，我們會評估，但我對引入過多引數持謹慎態度。正如一位議員，應該是謝志強先生所說，在執行過程中，我們不希望增加太多不確定性、變數，從而對市場造成過大擾動。因此，我們會評估，但我初步認為可能性不大。
關於第二個問題，即巴士司機，我們正在與工會及巴士營運商討論如何提高新招巴士司機的起薪。我認為政府準備看看能做些什麼，為系統提供更多支援。但我想指出，事實上政府已經投入大量資源支援巴士網路的財政可持續性。
我提到過巴士連通性提升計劃，這是一次重大資金注入。總體而言，政府每年向巴士網路投入約十億新元補貼。因此，支援力度已經很大。我們必須整體考慮巴士網路的財政可持續性，以便持續以可持續速度發展網路，同時將薪資納入維護網路的整體成本。
主席：梁榮華先生。
梁榮華先生：先生，我相信政治任命官員還沒有回應我關於交通擁堵的質詢，所以我想請教部長，是不是因為他不同意我說的交通擁堵惡化，或者不同意我提出的非價格手段解決交通擁堵？
所以，我請部長重新考慮我在質詢中提出的建議，即我們是否可以最佳化交通訊號系統，許多國家都這麼做；以及如何讓它更具響應性。這可能是一個非常有價值的人工智慧應用案例。
其次，我提到如何更快速清理事故車輛。這其實不是高基礎設施專案，是可以管理和執行的。只需要制定政策，比如“必須在一定時間內清理交通，必須有足夠的拖車”等等。我希望部長能給我一個更鼓舞人心的回應。
蕭志成先生：謝謝主席。首先，我要向梁榮華先生道歉，因為他發表了很多關於交通的精彩建議，而我未能一一回應。但他提出澄清，給了我機會更全面地回應他的好建議。
首先，我想向他保證，他非常關心交通擁堵問題，擔心電子道路收費（ERP）會是首選。答案是：不用擔心，ERP絕不是我們的首選。大多數情況下，ERP總是最後的手段，尤其是ERP 1.0的門架建設難度大且成本高；即使是ERP 2.0，我也想向議員保證，我們只有在真正必要時才會使用道路收費。這是第一點。
關於技術應用，我認為梁先生舉了很多例子，我同意他的看法，利用人工智慧管理交通訊號系統，確實能顯著提升交通流暢度。事實上，陸路交通管理局（LTA）正在探索這方面的技術。他們最近向我展示了一個名為CRUISE的專案，雖然我不知道這個縮寫具體含義，但看起來很合理。如果梁先生感興趣，我樂意找時間與他分享。
還有一些其他建議，比如在吉寶路建設雙層高速公路，梁先生也提過。我認為這不太可能實施。我想起波士頓這座城市，我在那裡待過一段時間。他們有個“大挖掘”工程——不知道你是否熟悉。他們花了多年時間和大量資金把雙層高速公路埋進地下。如今波士頓變得更宜居，我作為學生時曾開車經過那裡，可以告訴你，那段經歷並不愉快，更重要的是，這條高速公路把海濱和市區分隔開來。所以，我們儘可能不想在這裡做類似的事情。
梁先生還提到物流問題。我們確實會與業界合作，努力改善新加坡的物流，使貨物運輸更順暢。事實上，交通部和貿易及工業部（MTI）一直在共同制定更連貫的物流戰略。我想在適當時候會向議會更新進展。
最後，關於交通清理。實際上，高速公路監控與諮詢系統（EMAS）已經做得相當不錯。如今，他們平均用15分鐘清理高速公路上的擁堵或事故，然後讓交通順暢通行。通常，清理輕微事故後，交通恢復正常大約需要半小時到一小時。但對於涉及死亡的嚴重事故，則需要更多時間，這時會出現更嚴重的擁堵。因此，從表現來看，已經不差，但我同意梁先生的看法，我們應利用技術加快處理速度，減少事故影響。
主席：我看到梁先生現在表情更為鼓舞。蔡慶偉先生。
蔡慶偉先生：謝謝主席。關於電動車充電樁，我有一個澄清問題。交通部之前說過，到2025年，每個組屋停車場將設有3至12個充電點，但我關心的不是截止時間，而是充電樁數量的承載能力。因為我看到的大多數多層停車場通常只有三個7.4千瓦的充電樁。所以我想了解，最初升級電力基礎設施的招標中，最大支援的功率容量或充電站數量是多少？
我們經常收到的反饋是，增加充電位受限於電力容量，似乎短期內不太可能在每個多層停車場達到12個充電點。
孫雪玲女士：感謝議員的澄清。我們起步時，至少在每個組屋停車場部署了三個充電點。我之前的回覆中提到，90%的停車場已達到這一標準。未來，我們會關注充電技術的發展，這也是我演講中提到將採用慢充和快充混合的原因。
我想借此機會談談快充樞紐的部署順序。我提到我們計劃在每個組屋鎮設立一個快充樞紐，儘可能利用現有停車場的備用容量。對於未來的部署批次，我們也在與貿易及工業部（MTI）和能源市場管理局（EMA）合作，最佳化電網，減少昂貴的電網升級。
因此，我們看待充電基礎設施時，應整體考慮。未來應是慢充和快充的混合，我們也在關注超快充電樞紐。
主席：謝志強先生。
謝志強先生：謝謝主席。我的第一個澄清問題給部長。感謝他對我關於COE改革建議的接受。我想確認，他提到可能基於OMV系統，同時考慮合併A類和B類為單一競標類別？我能否確認這也在考慮範圍內？第二，關於諮詢工作，能否分享通常會邀請哪些利益相關者參與？
第二個澄清給孫國務部長。您提到每個組屋鎮設一個快充點，且每鎮約有六個充電點。但通常一個組屋鎮有約1萬至1.2萬輛車。我想了解充電點數量的充足性預測，您提到與JTC和EMA合作改善，當前限制是什麼，計劃如何解決，以便擴大每個組屋鎮的快充點數量？
第三個澄清給穆拉里國務部長。很高興聽到海事部門為新加坡人提供了良好的就業機會，祝賀今天在場的年輕學者。我想問，未來有哪些計劃提高年輕新加坡人對海事行業就業機會的認識？特別是，畢業生行業實習計劃（GRIT）的當前參與率如何？是否有擴大GRIT計劃的空間，讓更多年輕人接觸海事行業，抓住機會？
蕭志成先生：謝謝主席。我先回答謝先生的第一個問題，然後請兩位國務部長回答後兩個問題。
首先，我確認我們確實會具體考慮謝先生的建議，即基於OMV系統，同時考慮將A類和B類合併為單一競標類別。
我們需要研究如何實施，因為區分大眾市場汽車類別和高階汽車類別可能仍有一定價值。我們會探討如何操作，但他的想法非常有趣，我們很樂意在尋求更穩定的分類系統時加以探索。
至於諮詢物件，我們會諮詢多方利益相關者，顯然包括潛在和現有的汽車買家。我們也會諮詢業界，包括汽車經銷商、製造商及其他行業觀察者。
我們還會諮詢學術界，因為COE系統涉及拍賣，拍賣理論發展成熟，學者們對此有見解，我們也樂意聽取他們的意見。
孫雪玲女士：關於議員的第二個問題，我們的限制主要是電力基礎設施。我想分享，我們已啟動第一階段升級，惠及約450個組屋多層停車場，預計2029年左右完成。
未來的部署批次，為實現謝志強先生提到的目標數字，我們正與MTI和EMA合作，最佳化電網，減少昂貴的電網升級，看看還能做些什麼。
穆拉里·皮萊先生：先生，感謝謝議員對我們吸引年輕人才努力的肯定。關於GRIT計劃，即實習專案，海事部門的優勢是有大量職位空缺。因此，年輕人自然傾向於直接申請工作，而非通過實習。海事部門尚未參與GRIT計劃。
至於未來措施，我在發言中提到，我們與新加坡海事基金會、理工學院、三方夥伴及工會緊密合作。舉個例子，我不久前提到一位女士，Valerie Thai，她曾是律師事務所的法律助理，後來在新加坡海事官員工會和就業能力學院舉辦的展覽會上，決定成為海員。我們盡力吸引年輕人才進入海事行業。
下午6點45分
主席：還有五位議員舉手，我會盡量讓大家都有機會發言，請各位充分表達自己的觀點，也顧及他人。薄麗珊女士。
薄麗珊女士：謝謝主席。請問自動駕駛車輛試驗的最新進展如何？除了榜鵝試驗區，還有一個在濱海灣和申頓路區域。該區域車流繁忙，如果試驗出現問題，如何應對交通擁堵？
蕭志成先生：主席，我在發言中簡要更新過。我們將在這兩個區域推出自動駕駛巴士。我提到過兩個巴士線路號，但現在記不清了。應該是濱海灣400多路，申頓路100多路。預計今年下半年推出。
主席：阿扎爾·奧斯曼先生。
阿扎爾·奧斯曼先生：這個問題給代理部長。他提到摩托車共享道路空間。大約有14萬輛摩托車，如果我沒記錯，其中7萬輛是從關卡進入新加坡的。幾乎一半來自對岸。可是他們不繳納COE，也不繳納路稅。我們如何合理解釋新加坡人繳納高額費用，卻與對岸摩托車共享道路？
蕭志成先生：謝謝主席。首先，我非常理解這個關切。我們經常聽到新加坡摩托車騎士提出是否公平對待的問題。這就是為什麼我們有車輛入境許可（VEP）和貨車許可（GVP）制度。
其理念是，馬來西亞摩托車進入新加坡時需繳納費用，以平衡成本。費用設定使得外國註冊車輛在新加坡的擁有和使用成本與本地車輛相當。我們對汽車收費，對摩托車也收取類似但較低的費用。
陸交局和交通部會定期審查這項費用，實際上，我們計劃從2027年起大幅提高費用，恰逢快速鐵路系統（RTS）開通。
此外，針對本地摩托車，政府已實行較低的註冊附加費（ARF）、較低的路稅，甚至電子道路收費（ERP）對摩托車的收費也低於其他車輛型別。
這體現了摩托車雖未完全佔用與汽車相同的道路空間，但仍佔用部分道路空間，造成一定程度的擁堵，因此必須合理定價，妥善考慮外部成本。
主席：嚴彥松先生。
嚴彥松先生：先生，我很高興聽到代理部長希望縮短公共交通的長時間通勤。但他也會理解，時間並非唯一影響良好通勤體驗的因素。長達一小時以上且全程站立的通勤，對背部和腿部都很不易。
正如資深國務部長孫先生所說，限制因素不是巴士，而是巴士司機，陸路交通管理局（LTA）能否在使用率高的路線，尤其是高峰時段，部署更多雙層巴士或鉸接巴士，以便通勤者在乘車時能有座位，或者至少不會因為巴士已滿而錯過？
蕭先生：謝謝主席。我完全同意。我認為我們的目標是儘可能多地部署雙層巴士。
稍作解釋，我們仍然有一批遺留的單層巴士。我經常被問到，“為什麼高峰時段還在派單層巴士？”對此我經常收到很多憤怒的郵件。原因其實是這些單層巴士是額外增加的。我先派出所有雙層巴士，然後在高峰時段，我還會派出所有可用的單層巴士。因此，當人們看到單層巴士時不喜歡，但實際上這是增加的車輛，而不是減少的。
其次，關於電動巴士，剛開始購買時，大多數是單層巴士。由於新加坡需要定製巴士，我們不得不等待一段時間，雙層電動巴士才開始投入運營。因此，在此期間，我們購買了一些單層電動巴士以啟動電氣化程序。這就是為什麼新加坡仍有相當新的單層電動巴士。
當然，我們希望儘可能多地使用雙層高容量巴士，因為它們最有效率，節省空間，並減少對巴士司機的依賴，因為一名司機駕駛雙層巴士的效益遠高於駕駛單層巴士。
這些原因外人難以察覺，但我希望議員和公眾理解為何今天路上仍有單層巴士。
主席：陳女士。
陳女士：謝謝主席。鑑於自2020年以來，北南走廊施工區沿線居民不得不忍受多次道路改道和交通中斷，包括瑪麗蒙立交橋持續關閉以及碧山-新明地區連續的道路重組，北南走廊從蓮塘大道至市區的隧道段目前的施工時間表是怎樣的？陸路交通管理局採取了哪些措施以儘量減少在2029年前剩餘施工期間對居民和道路使用者的進一步干擾？
我的第二個問題是，我歡迎推廣在巴士和地鐵上主動請求座位的做法，尤其是針對長者、孕婦和那些不易被察覺的病患。鼓勵乘客表達需求有助於建立更有禮貌和響應性的公共交通文化。
同時，我們也看到海外發生過因優先座位爭執升級為衝突的事件，比如臺灣一例，一名女子平靜地將購物袋遞給另一乘客，隨後在對方要求她讓座時，竟踢了一位過道對面的長者。
在推廣主動請求座位的同時，部委將如何確保乘客教育強調相互尊重，並對攻擊性或自以為是的行為零容忍？
孫雪玲女士：感謝議員的澄清。關於她提問的時間表，我稍後會具體回覆。但關於施工帶來的不便，我們確實認識到這會干擾居民、通勤者和司機，我們也持續尋求居民的耐心和理解。
請記住，我們最終目的是提升交通連通性，縮短通勤者和司機的出行時間。施工開始前，陸路交通管理局通常會進行評估，確定現有道路網路是否可以改進。
陸路交通管理局及其承包商也會與相關利益相關者及施工附近居民密切合作，儘量減少對他們的影響。若某些施工階段需要額外的道路或車道關閉，會盡量安排在非高峰時段進行，以避免給居民帶來更多不便。
主席：我們接近截止時間，最後兩項澄清。抱歉，馬恩慶國務部長，我忘了第二部分。
馬恩慶先生：謝謝陳女士的澄清。確實，為了讓我們的通勤體驗愉快舒適，每位乘客都扮演著角色。無論是需要幫助的人還是能提供幫助的人，我們都希望將主動請求座位成為常態，不僅限於優先座位，任何座位都可以為更需要的人讓出。
我們有“關懷乘客”運動，有關懷乘客大使，也有禮讓運動。我們將繼續努力培養公共交通上的禮貌和關懷文化。希望通過教育，培養新一代乘客，孩子們也能影響父母和長輩更加體貼其他乘客。
主席：有新加坡友善運動，讓我們都更友善。陳立豐先生。
陳立豐先生：謝謝主席。我不確定我關於公寓覆蓋連廊的提問是否得到充分回應。
我想請國務部長具體回答關於公寓需要覆蓋連廊協助的情況，包括在無人區連線到最近巴士站的情況？還有我建議城市重建局（URA）和陸路交通管理局在規劃許可階段，強制開發商提供通往最近公共交通節點的遮蔽連通設施？
馬恩慶先生：我想向議員更新，目前對於即將開發的公寓專案，若單位超過700戶且距離地鐵站400米內，開發商必須在申請開發時提交步行-騎行-乘車計劃。若需要覆蓋連廊連線居民與附近交通節點，城市重建局將與陸路交通管理局合作，要求開發商在規劃審批時建造這些覆蓋連廊。這適用於新開發專案。
我知道對於已有的公寓或社群，尤其是建於此要求之前，可能存在挑戰。陸路交通管理局的規劃中，您可能知道我們已在交通節點內提供連廊和覆蓋連廊，覆蓋範圍包括400米、800米的友好街區等。但若土地屬於其他機構，如他提到的公共事業局（PUB），陸路交通管理局會協助與相關利益方溝通。若在公共事業局土地上，必須獲得其批准。我們必須尊重相關機構對土地的評估，可能存在排水或水管等設施，若要挖掘建造覆蓋連廊，需考慮技術因素。
我知道議員一直推動某個特定公寓，Parc Vera（柏雅苑），如果我沒記錯的話。該公寓目前不符合陸路交通管理局的要求，因為沒有從住宅樓到側門的內部覆蓋連廊——這必須先建成，陸路交通管理局才會考慮連線到巴士站或交通節點。
這些問題需要逐步解決。陸路交通管理局樂意調查此事，若議員能提交國會質詢，我們可以提供更多細節。
主席：關於此事，請問陳女士是否願意撤回修正案？
下午6時58分
陳佩玲女士：非常感謝大家。我請求撤回我的修正案。
[(程式文本) 修正案，經許可，撤回。 (程式文本)]
[(程式文本) 3,109,174,200元撥款列入主要預算。 (程式文本)]
[(程式文本) 13,306,280,300元撥款列入發展預算。 (程式文本)]
英文原文
SPRS Hansard · Fetched: 2026-05-02
The Chairman : Head W, Ministry of Transport (MOT). Ms Tin Pei Ling.
3.43 pm
Global Connectivity for Strategic Future
Ms Tin Pei Ling (Marine Parade-Braddell Heights) : Chairman, I move, “That the total sum allocated to Head W of the Estimates be reduced by $100”.
Our connection to the world is imperative to our nation's relevance and economic vibrancy. As a small, open city‑state, Singapore's prosperity rests on strong links to other countries and global hubs. To sustain that advantage, we must maintain state‑of‑the‑art air, sea and land nodes with the capacity and flexibility to handle current needs and future demand.
To that end, Singapore is making significant, long‑term investments, as we have observed in Budgets past and present. In terms of hard infrastructure, a colossal Terminal 5 (T5) is being built, larger than several of our existing terminals combined and the Tuas Mega Port is expanding in phases, with full completion expected in the 2040s. These projects are designed to position Singapore as a continuing nexus for people, goods and information flows.
If delivered well, these projects will help Singapore attract capital, talent and advanced technology. More importantly, create new opportunities for our businesses and generate good jobs for Singaporeans. Improving lives must remain the ultimate objective of these investments.
Yet, we must also recognise these are multi-decade projects, consuming substantial public resources. They were planned in a different global environment that has become more volatile and uncertain. Recent years have seen abrupt tariff barriers, supply chain restructuring and "hot wars" that disrupted energy and critical material supplies. Such shocks can re‑route trade and people flows, sometimes rapidly. Singapore will not be insulated from these shifts.
Therefore, I have the following questions to raise.
3.45 pm
First, demand and relevance. How confident are we that T5, Tuas Port and other major projects are being built to meet lasting real demand? What assurance do we have that these assets will remain relevant to the region and the world by the time construction completes? And what mechanisms are in place to adjust project pace, scope and costs as global macro conditions evolve, so as to minimise fiscal and strategic risk? Can we stage or modularise delivery so that we can accelerate to capture upside, or slow and recalibrate to limit downside? What contingencies are in place to manage cost escalation and preserve value for taxpayers?
Third, timing and capability. Can the Ministry update the House on the current status of T5 and the Tuas port development? Are we on track to capture near‑term opportunities, and where feasible, can delivery be accelerated without compromising quality, safety or long‑term flexibility?
Turning to our maritime sector specifically, capacity and connectivity, measured in twenty-foot equivalents (TEUs) and port calls, are critical determinants of competitiveness. When Tuas is completed, how will it materially boost Singapore's throughput, connectivity and service propositions? What economic impact does the Ministry project in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) contribution, value‑added services and the types of jobs and livelihoods it can create for Singaporeans? In anticipation of these opportunities, what targeted programmes will be in place to cultivate and sustain a pipeline of maritime talent?
We must also prepare our infrastructure for the digital age. The Next‑Generation Port at Tuas is a good example. Leveraging frontier technologies – automation, advanced sensors, predictive analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) – will keep our infrastructure globally competitive. But we must deploy technology responsibly to augment productivity while managing workforce transitions and reskilling needs.
Hence, we must actively contemplate how technology should be leveraged to advance Singapore's connectivity and economic advantage. To this end, the Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) for Transport plans to move a substantive Motion later this year, likely in July.
In closing, global connectivity is a strategic choice that must be actively maintained, future‑proofed and made inclusive. We should build fast enough and well enough to capture value, but also flexible enough to anticipate any macro-shocks. At the same time, we must also always be prudent to adapt and protect public interest. Chairman, I beg to move.
[(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)]
The Chairman : Ms Tin Pei Ling, your second cut.
Future of Land Transport
Ms Tin Pei Ling : Land transport touches every Singaporean's daily life. It shapes how we work, learn, care for family and participate in our community. Over the years, our land transport system has become markedly more efficient, reliable and more integrated.
Heavy investment in public transport – expanding the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) network, modernising trains and signalling, upgrading bus fleets and developing integrated transport hubs just to name a few – has boosted capacity and improved connectivity. These upgrades have made multimodal journeys smoother and helped shift commuters towards public and active modes.
Looking ahead, technology advancement, demographic change and evolving lifestyles mean our land transport must continue to adapt. Regardless of on foot or on wheels, commuters expect more choice, faster first‑mile and last‑mile connections, and a system that is safe, inclusive and resilient.
Hence, I would like to ask what concrete plans is MOT implementing to build a more reliable, user-centric, inclusive and safer land transport system that meets these changing commuter needs? Specifically, what measures will be introduced or scaled up to expand first‑ and last‑mile options?
Infrastructure also ages. Renewal and expansion therefore go hand in hand. How is MOT balancing the urgent task of refreshing ageing assets, while delivering new lines and capacity? What governance and funding approaches are in place to ensure upgrades are timely, cost‑effective and minimise commuter disruption during works?
Technology will reshape transport operations and service delivery. One certainty is a rise in electric vehicles (EVs) as we decarbonise; another is growing trials and deployments of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs).
In support of greener, smarter mobility, what is MOT doing to boost the capacity, availability and reliability of supporting infrastructure, ranging from EV charging networks, grid readiness, interoperable payment and telematics standards, and AV‑ready roadside systems? How is MOT coordinating with other agencies and industry to ensure sufficient power, standards for fast charging, and effective communications to support mass EV and AV adoption?
As more technology is deployed, the transformation of land transport is something to look forward to. As sensors and connected systems, including increasingly intelligent EVs and AVs, share real time data, smart road and traffic management becomes feasible, enabling tighter coordination and more accurate traffic prediction. This should deliver smoother, more predictable journeys and materially improve the road user experience.
On that note, an extensive deployment of AVs could significantly change vehicle population and ownership patterns. If AV fleets increase shared mobility and ride‑pooling, we may see pressure to reduce private car use. Conversely, easier door‑to‑door transport could increase vehicle kilometres travelled.
The Certificate of Entitlement (COE) is a critical policy lever used to manage car population and road demand. How does MOT anticipate AV adoption affect the medium‑ to long‑term design of the COE system and other ownership controls? Are there plans to recalibrate demand management, for example, differentiated measures for shared AV fleets versus privately owned vehicles?
I look forward to a land transport that anticipates future demands and is user centric. One with flexible infrastructure that can adapt to uncertainty. Technology effectively deployed to enhance commuter experience and demand management tools designed to reflect changing mobility patterns.
The Chairman : Mr Sharael Taha, kindly deliver both your cuts together.
Singapore Aviation Growth Strategy
Mr Sharael Taha (Pasir Ris-Changi) : Thank you, Mr Chairman. Mr Chairman, if we take a step back and imagine and examine the scale of what is being built at T5, including the Changi East Urban District, this is not merely an airport expansion.
This is economic architecture, with T5 adding capacity of 15 million passengers annually, and the Changi East Industrial Zone expanding cargo from three to 5.4 million tonnes annually, complemented by Airport Logistics Park 2, Tampines Logistics Park, Changi South, Pasir Ris, Wafer Fab Park, Seletar Aerospace Park, the maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) operations in Changi and in Loyang, and enhanced connectivity via the Loyang Viaduct. Singapore is assembling one of the world's most integrated aviation aerospace semiconductor logistics platforms.
But infrastructure alone does not create the advantage, ecosystems do. The Changi East Urban District must evolve into a next generation aerotropolis, integrating advanced MRO, sustainable aviation fuels, digital aviation services and AI-driven logistics command centres linked with Changi Business Park and Loyang Industrial Estate, this becomes a seamless innovation to production to export corridor.
Connectivity must also extend beyond air to the Tanah Merah ferry terminal and integration with the Johor Singapore Special Economic Zone and Batam-Bintan-Karimun Free Trade Zone. Singapore can anchor high value functions, capital, intellectual property (IP), AI, finance and advanced manufacturing orchestration, while Johor and the Riau Islands can provide industrial scale and energy depth under the Sijori framework.
The national AI mission can be the force multiplier, enabling cross border smart factories, optimising multimodal flows, embedding trade finance, and strengthening regional medical and bio manufacturing supply chains. The strategic question is how we elevate this infrastructure expansion into a coordinated AI-enabled economic engine that generates high value jobs, anchors capital and secures competitiveness for many decades in the East and Northeast districts in Singapore.
And critically, how can MOT work hand in hand with the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Digital Development and Information, the Ministry of Manpower and the Ministry of Finance, and our regional counterparts to orchestrate, not just merely coordinate this ecosystem transformation at national scale?
Manpower for Aviation and Maritime
As Singapore strengthens its position as a global logistics hub, I will seek clarification on three areas.
First, with expanding air and sea connectivity, are we keeping pace with manpower needs in aviation and maritime, and building a strong local pipeline for higher value roles? And also, what progress have the One Aviation Manpower Programme and Maritime Cluster Fund made in attracting and developing talent? Ultimately, growth must translate into good jobs, stronger skills and real opportunities for Singaporeans.
Women in Aviation
Ms Poh Li San (Sembawang West) : Mr Chairman, when I became a pilot at 18, I was a minority because there were not too many women pilots in the Air Force. Today, there are more of us, but we are still very much the minority, not just in the Air Force, but across the skies.
Mr Chairman, I must say that, from my experience as a search and rescue pilot, aviation as a career choice was the adventure of a lifetime and something I will not exchange for the world. But it is also a very personal choice. Hence, I target my speech not at setting a target or a quota of women in aviation, but as offering more opportunities and possibilities in our vibrant and world class air hub.
First, I would like to ask for some figures. What is the representation of women in senior leadership in our aviation industry? We know that it is very likely to be in the minority, but there is a large difference between 1% and 20%.
Second, I would like to offer some figures. The aviation industry is at sunrise. The global outlook is very bright. Global passenger traffic looks to double by 2040. Aviation hubs in the region are now racing to increase their runway and terminal capacities, following the slowdown during the pandemic period. Changi Airport will increase its capacity by another 50 million passengers per annum when T5 is ready around the middle of next decade.
But we are not only ones by a long shot. Hong Kong International Airport is building its third runway. India, the world's most populous country, has built 75 new airports in the past decade and is set to build another 70 new airports soon. China will build more than 200 new airports by 2035.
Third, I would like to say what this means for us. In July 2025, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) announced a 200 million One Aviation Manpower Fund to attract, develop and retain the aviation workforce. Given that the aviation sector is growing so quickly and that it is also very male dominant, what steps is MOT taking to attract talents, especially young women graduates in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Airline pilots, aeronautical engineers, ground hand operators, air traffic controllers, airport planners – there are many opportunities, many openings for young women, aviation professionals, and more women are taking up these roles recently.
These are good jobs in the blue sky. In the Asia Pacific region, Singapore has a conducive ecosystem to grow a strong network of women aviation professionals. We are leading Regional Aviation Hub with a thriving and well-connected airport, a major global air cargo hub, and a well-established MRO ecosystem. There are many jobs in these organisations, ranging from airlines, airports, cargo and logistics companies, as well as aircraft manufacturers and maintenance companies.
Of course, ensuring that women land well in aviation is not the work of Government alone. A culture shift is needed if we are to change from a male dominated working environment into a more inclusive one.
Let me cite two examples in the frontline roles, such as flying, ground handling and aircraft maintenance and repair operations. Considerations, such as the proper provision of basic amenities and facilities such as women's restrooms cannot be taken for granted. In addition, human resources (HR) policies during pregnancy and maternity periods must also be well considered, as well as scholarship and internship opportunities.
Again, the Government does not have to do this alone. There are groups in aviation, such as “Women Aviation International SG Chapter”, formed recently in 2021 to connect women professionals in aviation, providing mentoring support and offer scholarship opportunities.
Here, I declare my interest as an advisor to this organisation and an employee in the aviation industry. I would like to ask the Minister how MOT can work with such organisations as well as aviation companies and institutes of higher learning (IHLs) to attract more women into this sector.
The Chairman : Kindly wrap up.
Ms Poh Li San : Today, only about 20% of the workforce in the aviation sector are women. With an expanding industry and increased demand for skilled labour, the sky is the limit. For all of us, men and women who find their passion in aviation.
Autonomous Vehicle Deployment
Ms Yeo Wan Ling (Punggol) : Chairman, my Punggol residents are watching the autonomous shuttle pilots with keen interest. These trials are an important step in understanding how AV services may eventually integrate into our wider public transport ecosystem, particularly in strengthening first- and last-mile connectivity.
4.00 pm
At the same time, residents have practical questions. Cost is one. As AV services scale, will they remain affordable as part of daily commuting or are they a premium option? Confidence is another. Will there be deeper engagements with different groups, including seniors, who may feel uncertain about travelling in AVs? Adoption is not only about technology readiness, but public readiness.
On the regulatory front, clarity is still needed. In the event of a malfunction or incident, where does liability lie? Will human operators or safety drivers be expected to bear responsibilities when system failures occur? We must also be honest that the workforce implications remain unsettled, especially for our bus captain and point-to-point (P2P) drivers.
We have yet to clearly define what new AV-related roles will look like, what fair compensation should be and how career pathways may evolve from today's driving and technical maintenance roles into future AV jobs.
As I had earlier highlighted in my Budget debate clarifications, while it is important for us to embrace new technologies, this must be done in a way that does not disrupt livelihoods. I therefore urge operators to work closely with our unions within our tripartite framework to co-create fair AV career pathways and ensure workers are supported through this transition. Progress should strengthen both our public system and our people.
The Chairman : Mr Louis Chua, please take your two cuts together.
Accelerating Autonomous Vehicle Roll-out
Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis (Sengkang) : Chairman, research and small scale testing of AVs for use on urban roads in Singapore has been going on for quite a while now. With one of the earliest research and trials on the roads in one-north in partnership with nuTonomy. Another trial under the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) was started at one-north as well, sometime in 2014, this one under the Singapore Autonomous Vehicle Initiative.
In 2015, the MOT signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to further expand trials on AV with PSA Singapore and another with the Sentosa Development Corporation and ST Engineering, which I was lucky enough to experience myself.
There have been various other trials since then and fast forward to 2025, a 17-member committee chaired by the Acting Minister was formed to look at the roll-out of AVs on Singapore roads. Today, in 2026, a small number of vehicles are now involved in trials in the residential district in Punggol and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) plans to procure six autonomous buses with operations beginning in mid-2026 for an initial period of three years.
In comparison, in this time, the AV industry in places like China and the US has boomed, with their biggest players, Pony AI, WeRide and Waymo already running fully driverless commercial services in the cities they are operating in. Waymo has around 2,500 vehicles today and targets at least 10,000 vehicles and one million robotaxi rides a week. Pony AI aims for more than 3,000 vehicles by 2026, similar to WeRide.
Countries in the Middle East are also showing markedly faster implementation of AVs. The Dubai Autonomous Transportation Strategy aims to have 25% of the total transportation in Dubai to be autonomous by 2030. Saudi Arabia's Transport General Authority has set a target for 25% of all goods transport vehicles to be fully autonomous by 2030.
Additionally, according to SMRT, our public bus system is struggling to hire bus captains, especially from our local manpower pool. AVs as buses would ease the pressure on this issue, yet despite numerous trials all across the island. Singapore's AV roll-out is still in the trial phase about 12 years on. Beyond stating that Singapore will have, and I quote, "many autonomous vehicles in Singapore" in five years' time, can the MOT provide numerical targets for our AV ambition?
As my colleague Mr Gerald Giam shared more than a decade ago in 2015, Singapore is in an excellent position to lead the world in the adoption of driverless cars. But we must ensure that legislation promotes and does not inhibit the test-bedding and public use of these vehicles. I hope we will be able to accelerate AV roll-out in Singapore, especially for buses given the severe shortage of drivers.
Accelerating EV Fast Charger Roll-out
As part of Singapore's net-zero goal, Singapore aims to reduce land transport emissions and the electrification of vehicles is one of the key initiatives to help Singapore achieve this target.
One of the key pillars of the roadmap is the deployment of EV charging infrastructure. In response to my Parliamentary Question in February this year, I understand that Singapore currently has around 28,300 charging points. The vast majority, about 88%, are alternating current-based, of which about 50% have a low power rating of 7.4 kilowatts (kW) and below. The majority of TotalEnergies' chargers, which represented 13% of Singapore's charging stations before they were taken over, are rated at 3.7 kW, which is the slowest among those accessible publicly, which take up to 16 hours to charge a typical EV.
Comparatively, only about 11% of chargers deployed have direct current, of which most of the DC chargers can qualify as "fast chargers". Where typical AC chargers, typically take four to eight hours for a full charge, DC fast chargers can bring a battery to 80% in just 30 to 45 minutes, based on a May 2024 article by SP Group.
I wish to highlight however, that technology has advanced rapidly in this space. In March 2025, BYD announced its super e-platform, which provides a 400-kilometre range in just five minutes of charging. BYD is now rolling out such megawatt level charging infrastructure in China. For comparison, 1,000 kW is about one MW and this is 135 times higher vs the 7.4 kW typically found in Singapore.
This distinction matters enormously. LTA has already recognised that high-powered fast chargers will be needed to meet the needs of high-mileage users, particularly taxis and commercial fleets. Of all cars registered in 2025, 45% are already electric.
Currently, it is typical for a Housing and Development Board (HDB) multi-storey car park to have only three slow chargers. As EV adoption grows beyond early adopters, everyday residents will find this increasingly inadequate. I strongly urge the Government to accelerate the roll-out of EV fast chargers and/or to increase the number of EV chargers at high utilisation HDB multi-storey car parks, which is already posing a significant challenge to some Sengkang neighbourhoods today.
EV Charging in HDB Carparks
Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong (Hougang) : In previous years, MOT pointed to chargers being available in the vast majority of HDB carparks. We are now in February 2026 and while the "coverage" is higher, the "quality of access" remains unequal across our estates.
The Ministry's primary defence for the current pace of scaling is that the average utilisation rate remains low. However, "average" utilisation is a misleading metric that may mask peak-hour reality. For the HDB resident returning home at 9.00 pm, a low "average" rate is cold comfort when all three charging lots in their multi-storey car park are occupied.
More crucially, we must scale up now for the eventuality that most vehicles in our carparks will be EVs – a goal we should strive to see earlier, in line with our 2030 and 2040 goals. If registrations continue to rise, when will "scaling up" reach all our heartland carparks?
Furthermore, there is a "two-speed" transition occurring. Residents in newer BTOs often have more access to higher-power chargers, but many mature estates remain stuck with slow 7.4 kW chargers.
I would like to ask the Minister: What is the specific peak-hour utilisation threshold that triggers the installation of additional chargers in HDB car park? When will MOT commit to a "mature estate fast-charge" mandate to ensure residents in older estates including in some parts of Hougang, are not left behind? And finally, how will MOT intend to mandate "idling fees" across all public charging operators to prevent lot-hogging?
Preparing for More EVs Roll-out
Mr Ang Wei Neng (West Coast-Jurong West) : Chairman, I would like to declare my interest as the CEO of Strides Premier, a company that leases out a fleet of more than 300 EVs, amongst other businesses. With nearly 45% of new car registrations in Singapore now being EVs, it is timely for us to strengthen our charging infrastructure. While the roll-out of slow chargers in HDB car parks has supported convenient overnight charging, many EV users, particularly P2P users as well as commercial drivers, require access to fast daytime charging infrastructure in the daytime so as to sustain their operations.
I therefore urge LTA to spearhead the deployment of more fast chargers within the HDB estates, especially at convenient and high-traffic locations, such as near food establishments and neighbourhood centres.
At the same time, the rapid growth of EVs calls for a future-ready workforce. Vehicle technicians must acquire new technical competencies to service EVs safely and effectively, supported by proper training and certification. I encourage MOT to work closely with industry partners and training institutions to support technicians through this critical transition, ensuring our automotive workforce remains skilled, relevant and prepared for Singapore's electrified transport future.
Safe Cycling on Footpaths
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song (Aljunied) : Sir, walking along our footpaths should be a stress-free experience, yet many pedestrians, especially the elderly and parents with children, often feel they must be on permanent alert. Some cyclists ring their bells persistently on crowded footpaths, as if expecting pedestrians to step off the path to make way for them. I have personally experienced this and many of my residents have shared similar stories with me.
LTA needs to reinforce that pedestrians always have the right of way. Public education must clarify that bells should be used only to alert, not to demand a clear path. We must also educate pedestrians to keep left and avoid sudden changes in direction, for their own safety.
Residents frequently encounter cyclists zooming through bus stops, endangering passengers as they alight. Similarly, those exiting lifts at their flats face risks from cyclists speeding past.
At night, the danger increases without illumination. Between 2023 and 2025, 167 summonses were issued for missing lights, but these were mostly on roads, not footpaths. This indicates a safety gap on footpaths. Why is there not more active education and enforcement of light requirements on footpaths?
Furthermore, while footpaths next to cycling paths became pedestrian-only in July 2025, the converse is not true – pedestrians are not prohibited from walking on cycling paths. If a dedicated pedestrian-only path exists, why is it not mandatory for pedestrians to use it? Mixing users increases accident risks. Will the Ministry reconsider a legal prohibition for pedestrians to use cycling paths, where a dedicated alternative is provided?
Barrier-free Infrastructure and Commuting
Ms Sylvia Lim (Aljunied) : Sir, recently a relative of mine suffered a stroke and became wheelchair-bound. Though I thought driving him around would be ideal, I discovered that riding the bus was now a better option for some routes. Our bus stops and buses are wheelchair friendly and the bus captains we met promptly got up from their seats to assist with the wheelchair platform. Such infrastructure and last-mile considerations go a long way to make travel accessible to the wheelchair-bound.
That said, mobility limitations come in a wide range. Besides those on wheelchairs, there are many others who use walking sticks or other aids. These commuters are often unable to navigate stairs. To what extent is our system barrier-free for them?
Take for instance the layout of some new electric buses. Increasingly, bus models appear to be designed to maximise standing room and space for wheelchairs and prams. This results in a reduction in the number of seats available. In some buses, the front half of the bus only has four seats, with all the remaining seats located at the rear of the bus at an elevated level, requiring the commuter to climb a rather steep step. This has caused difficulty to many commuters who can walk but cannot climb stairs. Could the Ministry review how the layout of buses can better cater to commuters with such mobility issues?
Another persistent issue is the lack of lifts at pedestrian overhead bridges. This is an issue across the island and it is also the case for my residents at the Paya Lebar Division of Aljunied Group Representation Constituency (GRC).
In February 2023, I asked a Parliamentary Question about when lifts would be installed at overhead bridges along Hougang Avenue 3. Then Transport Minister, Mr S Iswaran, affirmed that the number of seniors and commuters with mobility challenges would be a consideration for prioritisation. He further confirmed that four of the bridges along Hougang Avenue 3 would be prioritised.
Two years later, in April 2025, I filed another question for confirmation of the bridges that would be prioritised and what the timeline for installation of the lifts would be. The next incumbent Transport Minister, Mr Chee Hong Tat, identified the overhead bridges at Blocks 101, 172, 241 and 248 as the four being prioritised. He stated that construction works for that phase of LTA's retrofitting works were scheduled to take place progressively from the fourth quarter of 2025.
Based on the latest indications from LTA's consultants to our Town Council, the lift works will only commence tentatively in the third quarter of 2027. This is nearly two years after the fourth quarter of 2025 that Minister Chee indicated for commencement of that phase of construction works. Why is there such a long delay?
I hope to have a more satisfactory answer from the new Minister in charge.
Covered Walkways for Condominiums
Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong : Mr Chairman, I have filed this cut originally for the Ministry of National Development, but it was directed to MOT. The vision of a car-light Singapore must require a seamless and sheltered first and last-mile experience for every Singaporean. The Government has made meaningful progress, but more can be done.
In July 2025, 176 residents at Parc Vera Condominium at Hougang Street 32, submitted a petition for 80 metres covered walkway linking its rear side gate to an existing HDB covered linkway. The rear side gate links to an open footpath, which doubles as a covered drain and is heavily used by its residents, as it connects to the HDB covered linkway en-route to the nearest bus stop at Block 1, Hougang Avenue 3 – a few minutes walkaway.
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For the elderly and families with young children, this path is the most efficient way, yet poses challenges to them during heavy rains.
I wrote an appeal on the condominium's behalf to LTA. Attempts to request to construct the covered walkway have been challenging. While the land is under PUB, they do not build covered walkways. The LTA does not entertain requests for its last-mile connectivity plans if they fall outside 800 metres of a MRT station or 400 metres of a bus interchange and not along a MRT managed road. Lastly, the Town Council has no jurisdiction to spend funds on projects that do not primarily benefit HDB residents.
The request has been assessed primarily through agency boundaries rather than commuter experience. This is a systemic no man's land problem. Why should a resident's ability to reach public transport under cover depend on whether the ground or the drain beneath their feet is managed by HDB, LTA or PUB? If the goal is to encourage public transport usage and climate-proof our infrastructure, the last mile should be treated as a single continuous journey.
To resolve such situations, I have three specific proposals.
First, can we institutionalise connectivity at the design stage? When the Riverfront Residences condominium at Hougang was built, the authorities allowed the developer to build covered linkways to the nearest bus stops. This can be made a standard requirement where covered links are planned upfront and not added later as fixes.
Can URA and LTA mandate at the planning permission stage that developers provide sheltered connectivity to the nearest public transport nodes, including such covered access from each condominium side gates, or include this in the development control handbooks to guide developers on ensuring upfront connectivity by design?
Second, for existing condominiums like Parc Vera, can we start working on a bridge-the-gap framework, with coordinated co-funding or facilitation scheme?
Third, can the Government assign a lead agency for connectivity? If a Management Corporation Strata Title is willing to pursue a walkway that serves a clear public connectivity purpose, the Government should provide a streamlined one-stop shop approach by an appointed agency for funding and approvals. This could be under URA, Building and Construction Authority or LTA.
Inclusive Public Transport for Families
Ms Elysa Chen (Bishan-Toa Payoh) : Chairman, when my son goes to the army in the future, he will carry a 15-kilogramme Standard Battle Order every time he goes outfield. Today, when I carry my 13-kilogramme son and his diaper bag onto public transport, I also feel like I am going outfield. Once, when I was solo parenting, I almost tipped my son out of the stroller while trying to single-handedly board the bus with a stroller and the diaper bag.
Many parents of young children have shared similar challenges navigating public transport safely and smoothly as a family. Parents have also highlighted inconsistencies across operators, particularly on ramp deployment for strollers. Boarding and alighting during peak hours remain difficult for parents and persons with disabilities, with limited space at stroller and wheelchair bays.
Supporting safe, smooth commutes is essential if Singapore is to be a home for families.
I thank the LTA and public bus operators for the steps they have taken to make public buses more accessible for young families and persons with disabilities. But we can do more.
Can the Ministry share what further measures are planned to make buses and trains more inclusive for young families and persons with disabilities? Will LTA study their commuter experience? And can standard operational procedures (SOPs) on ramp deployment be standardised across operators alongside a public education effort?
Parents carry heavy responsibilities. Let us lighten their load by making sure public transport is safe, accessible and supportive for families.
Public Communications for Deaf Persons
Miss Rachel Ong (Tanjong Pagar) : Chairman, during an MRT disruption last year, a deaf commuter shared that she felt confused and afraid when passengers began to leave the train as there were no visual or sign language updates explaining what was happening.
While initiatives such as the Sign Language Virtual Assistant SiLViA at Chinatown MRT station are encouraging, such support is not yet available across the network. Could the Government update whether visual and sign language communication tools will be expanded so that disruption and emergency announcements are accessible to deaf commuters across our public transport system?
Express Trains and Shortening Commutes
Mr Low Wu Yang Andre (Non-Constituency Member) : Chairman, the Land Transport Master Plan 2040 sets an ambitious target of nine in 10 peak public transport journeys completed within 45 minutes. As a Punggol resident, I speak from experience. A 45-minute door-to-door journey to the city is for myself and most of my neighbours a pipe dream.
In a city where housing comes at a premium, the families who live in Punggol, Sengkang, Woodlands and other far-flung towns have made pragmatic choices about where to put down roots. Every morning, they pay for that choice in time.
We should not have a two-speed Singapore where time is a privilege of the few.
Ambitious targets require ambitious infrastructure. To understand what happens when ambition falls short, we need to look no further than the North East Line (NEL).
My fellow Members and I have filed multiple Parliamentary Questions on the NEL's capacity crisis over the months. Solutions to the crisis are in short supply. Longer trains would require excavation works that would disrupt the line for over a year. Selective door operation has been studied and rejected. Even at maximum peak frequency, commuters at Hougang and Kovan watch full trains pass them by. Residents in the North-East have become resigned to long crowded commutes.
We built a NEL without the headroom to grow it. That decision is now permanent.
The Seletar Line gives us a chance to do better. In 2018, express services were studied for the Cross Island Line and rejected on cost-benefit grounds. But a point-in-time cost-benefit calculation is the wrong basis for infrastructure that has to serve multiple generations.
In Seoul, their Metro Line 9 faced identical scepticism of their express service. Demand caught up, and then some. Infrastructure of this scale does not just serve demand, it will generate it.
Therefore, I urge the Government to incorporate provisions for express rail services on the Seletar Line from the outset, specifically, bypass tracks at non-interchange suburban stations. Bypass tracks would allow us to serve every major underserved catchment along the line's alignment – Simpang and Yishun East, Seletar and Jalan Kayu, Whampoa and the greater Southern Waterfront – with local trains while express services overtake local services at these stations to reach downtown core at speed.
The time to make this decision is during current feasibility studies and not after ground-breaking, and certainly not after the line is in operation.
Sir, we ask young families to move further out in pursuit of affordable homes. The least we can do is to bring them back to the city at speed. I urge the Ministry to plan the Seletar Line with the foresight that the NEL lacked and the ambition that the next generation of Singapore deserves.
Rapid Transit System
Ms Poh Li San : Mr Chairman, by the end of this year, the Rapid Transit System (RTS) to Johor is expected to open. It will connect to Woodlands North MRT station on the Thomson-East Coast Line. It may soon be a $5 to $7 ticket to a place of good bargains and family outings.
Many of my residents in Sembawang West are looking forward to the RTS. Some have relatives in Johor, many go over to do their grocery shopping, for family trips and simple services such as haircuts, spectacles, dental treatment and facials. RTS will help Singaporeans stretch our dollar.
But for every change, there will be ripples. There will be more Singaporeans using the Thomson-East Coast Line. At the same time, we have already read in newspaper reports that Malaysian workers who used to rent in Singapore now may move back and take RTS to work in Singapore. At $10 commute a day, this may work out economically against the rentals and spending in Singapore.
We do want people to use the line and my prediction is that under-demand will not be a problem. The problem may in fact be over-demand.
Due to these increases in movements, the morning peak period at Woodlands North station and the traffic on the Thomson-East Coast Line may see a massive surge. What are LTA's plans to ensure that Singaporeans staying at Woodlands and using the Thomson-East Coast Line to head down to town during peak periods can continue to enjoy smooth and accessible public transport services? Does the Minister have an update on how much the fares will actually cost?
Many Malaysians work in the semiconductor and food manufacturing factories located within the Woodlands industrial area. Instead of renting a room here, the workers may choose to commute via RTS and cycle or walk two kilometres to their workplaces. Does LTA have plans to widen the shared paths used also by the residents to better cope with the potential increase in cycling and pedestrian traffic?
New MRT Stations and Last Mile Connection
Mr Ang Wei Neng : Chairman, I would like to declare that I am the CEO of Strides Premier, a subsidiary of SMRT.
MRT remains the backbone of our public transport system, shaping how Singaporeans live, work and connect. Across the island, residents are eagerly waiting for the next phase of rail expansion.
First, may I ask whether the Circle Line Stage 6, linking HarbourFront to Marina Bay via Keppel, Cantonment and Prince Edward Road stations will open in the second quarter of this year, as earlier announced. Residents and businesses are looking forward to the long-awaited closure of the Circle Line loop.
Second, can the Minister confirm that the Thomson-East Coast Line and the Downtown Line will meet at Sungei Bedok station through Xilin and Bedok South stations in the second half of 2026, which is this year? This critical interchange will significantly strengthen network resilience and provide commuters with more reliable travel options.
Chairman, in the West, anticipation for the Jurong Region Line (JRL) is especially strong. For many families in Nanyang and across Jurong, this line represents shorter commutes and better access to jobs and amenities.
May I ask whether the target of opening the JRL Phase 1 by end 2027 remains on track? If the timelines are at risk, will the Ministry commit the necessary resources to keep the project on schedule so that hundreds of thousands of residents can benefit as planned?
Finally, rail expansion must be matched with strong last-mile connectivity. Residents along Jurong West Street 91 live near the future Gek Poh MRT station, yet it is beyond walking distance. There is no direct bus link, including for students of Juying Secondary School.
I urge MOT to introduce a new bus service under the Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme so that residents, students and workers can fully benefit from the JRL.
Improving Rail Reliability
Mr Sharael Taha : Thank you, Chairman. Chairman, the Rail Reliability Taskforce has set out clear recommendations – accelerate renewal of ageing core systems, including train signalling and traction power, strengthen backup and resilience measures, improve asset management and spare part planning, deepen workforce capabilities and enhance commuter communications during disruptions. The key question now is in execution.
Who is accountable for each milestone? What are the firm timelines? How will we balance necessary service closures against commuter inconvenience? What concrete contingency plans will minimise hardship and what guaranteed service levels such as standby buses, response time and fair consideration will commuters be assured of?
How are we strengthening supply chain resilience for critical rail components? Beyond hardware, how are we building engineering depth, sharpening recovery protocols and ensuring real-time commuter information is accurate, timely and actionable?
The Chairman : Ms Yeo Wan Ling. Kindly deliver your two cuts together.
Rail Development and Station Rejuvenation
Ms Yeo Wan Ling : Mr Chairman, my first cut on rail development. Chairman, as we continue strengthening our rail network, we must recognise that human capital is key to building a resilient and reliable rail ecosystem. With parts of our network ageing, including lines, assets and equipment, renewal and upgrading works will intensify.
In this context, I would like to seek updates on what rail workers can expect in terms of fair competitive remuneration packages, training and safer workplaces.
We appreciate that under the Rail Safety Report, there will be moves towards harmonised training for rail technicians. That is important.
Today, there remains significant localisation across rail systems in maintenance practices, equipment and repair processes. Without harmonisation, workers' skills become tied to one system, one line or one operator. Harmonised training will help ensure that rail workers develop portable skills – skills that can be applied across different lines, systems and operators – strengthening both operational resilience and workers' long-term employability.
I would also like to ask for updates on the extension of the 2019 $100 million Rail Manpower Development Package. While operators are given flexibility to deploy this grant, how can we ensure that its impact reaches a broader segment of all rail workers? For example, could sector-level key performance indicators be considered, such as equipping 50% of workers with new competencies by 2030?
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Finally, as public transport evolves and more commuters use personal mobility devices and bicycles to complement their journeys, rail workers are increasingly required to guide commuters on safe and considerate practices. How can we better protect rail workers from verbal abuse or confrontation when they carry out these duties? A strong rail ecosystem depends not only on modern assets, but on a skilled and protected workforce.
Bus Network and Workforce
As the Bus Contracting Model marks its 10th year, it is timely for us to review how it is working – not just for operational efficiency, but for our bus captains. They remain the backbone of our public transport system. Yet today, starting basic salaries for new entrants remain around $2,250 per month. While advertised gross pay may range between $3,000 to $4,000 and beyond, a significant portion still depends on overtime, and this high overtime is actually structurally tied to this trade.
This raises an important question: are we building a sustainable profession or one where earnings depends on longer hours? If we want to maintain a strong Singaporean core, we must relook bus captains pay, working conditions and career progression.
Today, captains manage split shifts, short meal breaks, long hours, fatigue, changing commuter patterns and increasingly difficult commuter behaviours. With the rise of social media, they are also increasingly vulnerable to online harassment and doxxing when incidents are recorded and circulated. What more can be done to better protect their safety at work?
Looking ahead, half of our public bus fleet is expected to be electric by 2030. Are our current training pathways sufficient to prepare bus captains for this transition? At the same time, with revenue bus AV services expected to begin in the second half of this year, we must ensure that affected workers are supported with clear career pathways and fair packages.
Transformation should uplift, not unsettle. We have seen how the Rail Manpower Development Package supports rail workers through change. As the Bus Contracting Model (BCM) enters its next phase, could a similar transformation support be considered for our bus captains? A refreshed BCM should be a win-win for commuters, operators and the workers who keep Singapore moving.
Strengthening Transport Accessibility
Mr Abdul Muhaimin Abdul Malik (Sengkang) : Sir, the persistent gap in bus connectivity for Compassvale Crescent residents requires our attention. While the Government has repeatedly cited the 400-metre benchmark and the availability of 14 bus services in the vicinity, this technical standard does not fully capture the lived reality of our residents, particularly our elderly and persons with disabilities.
Singapore is rapidly ageing. By 2030, one in four citizens will be aged 65 and above. Simultaneously, we are building a more inclusive society that recognises the needs of persons with physical disabilities. For these residents, even a 400-metre walk is not merely inconvenient. It can be a genuine barrier. Seniors with reduced mobility, persons using wheelchairs or walking aids, those recovering from medical procedures and individuals managing chronic conditions may find this distance insurmountable, especially in our tropical heat.
The distinction between technical accessibility and practical accessibility matters profoundly. On paper, Compassvale Crescent is served. In practice, vulnerable residents face daily challenges that prevent them from accessing essential services, healthcare and community activities.
I acknowledge the LTA's concern about trade-offs. Extending Bus 371 would increase journey times for existing commuters. However, I urge the authorities to explore creative solutions, perhaps introducing a new short loop feeder service that connects Compassvale Crescent directly to Sengkang MRT – without affecting existing routes or a community shuttle service piloted specifically for those with mobility challenges, our Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme should embody our national values of inclusivity and care for vulnerable. Good bus connectivity is not a luxury. It enables independence, dignity and full participation in society. I therefore renew my call for LTA to reconsider this matter, focusing not on whether residents can technically access buses, but whether our transport network truly serves all Singaporeans.
Mobility and Liveability in Changi
Ms Valerie Lee (Pasir Ris-Changi) : Chairman, during elections, I campaigned on supporting the sandwiched generation, promoting sustainability and empowering our youths. These causes remain close to my heart. But my residents in Pasir Ris-Changi have made me deeply passionate about something else – our land transport system.
Let us begin with bus connectivity in Flora Estate, a dense residential estate in the northeastern corner of Singapore, served by only two bus services along Flora Road and one along Flora Drive, with relatively low frequency, especially during off-peak hours.
On paper, low ridership data may appear insufficient to justify new services or increased frequency. But I would like to argue that retrospective data does not capture suppressed demand. Many residents have grudgingly shifted their commute behaviour to costlier, more pollutive means that worsens road congestions because they feel there is no reliable public transport alternative.
My first suggestion is this: can the Ministry move beyond relying heavily on retrospective ridership data when refining bus service plans? I urge the Ministry to survey residents directly and leverage community feedback, to unlock real rider demand. Connectivity and road congestions are closely linked. When public transport options are limited or unreliable, more residents turn to private vehicles. This adds pressure to already busy roads, such as Loyang Avenue.
LTA has shared that upcoming temporary lane closures simulations shows that it could result in delays of up to nine minutes. I would like to ask whether traffic planning models currently simulate scenarios where bus services are enhanced, which will help to bring down the total travel time.
Beyond efficiency, we must ensure safety. During the recent Land Transport Bill debate, I spoke about our Pasir Ris resident Mrs Malar Singam, who was seriously injured by a power-assisted bicycles rider last December. While regulations have been strengthened, more can be done to clearly segregate paths so that our seniors, like Malar, are kept safe.
Road safety is also a concern. Along Loyang Avenue, 13 accidents were recorded between 2023 and 2025 at its junction with Old Tampines Road. Residents have requested stronger enforcement and speed cameras at specific locations. Yet enforcement remains inconsistent and cameras have not been installed where risks have been reportedly highlighted. Can the Ministry then share what alternative enforcement measures have been implemented to make this road safer?
Even as we build for long-term improvements, like the Loyang Viaduct and Cross-Island Line, residents in Pasir Ris and Loyang live with the immediate costs of infrastructure works, like noise and dust, with complaints in the region nearly tripling to about 230 cases per year as compared to 2023.
Real-time noise monitoring systems are already in place. My request is that enforcement be equally real-time. Contractors who exceed limits should face prompt consequences and not action only after complaints.
Many residents in the area are also disturbed by the noise of illegally modified motorcycles late at night, many involving foreign-registered vehicles. How have enforcement checks at our ports of entry stepped up? And have we worked with the Ministry of Manpower to explore whether repeated violations could carry Work Pass consequences?
In conclusion, I have come to realised that good transport policies, like strengthening connectivity, improving safety and minimising disruptions, are in a very practical way, supporting the sandwiched generation and those around them, and this is what I have set out to do from the very beginning.
Traffic Management
Mr Liang Eng Hwa (Bukit Panjang) : Sir, traffic congestion in Singapore has visibly worsened. It is no longer confined to peak hours or the Central Business District. Heavy traffic is now common even on weekends, along arterial roads and across our expressway network. Road accidents and ongoing works further compound delays, affecting not just motorists but also bus commuters and private-hire passengers.
Sir, I must admit that I hesitated to file this cut, out of concern that the default response from the Ministry might be to just raise Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) pricings or to expand ERP. So, I hope that this is not the response later. Road pricing has been effective in managing demand, but it raises business and household costs, and it cannot be our only lever. I therefore urge the Ministry not to look to non-pricing approaches as well to manage congestions.
Sir, despite our zero-vehicle growth policy, congestion pressures persist. With over a million vehicles on our small island, higher vehicle utilisation appears to be one of the root cause for the congestions. The growth of private-hire services and delivery platforms has intensified road usage. As car ownership becomes more expensive, owners understandably want to maximise usage of their cars, because of sunk costs.
Given these structural trends, we should explore complementary solutions. Firstly, engineering and infrastructure enhancements. Sir, the double-decker road along Keppel Road has shown how vertical expansion can increase capacity. Compared to underground tunnels, such solutions may be more cost-efficient and faster to implement. With limited land for widening, vertical expansion may be our most feasible option in certain corridors. So, does the Ministry have plans to develop more double-tier road systems in congestion-prone areas? And are there plans for additional multi-level interchanges at heavily congested junctions?
Beyond capacity expansions, small but targeted engineering refinements can yield significant gains – improved slip-road geometry, better lane merging designs and additional turning lanes at bottlenecks. Sir, incremental improvements at key traffic choke points can produce disproportionate benefits.
Second, smarter management of commercial vehicle movements. The growth of e-commerce has increased delivery traffic substantially. Logistics vans, service vehicles and contractor trucks contribute to daytime congestions. Can we encourage off-peak delivery windows in dense commercial districts? And can we also expand urban consolidation centres to reduce duplicate trips, or promote shared last-mile distribution hubs to improve logistical efficiency?
Third, faster incident detection and clearance. Minor accidents often trigger cascading congestion, especially on expressways. The speed of detection and clearance is critical. Can we station more rapid-response tow units along major corridors to expeditiously clear stalled vehicles?
During accidents, many motorists still have this old belief that vehicles should not be moved until the Police arrive. In today's context, with in-car cameras and mobile devices readily available, this is often unnecessary. Instead, we should consider requiring drivers in minor, non-injury accidents to clear the carriageway within a fixed timeframe after documenting the incident, for example, just in 10 minutes, and with enforcement actions for unreasonable delays. Sir, we need to reduce accident clearance time and, believe me, it will significantly ease traffic congestion there.
Fourth, cross-border motorcycle flows. On average, about 69,000 Malaysian-registered motorcycles enter Singapore daily in 2025, with quite a significant number issued with traffic offences, about 22,000 of them, and some involved in accidents, about 1,600, based on a Parliamentary Question that I filed recently.
While these riders contribute to our economy, concentrated peak-hour inflows have been causing congestions along corridors, such as the Bukit Timah Expressway and Pan-Island Expressway. Can I ask if the Ministry have conducted studies on the impact of cross-border motorcycles on traffic flows and are there targeted traffic management measures to manage peak in-flows?
Fifth, smarter traffic light management. Motorists often encounter red lights even when cross-direction traffic appears light or if there are no vehicles travelling. While adaptive systems are in place, signal timings do not seem to be responsive or smart. So, can we move towards more advanced AI-based signal optimisation? Some of the suggestions include, integrate real-time GPS data from vehicles and buses, use predictive modelling to anticipate build-ups before they occur and implement corridor-wide synchronisation to create smoother "green waves"?
A more dynamic and predictive system could reduce stop-start traffic and improve traffic throughput. Some cities are already using fairly advanced computing technologies, such as quantum technologies, to enhance traffic management. Is the Ministry looking into that as well?
Sixth, on data transparency and behavioural measures. In addition to physical and technological interventions, behavioural nudges may help. Providing more granular, real-time congestion data integrated into navigation platforms may encourage voluntary route changes or staggered departures. Also, flexible work arrangements, through inter-agency coordination, could also help flatten peak demand.
Sir, road pricing remains important, of course, but it must be a multi-pronged approach to manage congestions. And all these suggestions that I have made, I hope would also help to reduce congestions. I look forward to the Ministry's reply, outlining fresh and forward-looking non-pricing strategies to manage congestion.
Shared Responsibility for Road Safety
Mr Jackson Lam (Nee Soon) : Chairman, the roads in Singapore are among the safest globally and that reflects decades of investment in infrastructure, enforcement and education. Recent figures show year-on-year declines in fatality rates per capita.
But one persistent challenge remains: the misalignment of responsibility in road traffic incidents. Too often, when collisions or infractions occur, public discourse frames fault as lying solely with "others" – the reckless driver, inconsiderate cyclist or distracted pedestrian.
This mindset risks obscuring the reality that safe mobility is a shared responsibility. Pedestrians, cyclists, motorists and transport planners each have a role in ensuring that our roads functions safely for everyone.
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Vision Zero frameworks adopted in parts of Europe and North America, for example, emphasise system design that anticipates human error while reducing its consequences.
I therefore ask the Minister, has MOT considered adopting elements of a Vision Zero approach tailored to Singapore, where system design, speed management and clear accountability align across all road users?
Second, while engineering and enforcement remain vital, what new educational or behavioural initiatives are MOT planning that go beyond conventional campaigns to foster mutual road user respect?
Finally, recognising the rise in micro-mobility usage, what steps will be taken to clarify rights and responsibilities between pedestrians and micro-mobility users in shared spaces, backed by data-driven enforcement rather than ad hoc measures?
Mr Chairman, this policy cut is intended to encourage a deeper, more systemic conversation about how we share responsibility for road safety, recognising that blaming "others" alone is not sufficient to drive meaningful behaviour change.
COE Reform for Access and Equity
Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui (Holland-Bukit Timah) : Mr Chairman, I will speak on three areas: one, ERP 2.0 resulting in increasing of vehicular supply; two, refreshing the Certificate of Entitlement (COE) system for greater equity; and three, accessibility in car ownership in our next phase of land transport policy.
Let me begin with ERP 2.0. During the Land Transport Bill debate, I highlighted that ERP 2.0 presents an opportunity to move beyond congestion pricing and towards smarter traffic optimisation. By harnessing more granular real-time data, we can integrate ERP insights with adaptive traffic systems such as intelligent traffic signals, and guide infrastructure planning and network adjustments.
In his round-up speech, the Minister affirmed that better traffic management through ERP 2.0 could create potential for increasing the vehicle population.
This is an important shift. If supply increases, more families who need a car for caregiving needs can gain access to one. COE prices may also moderate. COE prices move on expectations. If signals are unclear, markets react.
The key issue is not whether vehicle numbers should increase, but whether any adjustments are tied to measurable congestion outcomes and communicated clearly. Optimisation must strengthen traffic flows and policy confidence.
Second, refreshing the COE system for greater equity. The original intent of the COE classification was equity, differentiating between mass-market and higher-end vehicles.
Today, that distinction is increasingly blurred. Manufacturers are adjusting specifications, whether engine power or motor design, so that premium models qualify under Category A (Cat A), while practical vehicles end up in Category B (Cat B) due to technical criteria, even though they are not luxury vehicles.
For instance, the Toyota Noah Hybrid, with an open market value (OMV) of around $28,000 falls under Cat B. Meanwhile, a luxury model like the BMW 216 Gran Coupe, with an OMV of around $35,000 falls under Cat A. This shows that higher-end cars can fall into Cat A, while practical models fall under Cat B, undermining the original intent to distinguish mass-market from luxury. Technical thresholds no longer reliably reflect affordability or market positioning.
The price delta between Cat A and Cat B is also narrowing, signalling reduced meaningful differentiation between the categories. In fact, in the recent COE bidding exercise, Cat A premiums exceeded Cat B. This raises questions about whether the current framework still achieves its intended segmentation.
If equity remains the policy objective, we should ask whether engine capacity and power output remain the right measures.
Mr Chairman, OMV provides a stronger basis for differentiation. It reflects the true purchase cost of a vehicle rather than technical specifications alone. We already use OMV to calculate Additional Registration Fee (ARF) through a tiered structure. Building on this, the COE framework could evolve from separate Cat A and Cat B categories towards an OMV-based model with a single bidding pool. Pooling supply into one category will smooth out price fluctuations caused by mismatches in supply and demand between categories.
Third, accessibility and caregiving needs. As our society ages and more families support members with disabilities or special needs, mobility becomes a necessity and not just a convenience.
While the COE framework focuses on congestion management, we should consider calibrated mechanisms that support genuine caregiving needs without undermining system integrity. A tiered adjustment to the final COE price, with discounts for lower-OMV vehicles and premiums for higher-OMV vehicles, could improve accessibility for lower- and middle-income families, while preserving market discipline. Such an approach offers a clearer and more transparent way to achieve accessibility objectives compared to introducing additional special categories, which can become complex to define and administer.
Mr Chairman, ERP 2.0 allows us to better optimise our limited land resource and may enable calibrated increases in vehicle supply, giving more families access to mobility. Refreshing the COE framework by anchoring differentiation on OMV provides clearer distinctions between mass-market and luxury vehicles; while tiered adjustments can enhance accessibility for families with caregiving needs. In doing so, we preserve market discipline while strengthening fairness and accessibility in car ownership.
COEs
Mr Ang Wei Neng : Chairman, I would like to declare my interest as the CEO of Strides Premier. In November 2024, then Minister for Transport, Mr Chee Hong Tat, informed this House that with the planned injection of 20,000 additional COEs over the next few years, the COE quota for Category A, B and C would continue to rise each quarter, before reaching its projected peak supply from 2026.
However, the recent announcement by LTA shows that the COE quota for February to April 2026 is in fact lower than the last quarter. This marks the first decline since 2025 and appears to contradict the earlier position stated by the Ministry. I would therefore like MOT to clarify whether there has been a change in policy direction, and if so, the reasons behind this shift.
In addition, we observe that the number of Cat A COEs has fallen for the February to April 2026 period, while the supply of Cat B COEs has increased compared to the previous quarter. It is therefore not surprising that in the first bidding exercise of February 2026, the price gap between a Cat A and Cat B COE narrowed sharply to $4,570, the smallest gap in 58 months, since March 2021. In the second bidding exercise of February, Cat A COE price was even higher than the Cat B COE price by $1,500.
In the first bidding exercise in March, which just ended, the gap is also quite narrow between the Cat A and Cat B COE at $5,782. This convergence may also be driven by market developments, including the growing ease of tuning EVs to meet Cat A criteria, as well as the increasing presence of higher-end internal combustion engine vehicles with lower engine capacities qualifying under Cat A .
If the trend of declining Cat A COE supply and rising Cat B COE supply continues, the convergence of Cat A and Cat B COE prices will persist. Such an outcome would run contrary to the original intent of maintaining distinct categories within the passenger car segment.
As MOT has previously stated, the primary objective of Cat A COE is to preserve a portion of the vehicle quota for mass-market cars, thereby ensuring greater accessibility and affordability for the average Singaporean car buyer. I would therefore like MOT to clarify whether there has been any shift in this policy intent and if so, the reasons for the shift.
Chairman, many residents have shared with me their frustrations over the persistently high COE prices. At different stages of life, some Singaporeans may have a greater need for a car than others, such as families with young children and those caring for elderly parents, or salespersons whose livelihoods depend on mobility. I therefore hope the Ministry will continue to keep these Singaporeans in mind and ensure that our policies remain fair and balanced.
Removing COE for Motorcycles
Mr Azhar Othman (Nominated Member) : Thank you, Chairman. The COE in Singapore aims to prevent road congestion, which is a commendable objective to control the number of vehicles on the road. However, imposing the COE on a motorcycle seems illogical, as they do not significantly contribute to traffic congestion in the country. It is noteworthy that approximately more than 60,000 motorcycles cross the Causeway daily to commute and work in Singapore.
This influx indicates that motorcycles owned by Singaporeans are not the source of congestion. The traffic issues we face are not stemming from motorcycles, yet the COE imposes a financial burden on those who purchase them. Typically, buyers of motorcycles of lower- and middle-income earners who rely on these vehicles for work, including roles in delivery services. Penalising them with the COE is unjust, especially when they do not contribute to traffic congestion.
Removing the COE for motorcycles would alleviate financial strain and allow these individuals to save money, ultimately enabling them to generate more income and improve their livelihoods.
The Chairman : Thank you, Members, for your cuts. We now go to responses. Minister Jeffrey Siow.
The Acting Minister for Transport (Mr Jeffrey Siow) : Mr Chairman, first of all, let me give my thanks to Members for the very thoughtful cuts.
As I was listening to the speeches, I felt grateful for the many good suggestions and ideas from colleagues in the Chamber. I do not think we will be able to address every single idea and question today that has been asked of us, but we will try.
It is a long-standing tradition that MOT has many cuts. I should know because I used to work there as a civil servant. "Death by a thousand cuts," as we used to say. But the interest, your interest shows just how much transport is part of Singaporeans daily lives.
Every morning, millions of people step out of their homes and trust that the system will work. When transport works well, it becomes part of our routines, but when it does not, it affects your jobs, your family time, your peace of mind.
We at MOT understand this heavy responsibility. It is a privilege for us to work on issues that matter so much to Singaporeans. To carry this responsibility well, we anchor our work on three principles: first, to be globally oriented, because Singapore's survival has always depended on staying connected to the world; second, to be future-focused and always plan for the long term; and third, to be people-centric, because transport exists to serve the needs of our people.
Let me start with global orientation. Singaporeans are connected to the world by air, and most of what we eat, buy and use is brought to us by sea. What happens elsewhere in the world can therefore affect us significantly, and this includes the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which we are watching very closely.
As the world around us becomes more volatile, we need to strengthen the foundations that allow Singapore to survive and thrive. International rules and standards are critical for both aviation and maritime, which operate across national borders.
And to shape these rules and standards, Singapore has served on the councils of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for over two decades. Last year, my team and I campaigned for re-election to both councils. I was moved by the strong support that other countries expressed for Singapore. They appreciated our solid record of leadership, consensus building and spearheading training programmes over the years.
Singapore was re-elected to both ICAO and IMO Councils with the highest number of votes in our categories. We were very encouraged by this result.
At the same time, it was evident that the rules-based global order is under strain. Consensus at ICAO and IMO is harder to achieve, especially on long-term issues like sustainability. Positions are more polarised. And we are seeing more factions along lines of national interest, instead of global benefit.
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To bolster our influence abroad, we draw from our strength at home. Our air and sea hubs are both world-class. Changi Airport is one of the best airports in the world; and PSA International is one of the world’s most successful port operators.
Ms Tin Pei Ling asked about the latest developments for T5 and Tuas Port. Construction on T5 started last year and should be completed by the mid-2030s. As Ms Poh Li San noted, this will increase Changi’s capacity by about 50 million passengers per year. Looking at passenger growth trends, we are confident this capacity will be needed to meet underlying demand. The completion of T5 will also open up the possibility of remaking the older terminals, T1 to T4, in the future.
I am happy to invite Ms Tin and Members, all Members here actually, to the "T5 in the Making" exhibition at Changi Airport, where you can preview T5 and the future of aviation.
Mr Sharael Taha asked about the broader aviation ecosystem that will complement T5. Indeed, the ecosystem we are building goes beyond the terminal itself, to the Changi East Industrial Zone, the Changi East Urban District and potentially, the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal for better air-sea connectivity. This aerotropolis, to borrow Mr Sharael’s term, will be sustainable and technology-intensive, and will create many good jobs, while better serving passengers, air cargo users and MRO companies.
On Tuas Port, we opened our 12th berth last year and will open four more berths this year. Phase 2 reclamation works are progressing. Senior Minister of State Murali will share more.
These major infrastructure projects are only possible because of our Government’s focus on long-term planning. We started planning for T5 13 years ago and Tuas Port almost 30 years ago.
When we design these projects, we are not just thinking about today. We are planning for the future. This is why I am happy to hear that Ms Tin Pei Ling and the GPC for Transport will file a Motion on the deployment of technology in transport later this year. I look forward to another exciting debate on the future of transport then, in a few months.
For MRT lines, we also plan far ahead. I heard the requests from Ms Poh Li San, Mr Ang Wei Neng, Mr Andre Low and Mr Sharael Taha for updates on various MRT projects.
An MRT line takes about 15 years to build. And in just 20-over years, we have almost doubled the length of our entire MRT network. This is a remarkable achievement. And we are still building.
The Thomson-East Coast Line Stage 5 and the Downtown Line 3 extension will be opened later this year. The two lines will be connected at Sungei Bedok station.
Later this year, we will also open Circle Line Stage 6, so the Circle Line will finally be a real circle.
Next year, we plan to start construction on the Cross Island Line Phase 3, which will extend the line from Jurong Lake District westwards.
I also promised Mr Ng Chee Meng an update on the Seletar and Tengah Lines. I have good news for him. We plan to commence engineering studies this year. Mr Ng’s residents would be happy to know that we will prioritise studying a corridor to serve Sengkang West and Serangoon North. This could also include future connections to the Cross Island and Circle Lines.
Mr Ang Wei Neng asked about the JRL. He will be pleased to know that we are starting engineering studies for the West Coast Extension of the JRL later this year. The first phase of the extension will connect the JRL to the Cross Island Line.
I have more good news. LTA has started works for a new JRL station, between Tengah and Choa Chu Kang stations. The working name of the station is JS2a – very unimaginative, because the last time we tried to be imaginative, it is very hard to change people's minds when we have to move the station. So, JS2a is targeted to open in the mid-2030s and will serve residents in the Forest Hill district in Tengah, in time for the completion of housing developments there.
The JRL was planned to open in end-2027. Many of my residents, especially in Tengah, are looking forward to it, because it will be a game-changer for their transport options. Unfortunately, due to construction delays and testing, the opening of the JRL will be held back by about six months, to mid-2028. I know some of my residents, who have already moved into Tengah, will be disappointed. But we will do our best to complete the works as soon as possible.
In the meantime, I have asked LTA to introduce two interim shuttle bus services, from selected JRL stations to key destinations in the region, until the JRL is open.
Ms Poh Li San asked for an update on the RTS Link. This is another long-term project that took years of discussion with Malaysian counterparts.
The economic case for the RTS Link is clear. But the project still required sustained commitment from both Governments. The RTS Link will connect Singaporeans from Woodlands North on the Thomson-East Coast Line, to Bukit Chagar in Johor Bahru in just five minutes.
We have planned the capacity of the Thomson-East Coast Line such that it is more than sufficient to accommodate the passenger numbers arriving via the RTS Link.
Ms Poh asked about the fares for the RTS Link. I know my counterpart in Malaysia has announced a figure of $5-$7. I have not discussed the fares with him. But under the terms of our Bilateral Agreement, it is the operator, RTS Operations Pte Ltd (RTSO), who has to determine the fares. We await RTSO’s announcement of fares in due course.
Opening new MRT lines is exciting. Announcing new MRT lines is even more exciting. But just as important is to maintain the system that is already built.
The oldest part of our MRT network – the North-South and East-West lines – is close to 40 years old now. And I was reminded of this last year, when we retired the last of our first generation MRT trains – the Kawasaki-C151s. Many people of my vintage would have fond memories of taking these trains as a child for the first time when the MRT was first built. I have a photo that I treasure very deeply because it is a photo of me and my father taking the train for the first time.
It is timely to rejuvenate some of our older, well-loved MRT stations as well, not just for trains. For instance, we announced last year that we will rejuvenate Yishun MRT station, with a new entrance, additional lifts and a larger concourse. LTA is now studying other stations for rejuvenation, including Admiralty, Khatib and Sembawang.
Beyond our MRT network, we are also planning for a future with AVs. AVs are not new to us. We had experimented with them since 2013. The technology has taken awhile to mature, but with advances in AI, sensors, mapping and computing, AVs are finally a reality.
Recently, we have been deploying AVs quite aggressively in closed environments like our airport and seaport, for baggage and cargo. But it will be some time yet before we see mass deployment of autonomous passenger vehicles on our roads. After all, there are fewer than 7,000 such AVs in the world today, a tiny fraction of the total vehicle population here in Singapore. What we are doing now though is to plan ahead and prepare early, as we have always done.
We have been trialling AVs in Punggol since last September, to learn how AVs can work in Singapore’s context. Since January, we have been taking passengers on the AVs, by invitation. The AV trials have been running smoothly and safely, and many Punggol residents have expressed strong support. They have been asking Senior Minister of State Sun Xueling and me, whether they can start taking rides on the AVs, and when. So, I am happy to announce that from 1 April, we will open up rides for interested members of the public. Not an April Fools' joke; 1 April, we will open up rides for interested members of the public. This will be on a sign-up basis. Rides will be free for a short period, before we begin revenue service. Senior Minister of State Sun will provide more details.
If all goes well, I intend to trial AVs in other parts of Singapore. We are considering Sentosa, Tuas and Mandai, amongst others, as possibilities. This will depend on whether there is interest from AV companies and commuters in these areas. I thank Mr Louis Chua for his support to accelerate the roll-out of AVs, especially autonomous buses, since we do not have enough bus drivers, as he also pointed out.
LTA will launch trials for autonomous public buses by the second half of this year via bus service 400 in Marina Bay and bus service 191 in One-North. But for technological and commercial reasons, autonomous buses are developing more slowly than autonomous cars. So, we will continue to watch this space closely.
AVs are just one part of our future transport landscape. We are putting together our next Land Transport Masterplan now. And in developing this plan, there are many exciting things we want to share and we also want to hear from Singaporeans to understand your transport needs and co-create ideas on how we can address these needs. Minister of State Baey Yam Keng has been leading this effort. Over the last three months, LTA has met more than 200 people for in-person Focus Group Discussions and received more than 3,500 written responses from the public. We hope to hear from more in the coming months, as we intensify our public engagements.
Let me share some of the common feedback that we have received so far.
On public transport, one common feedback is long travel times, especially from HDB estates further away from the city. Today, public transport may take two to three times as long as private transport, often from areas where there are only bus connections, but no MRT.
I want to narrow this gap to be closer to one to two times. Our upcoming MRT lines like the Jurong Region Line and Cross Island Line will bring us closer to this goal. We will also need to improve the bus network, and first- and last-mile connectivity.
To Mr Andre Low’s suggestion on express train lines, express services can reduce travel time by a bit for some commuters, because Singapore is small. But typically, they require a separate set of tracks and additional signalling systems. And this means much more significant land take, much higher costs and more time needed for construction. Skip-stop services, which are essentially sharing tracks for express and regular services, are technically possible, but this is operationally complex and regular trains have to be held back at stations to allow express trains to pass. This will have significant adverse impact for commuters on regular services.
We will keep an eye on this issue. If the technology improves, we will consider it. But for the Seletar Line, I think it is unlikely that we will implement it.
Another frequently raised topic is train crowding, and Mr Low spoke about the NEL – in a slightly overstated fashion, I think. But he did.
In the longer term, new MRT connections like the Cross Island Line and the Seletar Line will improve the situation for residents in the North-East. But in the short term, I have brought back free morning off-peak travel on the NEL and Sengkang-Punggol LRT, to encourage more commuters to shift out of the morning peak.
It is early days yet because we implemented it at the turn of the year, but I am happy to share that this has so far been quite effective. Around 8% of commuters have shifted off peak, which has resulted in a less crowded ride for other commuters travelling during morning peak hours.
The crowdedness has come down, akin to the effect of adding two extra trains, or 20 buses.
A third popular topic is whether we can add more bus services. I received many such requests, including two in the last half an hour in this Chamber, which I have noted – Flora Drive and Compassvale Crescent.
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My MOT colleagues and LTA have been trying our very best. Since the $1 billion Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme was launched, we have added 25 new bus services and enhanced over 60 existing ones islandwide.
I would very much like to launch more bus services. To do so, I need to buy buses. I also need to build depots and interchanges, including in Sungei Serangoon. But most importantly, I need to hire bus captains. There are just not enough Singaporeans who want to be bus drivers and we have already reached the limit in terms of how many foreign bus drivers we can recruit.
Ms Yeo Wan Ling proposed raising the starting salary for bus captains, which is now around $3,600, including overtime, to attract new recruits. I support her suggestion. We are in discussions with the bus operators and the National Transport Workers' Union on this as well as to further improve working conditions and career progression for existing bus captains.
A fourth area we receive a lot of feedback on is COEs.
Ms Tin Pei Ling and Mr Edward Chia asked if we will review the COE system, given new developments, such as EVs, AVs and the ERP 2.0 system.
The COE system was introduced in 1990 to control our vehicle population as we do not have enough land in Singapore for every person or even every household to own a car. If every household owns a car, we would have around 1.5 million cars on our roads – more than double our current car population. Our roads will be jammed up, like in many cities around the world, during peak hours and also off peak.
Every vehicle takes up road space and contributes to congestion, including motorcycles. This is why, to Mr Azhar Othman's query, we cannot exclude motorcycles from our COE system. But to Mr Liang Eng Hwa's question, we are watching the volume of Malaysian motorcycles very closely. We expect the increase in the Vehicle Entry Permit fee from $4 to $7 per day and the opening of the RTS Link, from 2027, to reduce the volume of the foreign motorcycle population in Singapore.
Mr Edward Chia has observed that the recent Category A and B prices have converged.
This is not the first time this has happened. In 2014, we added a power rating criterion to engine capacity precisely to separate Category A and Category B cars more clearly. This was in response to public feedback that Category A and B cars were becoming indistinguishable because there were more cars with smaller engine capacities but higher power. This change worked for some time.
But as Mr Chia pointed out, in recent years, manufacturers have been adjusting specifications of cars to fit within Category A. This has once again caused Category A and B prices to converge. Last month, Category A prices exceeded Category B prices, although in the exercise that just concluded an hour ago, Category B has returned to somewhat normal, higher than Category A once again.
But with Category A quota supply having peaked last year and Category B quota supply continuing to increase this year, it is likely that the two prices will continue to converge for some time. I have therefore asked LTA to review this issue. We will gather views from the public and from the industry on how to improve the COE categorisation for cars, including Mr Chia's specific proposal to apply discounts or surcharges based on open market value.
I hope Members can see from the above examples how MOT listens to feedback and tries our hardest to address concerns. I know this matters to you. It also matters to us. However, in land transport, many issues are zero sum. There is a trade-off for almost every decision we make and therefore, someone who is upset if he or she feels that they are on the wrong side of the line.
An example is bus route planning, which Ms Valerie Lee and Mr Abdul Muhaimin asked about.
LTA's bus planners are trained, when planning routes, to take into account current and future ridership – not just current ridership but also future ridership – journey times, travel patterns, alternative routes, amongst others. They are professionals, but even they find it very difficult, almost impossible, to satisfy everyone's preferences despite their best efforts.
Let me share my own experience in Chua Chu Kang.
Residents in one part of my division have been asking why a particular popular bus service did not stop at one bus stop downstairs from their homes. So, I asked LTA. After further analysis, LTA found that it was indeed possible to adjust the route. So, they did it. After the adjustment, most of the residents in those HDB blocks were very happy. But almost immediately, LTA and I got many emails from other commuters complaining that their journey was now longer and the buses were more crowded because of this one additional stop.
I understand that as commuters, we each have our specific personal situations and needs. But at the same time, I hope Singaporeans can understand that it is not easy to manage these trade-offs. But someone has to decide and that is our responsibility here at MOT to adopt a system-wide view and to deliver the greatest good for the greatest number.
Mr Chairman, I have shared how we will remain globally oriented, plan for the future and put people at the centre of what we do. And when I say people, I do not mean just the commuters. I also mean our transport workers who are the heart of my team.
Over the last nine months, I have met many of them over meals, festive celebrations and award ceremonies. I know how hard they work. Our rail maintenance workers toil in the quiet hours of the night. Our seafarers spend months away from their families. Our air traffic controllers keep their heads cool in high-stress environments.
These are but a few examples in our family of over 300,000 transport workers. Their work is unseen and unheard, but they are the ones who keep us moving and they will always have my support.
In August last year, I met Hasri Bin Abiden at Tengah bus interchange. He has been a bus captain for over 10 years. When a new bus service was introduced recently, Hasri volunteered to take on this new route. For an experienced bus captain, this is a challenge. It means changing routines and dealing with unfamiliar surroundings. Hasri told me that before he was deployed, he decided on his own accord to get on his motorcycle and practise the route all by himself at night, for many nights. He wanted to familiarise himself with the route so that he could better serve his future passengers.
Hasri is not alone. Every morning, he and many like him try to be the best that they can because they are proud of what they do. So that tomorrow morning and every morning after that, Singaporeans can step out of our homes with the confidence to get to where we want to go. [ Applause. ]
The Chairman : Senior Minister of State Sun Xueling.
The Senior Minister of State for Transport (Ms Sun Xueling) : Mr Chairman, I will respond to Members on air and land transport issues.
We are focused on building a globally oriented, future-focussed and people-centric transport system. Singapore's aviation story is one of constant evolution. From a small island nation, we have built one of the world's most interconnected air hubs. We are now linked to over 170 cities around the world.
However, being a hub also means we are not immune to global disruptions. We are monitoring the Middle East conflict closely. The safety of flights and passengers remain our top priority. Singapore Airlines and Scoot have suspended their flights to affected Middle Eastern destinations until 7 March. We will continue to monitor the situation. Other airlines that fly to Middle Eastern destinations from Changi have also cancelled or delayed their flights.
But even as we navigate the global climate of uncertainty, we never lose sight of the longer-term horizon.
Over the next decade, we expect Changi to continue to grow. Our growth thus far has also created over 60,000 quality jobs directly in aviation, from air traffic controllers managing our busy skies to engineers managing our aircrafts. By 2040, global air travel demand is set to double and Asia Pacific will be driving two thirds of this growth. We are already preparing our infrastructure to support this by building T5.
Just as important is our OneAviation workforce. The growth of Changi will bring about more opportunities for all, including good, well-paying jobs for Singaporeans.
Mr Sharael Taha asked how we are investing in our aviation workforce. CAAS has committed $200 million towards the OneAviation Manpower Fund to attract, develop and retain the OneAviation workforce. Over the past six months, CAAS has consulted extensively with aviation companies, schools, unions and workers to understand how to help Singaporeans access quality jobs in the aviation industry and progress in their careers. Three priorities have emerged.
First, CAAS will work with our IHLs to integrate professional training and undergraduate education. The aviation industry offers many rewarding and well-paying careers, such as in air traffic control and aircraft engineering. We have a good pipeline of IHL students who are training for such roles.
This includes Wong Rui Qi, who is currently pursuing a diploma in Aerospace Engineering at Temasek Polytechnic.
I met Rui Qi last year. Rui Qi shared with me about his interest in aerospace engineering and his eagerness to start a career as a licensed aircraft engineer as soon as possible. Today, upon graduation, Rui Qi will still need to undergo up to 44 months of professional training before attaining a professional license from CAAS to become a licensed aircraft engineer. By embedding industry-recognised skills training into the IHL curriculum, students, like Rui Qi, will be able to graduate more job-ready and embark on their aviation careers quickly.
Second, CAAS will enhance the workplace environment and experience for the Changi workforce. This could include enhancing our infrastructure, improving transport accessibility to and from the airport, particularly during late and early hours, and also providing better rest facilities for workers.
Third, CAAS will work with NTUC to develop a sector-wide mentorship scheme. This will support the career development of new entrants to the aviation workforce in key operational roles. This will enable us to build a future-ready and resilient next generation of aviation professionals.
CAAS will share more details for each of these three areas in the coming year.
To complement these efforts, we are also strengthening our outreach to bring aviation opportunities closer to Singaporeans.
Last Saturday, I attended the East Side OneAviation Careers Fair at Heartbeat@Bedok. There were over 2,000 job vacancies available in the aviation and aerospace sector and 18 participating organisations.
I look forward to working with interested Community Development Councils (CDCs) to bring aviation and aerospace careers to more local communities in Singapore. Let me repeat that. I look forward to working with interested CDCs to bring aviation and aerospace careers to more local communities in Singapore.
Ms Poh Li San asked about how we are attracting women to join the aviation sector.
I recently met Ms Megan Zheng, who has been an air traffic control officer (ATCO) for the past 12 years. She shared that it is a job like no other. Other than it being deeply fulfilling, she knows that every instruction that she gives helps guide an aircraft safely to land and that she is responsible for the lives of all the passengers and crew on board.
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And while ATCOs work shifts, Megan explained that her rosters are planned well in advance, up to a year ahead. And this allows officers like herself with two young children to plan their family commitments and personal time with confidence.
About 40% of our ATCO workforce are women today, and this has been growing steadily. As our air traffic continues to grow, we look forward to having more ATCOs join us.
Beyond the skies, the way that we run our airport is also evolving. Airport operations and planning is an exciting discipline that will become increasingly technologically driven as we prepare for T5.
We deployed the first driverless autonomous baggage tractors at Changi just two months ago, which will help to enhance worker safety, reduce physical workload and allow operations to continue in all weather conditions. Autonomous wheelchairs are also being trialled in T2 to help us meet the changing mobility needs of our passengers in the future.
This is the exciting future that draws in our students like Ms Ng Yu Jing from Temasek Polytechnic. Yu Jing and her course mates shared with me their enthusiasm to be a part of T5, and to chart the next chapter of Singapore’s aviation story.
Efforts to attract women into aviation do not just rest with the Government. When I attended the Women In Aviation Singapore Chapter Gala last year, I was heartened to see women and companies leaning forward to provide opportunities for women at every level in aviation. This includes the Women In Aviation Singapore Chapter mentorship programme, which gives young mentees access to valuable perspectives beyond their organisation. Women In Aviation Singapore Chapter’s mentorship programme has supported over 100 mentees over the past four years. CAAS has also been working closely with Women In Aviation Singapore Chapter to conduct outreach efforts to girls in schools and young women just starting out on their careers.
We are excited for more women to join our aviation sector, especially as we continue to face manpower shortages and there are many well-paying jobs available. The OneAviation workforce will continue to remain at the forefront as our aviation sector continues to grow.
Let me now turn to the land transport sector.
We are ensuring that our public transport network remains accessible and convenient. But manpower remains a binding constraint. The sustainable, long-term solution is to leverage technology, such as AVs.
Ms Yeo Wan Ling asked for an update on the autonomous shuttle operations in Punggol, the AV regulatory framework and support for the manpower transition.
In Punggol, around 740 people have tried the shuttles on Routes 1 and 3. Many commented that the rides were smooth and comfortable, and 99% said they would recommend the service to others. The shuttles provide last-mile connections not previously provided by direct transport links and reduce travel disruptions by up to 15 minutes. Punggol residents have seen the shuttles making their rounds and told me they are excited to try it soon.
Given the positive feedback, we will open up the rides on Routes 1 and 3 to the public from 1 April. The rides will be accompanied with a commentary on features of the AV, and they will be free for an initial period. This will allow more people to experience the technology and provide feedback for the operator to improve its service. Grab, the operator, will share more details on how to register for the rides. From the middle of this year, commuters may board and alight at any stop along Routes 1 and 3 at a flat fare of $4 per passenger.
ComfortDelGro’s autonomous shuttles on Route 2 in Punggol are making good progress in familiarisation and we look forward to commencing by-invite rides for Route 2 soon.
On my rounds in Punggol, I spoke with safety operators on board our autonomous shuttles. Mr Victor Tan has been a taxi driver and a driving instructor with ComfortDelGro for the past 15 years. He shared that training to be a safety operator on board the autonomous shuttle allowed him to augment his driving experience so that man and machine operate seamlessly as one.
Mr Vincent Teo and Ms Sarah Binte Ahmad wanted to try something new after driving for several years and see the new technology in action. They worked hard for their safety operator training with GrabAcademy and WeRide, which required a 90% passing score. I hear that Sarah’s four children are incredibly proud of their cool mom and Vincent will be progressing to an AV remote operator course soon.
These are examples of fellow taxi and private hire vehicle drivers who are giving autonomous technology a try. And new jobs will not just be in the area of safety operators.
There will be new jobs for more individualised in-person customer service which cannot be provided by a machine. There will be new jobs in maintenance and operations of autonomous fleets. New jobs in software and engineering. These are better paying jobs of the future that not only our current drivers can consider, but also our younger generation who may be interested in the future of autonomy.
This is an evolving space and many other countries, like China, Japan, the United Arab Emirates and the United States, are deploying AVs. Our best strategy is to prepare our people, our infrastructure and our laws. As the Prime Minister mentioned, we will make sure that autonomous technology and AI work for us.
Together with our unions, we are developing training and conversion programmes for our drivers. We are mapping out new job roles and opportunities for our drivers. I understand that the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) is having engagement sessions on AVs. So, a shoutout – if you are curious to find out more, please sign up!
We are also developing a more holistic legal framework for AVs, which will specify clearly the responsibilities and accountability of key parties in the ecosystem. This will provide clarity to our workers, industry and the public, and we will consult each of these groups in the coming year.
We are also leveraging technology for a cleaner living environment. EVs have zero tailpipe emissions. Our air quality will improve, our children no longer have to breathe in harmful fumes from vehicles. EVs are also quiet. We often receive feedback on traffic noise. EVs will improve this.
In January 2026, EV adoption grew to a record 55% of new car registrations. Mr Louis Chua and Ms Tin Pei Ling asked whether our EV charger network is adequate to support the growing EV fleet. I am pleased to share that there are more than 29,000 charging points island-wide. We have achieved our target to provide all HDB residents with convenient access to a charger, with more than 90% of HDB carparks equipped with slow chargers. This addresses the needs of residents who want to charge their cars overnight.
Mr Ang Wei Neng and Mr Dennis Tan suggested deploying more fast chargers. We have already deployed 150 fast charging points at 70 carparks at HDB town centres and JTC premises.
Technology continues to evolve rapidly. There are more EV models that now support faster charging. New ultra-fast chargers that can add hundreds of kilometres of range to EVs in under 10 minutes. And there are also more sophisticated grid management solutions which allow us to reduce costly infrastructure upgrades.
We envision a mix of charging options to serve different preferences. EV owners who prefer overnight charging can continue to use the slow charging points near your homes. Those who prefer to charge while running errands for one to two hours can do so at a fast-charging hub, with multiple fast charging points of power ratings of around 50 kW. And those who would like a quick charge of 10 to 20 minutes, similar to the experience at petrol kiosks today, can do so at ultra-fast charging points above 150 kW.
Currently, there are fast-charging hubs in commercial and industrial premises, such as Pasir Ris Mall, Suntec City and Corporation Place in Jurong West. We will deploy more fast-charging hubs so that there will be at least one fast-charging hub per HDB town by the end of next year. Each hub will be equipped with at least six fast charging points. We will start in areas with higher EV charging demand and adequate electrical capacity, such as carparks near Compass One in Sengkang, MacPherson market and Plantation Plaza in Tengah.
We are also working with industry to explore ultra-fast charging options and agencies to optimise our electrical grid for our growing charging needs.
Mr Ang Wei Neng and Ms Yeo Wan Ling highlighted the importance of equipping our workforce for the EV transition. We launched the National EV Safety Specialist Certification in 2022, which has provided more than 2,000 people with foundational safety training in EV maintenance.
We will build on this effort. MOT’s National Transport Academy, SkillsFuture Singapore and the Institution of Engineers, Singapore will launch a Skills Pathway for EV Technical Specialists. This charts out the progression roadmap for a career in EV maintenance, including the training available from IHLs, the Singapore Bus Academy and NTUC LearningHub. Major automotive employers, such as Borneo Motors, BYD, Cycle & Carriage and Komoco, and our public bus operators will also support with employment opportunities. Eligible individuals and employees will enjoy at least 50% course fee subsidies for SSG-approved courses.
I will now touch on public buses and its workforce.
The Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme was introduced in July 2024 to enhance bus connectivity, especially in newer estates located further from MRT stations and to also offer alternatives travel modes along rail lines with high ridership.
Specifically for the North-East region, we have introduced 12 new bus services over the past 1.5 years, including 11 peak period services and extended the routes of two existing bus services. Residents have expressed appreciation for the new bus services, but they often ask if there can be more bus connections to other destinations.
Mr Chairman, the binding constraint to more bus services is not the number of buses but rather the number of bus captains. The job of a bus captain is not easy, as described by Ms Yeo Wan Ling. We have worked with bus operators and the National Transport Workers’ Union to improve the working conditions for bus drivers over the years, such as longer breaks during shifts and caps on shift lengths. But this has not arrested the decline in local recruitment.
As mentioned by Acting Minister Jeffrey Siow, we will do more to encourage locals to join the bus sector, including mid-career entrants. This would include working with bus operators and the union to raise salaries and improving working conditions and career progression for bus captains.
Ms Yeo also asked how we are preparing bus captains for the AV transition. We are commencing our AV bus trials on public bus service 191 and 400 later this year. The Government, led by LTA’s Singapore Bus Academy, is working closely with public transport operators like SBST, our unions and AV tech solution providers to prepare our bus captains. Through the support and training programmes, we will upskill these bus captains and ensure that they are equipped with the required skills to take on new roles, such as safety and remote operators, fleet managers and other positions in the technical and passenger service functions. Our priority is to ensure that our bus captains are well equipped with the required skills to take on new and meaningful roles in this AV transition as we pilot the AV services in a safe and responsible manner.
I would like to touch on improving safety of worker transport. Government agencies have been working closely with industry and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to improve the safety of worker transport. We have made good progress, introducing requirements for lorries ferrying workers to be fitted with canopies and higher protective side railings, have lower speed limits and to meet minimum space requirements.
In close consultation with our tripartite partners, we will take a further step. From 1 January 2027, we will no longer allow the ferrying of workers in caged lorries. Caged lorry decks present additional safety risks to rear deck passengers. For example, if a lorry with a cage door that is latched or locked from the outside is involved in an accident or a fire, workers may not be able to escape.
Companies may still use their caged lorries to transport goods. If companies need the flexibility to transport either workers or goods on their rear decks, they can choose to replace the cage structure with a canopy, side railings and rain covers.
I thank the NGOs for this suggestion and their patience while we assessed the risks.
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To Mr Jackson Lam's query about MOT's approach to road safety, we continuously enhance road safety through both infrastructure improvements and community engagement. Our Friendly Streets initiative exemplifies this, where LTA constructs new signalised crossings, barrier-free crossings and wider centre islands for safe crossing. There are also reduced speed limits and other traffic calming measures.
In the five pilot sites with Friendly Streets, we have seen average vehicular speeds reducing by up to 25%. More residents are also walking or cycling along these Friendly Streets. Twenty-five more sites are in the works, such as in Holland/Buona Vista and Punggol. Given the positive feedback, we will roll out another 20 new Friendly Streets over the next few years. Some of the new sites include Pandan Gardens and Kampong Gelam. Residents can look forward to being engaged on road infrastructure improvements to improve safety, convenience and comfort.
By 2030, every town will have at least one Friendly Street. This means at least 50 Friendly Streets island-wide.
Chairman, transport connects us all, to family, to work and to the world. Our investments into infrastructure, people and technology will ensure that these connections remain strong, safe and sustainable, for Singapore and Singaporeans.
The Chairman : Senior Minister of State Murali Pillai.
The Senior Minister of State for Transport (Mr Murali Pillai) : Mr Chairman, the sea has always been Singapore's open passage to the world. We have relied on it throughout our history.
Today, the seas are choppy. When we speak of supply chain disruptions, it is sea lanes that grant or prohibit, passage to supply chains across the world. When we speak of geopolitical tensions, it is the literal ports of call that are changing amid greater volatility and global uncertainties.
[Mr Speaker in the Chair]
Since last weekend, we, on this side of the world, have been saddened to note the ongoing situation in the Middle East. Not only has it claimed lives, it has also begun to disrupt the flow of around 20% of the world's oil and gas through the narrow Strait of Hormuz. Already, several shipping companies have announced the suspension of vessel transits through the Strait. This will inevitably cause upward price pressures on these commodities. All these consequences happened in just a matter of days.
Amidst this upheaval, the maritime sector can be a steady conduit, keeping Singapore connected to the world. Singapore was built on the backbone of our geography along two straits, the Straits of Malacca and Singapore. The sea can continue to afford us the same riches it had in the past, if we only look to our time-proven instincts and skills and grow our seafarers and maritime workforce. If we do this well, we will ride the seas as we have throughout our history.
We will press ahead with four key thrusts.
First, we must remain open and support the free flow of trade, people and partnerships. The open seas are not an empire to be conquered but a global commons subject to internationally accepted rules and laws. For Singapore as a small island nation, this rule is a bulwark upon which we rely.
But governance of a global commons cannot be a sole enterprise, least of all for a small country like ours. The Acting Minister for Transport Mr Jeffery Siow has explained how we will continue to drive collective efforts at key international institutions, such as the IMO.
We also pledge to work with like-minded partners to contribute to the development of rules and standards for international shipping. One way is by establishing Green and Digital Shipping Corridors with other countries. These collaborations enable us to collectively develop technologies, infrastructure and standards to promote a more sustainable and connected maritime ecosystem. We will continue to find new opportunities to grow these connections.
Second, Singapore must continue to offer itself as a key node in global supply chains. The hon Member Mr Sharael Taha asked about how MOT is strengthening the long-term competitiveness of our maritime sector.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) is developing a Maritime Singapore Master Plan. It will be a future-focused industry-wide blueprint to guide the sector's development over the next few decades. It aims to strengthen Singapore's competitiveness as a key node and hub port, enhance Singapore's attractiveness as an International Maritime Centre, establish Singapore as a global leader in maritime innovation, including in AI and develop a future-ready maritime workforce.
We will not develop the Master Plan alone. Over the next few months, MPA will set up a local industry panel comprising key business leaders to gather insights, as we engage our unions and the public. MPA aims to formalise the Master Plan by 2027.
To be a node is to provide many points of entry, as well as to spark synergies amongst those already here. We are growing Singapore as a centre for maritime technology, innovation and research and development (R&D).
As mentioned by the Acting Minister Mr Jeffery Siow, we are also investing in the capabilities and capacity of our port. Hon Member Ms Tin Pei Ling asked for an update on Tuas Port's development and how it will boost Singapore's competitiveness. Reclamation works for Phase 2 are close to 80% complete, and planning for Phase 3 is underway. When completed in the 2040s, Tuas Port will have a capacity of 65 million TEUs and will be the world's largest fully automated container terminal. This will further secure Singapore's connectivity to the world and our competitiveness as a trusted node for international shipping.
Over the next few decades, we will continue to refine the design of Tuas Port to meet new needs as our operating environment changes. This is the benefit of a phased approach that we have adopted for the development of Tuas Port.
As one of the world's busiest ports, Singapore is also a useful testbed and living laboratory for those seeking to trial innovative maritime solutions in a realistic operating environment. MPA will introduce a new innovation track under the Maritime Cluster Fund Business Development scheme, to better support companies to deepen their technological and innovation capabilities here. Under the scheme, companies establishing innovation and technology desks or corporate venture capital functions here can receive funding and increased access to R&D expertise as well as regulatory support. This will help to position Singapore as a global node for talent, ideas and capital.
I recently met Mr Nicholas Brabeck, Managing Director of Everllence Singapore. Everllence is one of the shipping industry's main engine makers. I was heartened to hear that Everllence had chosen to set up its largest service hub outside of Europe here, not only because of Singapore's infrastructure as well as its strategic location, but also due to our skilled and resilient workforce, both onshore and at sea.
We will continue to ensure graduates and workers are well-equipped to seize the many well-paying opportunities in this sector. Some of these roles may be unfamiliar to Singaporeans. But they are good jobs. For example, onshore maritime roles include ship charterers and ship brokers, who earned competitive median gross wages of approximately $10,000 in 2024, and marine and technical superintendents, who drew median gross wages ranging from $8,000 to $13,000 from 2021 to 2024.
In fact, the maritime industry is not just for those who sail, but for many who work on land. One such person is Ms Divika Gill whom I met several weeks earlier. She joined the sector about three months ago after graduating from Singapore Polytechnic. She is now a fitter, an understated description in the maritime world referring to a highly skilled technician supporting engineering operations and upholding the highest safety standards to make vessels ocean-worthy. She aspires to be a marine engineer. She is among a growing group of women who find meaning and purpose in a maritime career.
Mr Sharael Taha also about asked how we are creating a pipeline of skilled Singaporeans.
First, we will continue to invest in maritime talent. In line with feedback from companies, MPA is streamlining the requirements of the Maritime Cluster Fund Management Associate scheme and updating the programme to keep up with the latest practices in talent development.
Through these refinements, smaller firms, including SMEs, would be able to create structured professional development opportunities for their employees. Grooming talent for management and leadership positions supports their business growth in the longer term. MPA will also increase opportunities for Management Associates to rotate across different maritime roles and for longer, to build greater depth and expertise. This will groom young professionals early by broadening their understanding of the maritime value chain.
Second, we want to prepare Singaporeans to take on leadership roles in the maritime sector. As maritime is global in nature, maritime leaders will need to have experience and capabilities running international operations and managing cross-cultural teams. This is why we are launching a new Maritime Cluster Fund Global Rotation scheme. The scheme provides grants to companies to co-fund the overseas deployments of local middle managers, to equip them with the competencies to take on supervisory roles.
But attracting top talent into the maritime sector and keeping them, is not just a matter of Government making policies top-down. It has to be done in close partnership with our industry leaders, players, unions and IHLs.
The maritime sector's track record of supporting committed individuals through scholarships and internships is a testament to the importance the industry places on talent development. In fact, if hon Members were to look up to my right, five scholarship recipients, accompanied by the Chairman of the Singapore Maritime Foundation Mr Hor Weng Yew are here with us in this House today. They are drawn from different backgrounds, including the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) and polytechnics, and their scholarships are sponsored by various maritime companies and organisations.
I hope their example will inspire a new generation of young Singaporeans to take up the challenge and transform the maritime sector.
I recently met Captain Lee Cheng Wee, who first joined the maritime sector more than 50 years ago in the early 1970s. He responded to an advertisement in The Straits Times to be a harbour pilot. He thought he would have a chance to fly over Singapore's waters, boy, was he wrong! He found out it was actually a sea-based job. But while his entry into the maritime sector was accidental, he forged an enduring career over five decades in the maritime sector. He served, also, as our Port Master from 2008 to 2013.
Across the decades, Captain Lee has seen the growth of our port and maritime ecosystem. For him, the close working relationship between industry and unions has been the critical ingredient that allowed Maritime Singapore to grow and for new jobs to be created.
Views like Captain Lee's are important in telling us what tripartism means in real life. Alongside industry stakeholders and our unions, we will continue to set our collective ambition for the maritime sector and ensure that our maritime workforce is ready to chart the next bound.
Last, we will use technology to help each one of us in the maritime sector do more and create rewarding jobs. To do this, MPA will expand trials of Unmanned Surface Vessels later this year. The Unmanned Surface Vessels will operate autonomously while retaining the capability for remote piloting when required. They will leverage AI sensors and real-time data transmission to enhance MPA's operational effectiveness in maritime surveillance and hydrographic operations. This also reduces personnel exposure to dangerous conditions. And that manpower freed up can be channelled to other growth areas.
Last year, MPA launched the Singapore Maritime Digital Twin, a dynamic virtual model of our port. I am happy to announce that MPA will be extending this Digital Twin to bring onboard industry partners, who can test their new products and services to better deliver marine services to port users. Two use cases will be piloted this year: the first will optimise ship supply services for vessels calling at Singapore; and the second will enhance incident response and emergency preparedness for incidents such as oil spills.
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We welcome companies to work together with us to build their applications and simulation models using the Digital Twin, including AI-related applications.
As we adopt such new technologies, we will continue to put in place appropriate safeguards to address risks that may arise. As part of these efforts, MPA has introduced programmes to strengthen cyber security training, including using a shipboard technology testbed to train vessel traffic management officers.
Mr Chairman, the seas have always been the place for innovation. In maritime lore, Moby Dick is often cited as a cautionary tale – that one must not be dogmatic and vainglorious like Captain Ahab but be flexible and a survivor like Ishmael. But to me, Moby Dick is also full of revelations about the science of navigation and the role of technology in seafaring – it is hard for us to imagine now, but at the time of writing, the ability to establish precise longitudes for mariners was just 90 years old. It was John Harrison's invention of the chronometer, highly accurate even at sea, that allowed longitudes to be plotted and journeys to be precise enough to chase a nimble whale.
Likewise, Singapore must remain alive to the transformational power of new technologies, to master new tasks and chart new journeys through untested waters. The old ways are gone, and now is the time for new navigators with our own chronometers.
Mr Chairman, even as clouds hang overhead, even as the waves rise, Maritime Singapore can continue to ride the waves of change, if we have strong partners across the world, if we strengthen our position as a trusted node, if we prepare our people and if we open our eyes to the power of technology.
Most importantly, we can do this if we remember our history as an island nation. The seas have marked our destiny in trade and commerce and given us a particular prosperity – a prosperity that can remain ours, as long as we take heart to preserve and grow, our courage and ability to navigate the high seas.
The Chairman : Minister of State Baey Yam Keng.
The Minister of State for Transport (Mr Baey Yam Keng) : Chairman, I will elaborate on how we make land transport people-centric and future-ready. Fellow Singaporeans will play an integral role in this journey. Together, we can shape the next bound of our transport system.
I will start with the refresh of the Land Transport Master Plan, followed by our efforts to promote a positive commuter culture and safety on public paths.
Ms Tin Pei Ling asked about the future of land transport and what MOT is doing to build a better and safer land transport system that addresses commuter needs.
As the Acting Minister mentioned, LTA has launched a nationwide public consultation to refresh the Land Transport Master Plan 2040. This is the long-term strategic blueprint that will chart the next phase of our land transport system.
Why do we need to refresh the Land Transport Master Plan? This is because there are many emerging trends that require us to review our priorities and enhance our strategy.
Firstly, demographic changes such as ageing population and evolving lifestyle needs of our people meant that transport provisions must also evolve to cater to working adults moving into new estates further away from their workplaces, families with young children, elderly, persons with disability and other commuter groups.
The effects of climate change and more extreme weather patterns also cannot be ignored. For instance, we need to continue improving our transport infrastructure so that as much as possible, commuters can walk, cycle and ride comfortably.
At the same time, we are on the cusp of significant transformation. Advances in intelligent and autonomous systems have enormous potential to improve and expand our mobility options.
What does this mean for the future of transport? Since kick-starting the outreach for refresh of the Land Transport Master Plan late last year, we have heard from many Singaporeans. I would like to share the "3Cs" that have emerged as the top priorities: connectivity, comfort and community.
To achieve the first C of keeping Singaporeans connected and meeting different travel needs, we must continue to invest in our public transport network, as well as on shared and active mobility.
Acting Minister has earlier updated on the progress of the new rail lines under construction. As we build new lines and stations, we will also continue to maintain and rejuvenate older ones to support growing demand and to remain inclusive and accessible to all commuters.
When it comes to last-mile connectivity, we hope to cater for more cycling and micromobility networks island-wide as part of infrastructure planning. This allows for safe, convenient and active transport options for shorter distances within a town, such as the use of bicycles and active mobility devices. This approach is especially essential and beneficial for a dense urban city-state like Singapore.
The North-South Corridor is a good example. With more traffic diverted to its underground tunnel and viaduct, surface streets will be freed up to prioritise walking, cycling, buses as well as communal and green spaces. When completed, residents in the North can enjoy faster commutes to city centre, as well as more pleasant and comfortable travel to places along the corridor.
The second C is comfort. We want journeys to be comfortable and enjoyable so that public transport remains the mode of choice for Singaporeans.
One aspect of our Land Transport Master Plan engagements is getting Singaporeans from all walks of life to share more about their daily commutes – not only about travel times and connectivity, but also about their travel experience.
Participants talked about how they use their neighbourhood spaces and get to transport nodes. As Senior Minister of State Sun Xueling has shared, we will be expanding Friendly Streets to all towns by 2030.
Members also asked about commuter infrastructure that supports walking, such as covered linkways and pedestrian overhead bridges.
LTA is continuously improving the first-mile-last-mile journey to our transport nodes. For example, we already have covered linkways within a 400-metre radius of MRT stations. This is now extended to an 800-metre radius at our Friendly Streets.
We are also installing lifts to existing pedestrian overhead bridges. We have already completed the retrofitting of lifts to bridges near major transport nodes and are now focusing on bridges that serve more seniors.
Ms Sylvia Lim asked about lift upgrading at four pedestrian overhead bridges in Hougang. Mr Chairman, on behalf of the Acting Minister, I would like to confirm that there is no delay. We have been carrying out the retrofitting of bridges with lifts in phases. The four bridges mentioned by Ms Lim is in this current phase, which commenced at the end of last year. There are over 100 bridges that we are upgrading in this phase. Works must be carried out progressively.
We will commence works at two of the bridges mentioned by Ms Lim by the middle of 2027 before moving on to the other two bridges later. We hope that Ms Lim will find this response satisfactory.
Mr Chairman, in every project we do, we have to prioritise and carry out works progressively. Implementing and proving infrastructure takes time and resources, which are also needed by other equally meritorious projects.
We take this principle: benefit as many commuters as quickly as possible. Over time we will cover all the locations that we have identified for enhancements.
The last C is about fostering a sense of community. Transport is a shared experience. A transport system that fulfils our needs, and one that we are proud of, goes beyond policies and hardware.
It is also a matter of how we treat one another in shared spaces on a day-to-day basis, whether on our roads and public paths, or in buses and trains.
While we can improve our infrastructure and hardware, such changes are not without trade-offs. Transport spaces are ultimately shared by all of us. From time to time, conflicting needs do come up. For example, since 2018, LTA has been procuring buses with more open space where wheelchairs and strollers can be parked. This caters to an increasing number of commuters with diverse needs.
But to create space for these bays, LTA had to reduce the number of seats, as Ms Sylvia Lim pointed out. To mitigate this, LTA will install foldable seats within the bays where feasible.
Part of the Land Transport Master Plan exercise is to create the opportunity for these important conversations, to allow people with different needs to hear from one another and forge consensus on the social compact that underlies our shared spaces in our transport system.
An example of where greater consensus is needed is in the use of spaces set aside for wheelchairs and strollers on buses. Ms Elysa Chen raised the need to make public transport more inclusive for young families. For parents with open strollers, our bus captains will also be happy to activate the wheelchair ramp upon request, to facilitate their boarding process.
We have also heard feedback from parents that they are sometimes asked by the bus captains to fold their stroller and carry their child because the bus is crowded and there is a person wheelchair-bound person boarding.
We are actively reviewing this issue and consulting various stakeholders. Aside from increasing the space allocated for wheelchairs and strollers, which comes with trade-offs, LTA has been conducting small-scale operational trials on the more flexible use of such spaces and has gathered initial operational insights. We are now ready to test this at a larger scale.
From April 2026, on around 10 selected bus services plying routes that serve more wheelchair or mobility aid users and parents with young children, our bus captains will facilitate the use of bays by wheelchairs and open strollers on a first-come-first-serve basis. Depending on the findings, we will consider making this the norm across the entire network. We will also gather views at the upcoming Land Transport Master Plan consultations, from commuters, families and advocates to find a balanced way forward together.
Our aim is for our public buses and trains to be an inclusive space for commuters with all needs, including wheelchair users and parents with young children. Singaporeans' active participation in this conversation and our gracious commuting behaviours, will make all the difference.
Aside from the suggestions to improve our transport system, we also heard about the positive impact that our transport system has made on Singaporeans' everyday lives, and that is heartening.
We know that land transport is a deeply personal part of everyone's lived experience and an issue that is close to many people's hearts. There will be more Land Transport Master Plan engagements to come, including school outreach, pop-ups and thematic focused group discussions that deep dive into targeted issues.
We want to hear your stories and perspectives, discuss the necessary trade-offs and partner you in co-creating a transport system that we will all take pride in.
Next, I will speak on our efforts to cultivate a more gracious and caring commuting culture.
Beyond faster and more convenient journeys, ensuring an inclusive public transport system is equally important, as Ms Elysa Chen has mentioned. Besides access to public transport, we want everyone to feel safe and confident when using our buses and trains.
Over the years, we have made our system more accessible to commuters with all needs. Our public transport system is now almost entirely barrier-free. LTA and our transport operators are also expanding our efforts to support commuters with other diverse needs.
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To give an example, SBS Transit has piloted a Sign Language Virtual Assistant kiosk called SiLViA at Chinatown MRT station. Using AI, the kiosk features a female avatar, which can translate spoken words or public announcements into sign language.
Miss Rachel Ong asked whether there are plans to scale this. So far, commuters with hearing difficulties have found the kiosk useful. LTA will work with SBS Transit to deploy this initiative at more locations.
Beyond hardware and technology, all commuters can play a part. A "we first" society starts with our everyday interactions on our public transport system.
Queuing to board our MRT trains and letting commuters alight first was not the norm here in the past. However, after LTA launched the Graciousness Campaign in 2009 and marked out queue lines at MRT platforms, this is now second nature.
Building such norms is an ongoing process. The Public Transport Council regularly engages commuters on how we can make the public transport system more gracious and inclusive.
Some feedback that they have received includes how our commuters with diverse needs can find it difficult to get a seat, especially if their condition is not visible to others. Commuters with open strollers sometimes also have to wait for the lift behind long queues of able-bodied people.
The Caring SG Commuters Movement, led by Public Transport Council and LTA, will launch a new campaign to shape positive behaviour norms in our public transport system.
First, we will clearly set up priority queue lines at the priority boarding doors within MRT stations and at the lifts within our public transport nodes progressively. If you are using a wheelchair, pregnant or travelling with a stroller, you can use these priority queue lines when waiting for the train or the lift. For other commuters, we encourage you to use the escalators and stairs so that the lifts can be prioritised for those with greater needs. If you still wish to use the lift, please let those in the priority queues enter first.
Second, we encourage all commuters who need a seat, such as those who are pregnant or have health conditions which may not be visible, to obtain a "Helping Hand" card from the passenger service centres at train stations and bus interchanges. I also encourage commuters to show acts of care by actively giving up their seats to those who need them more, including those carrying the striking yellow "Helping Hand" cards.
We also want to make it a norm for those who need a seat to ask for one. While some commuters may not notice that you need a seat, I am sure that most people are understanding and are prepared to give up their seats if they are approached politely.
Lastly, Mr Gerald Giam, Mr Jackson Lam and Ms Valerie Lee asked about the different ways to improve the safe use of public paths, which are shared between pedestrians and users of mobility devices.
Indeed, we want to encourage active mobility while ensuring safety. To do so, we set out the rules and regulations, enforce them, build the infrastructure and promote the safe and gracious sharing of public paths through education and engagement.
On the requirement of lights, bicycles, power-assisted bicycles and personal mobility devices must display a front white light and a rear red light when ridden on public paths and roads during hours of darkness between 7.00 pm and 7.00 am. This ensures that riders are visible to pedestrians and other path users at night. LTA conducts regular enforcement operations to ensure compliance.
On cycling etiquette and the rights and responsibilities of path users, the Code of Conduct for Users of Public Path provides guidelines to ensure harmonious path sharing.
Riders should look out for and give way to pedestrians on public paths. The bell is meant to gently alert others before overtaking rather than to demand the right of way. When approaching bus stops and intersections of public paths, riders should slow down and stop if necessary. This reduces the risk of accidents with other path users such as those boarding or alighting from buses.
At the same time, pedestrians should also do their part to stay alert to oncoming riders or any potential danger by keeping their eyes and ears open.
Where possible, we also have designed infrastructure to enable safe use and sharing of paths. For example, LTA builds bypass paths behind bus stops to separate cyclists from bus commuters where possible. Markings, signs and speed regulating strips also remind cyclists to slow down and give way to pedestrians near bus stops. LTA also enforces against cyclists who speed or ride recklessly.
We will continue to monitor accidents and public feedback to identify areas for improvement.
On whether to prohibit pedestrians from walking on cycling paths when a dedicated alternative is provided, this had been deliberated before. We do not plan to prohibit pedestrians from using cycling paths adjacent to Pedestrian-Only Paths. This provides pedestrians, who are the largest group of path users, with the flexibility to also walk on the cycling paths when it is safe to do so.
Our approach is to clearly demarcate the paths and focus on strengthening user awareness about path safety through education and outreach efforts. Users are advised to keep to their own paths under the Code of Conduct. Enforcement officers on the ground and volunteers from the Active Mobility Community Ambassadors scheme will also educate pedestrians seen walking on cycling paths to keep to the Pedestrian-Only Paths for their own safety. Chairman, I will now say a few words in Mandarin.
( In Mandarin ) : [ Please refer to Vernacular Speech .] Since November last year, we have embarked on a year-long public consultation to update the Land Transport Master Plan with the aim of exploring different commuting needs together and jointly shaping our future transport system.
Over the past four months, we have received suggestions to improve transport connectivity and enhance journey comfort.
Most people aspire towards a more inclusive and caring commuting culture. This requires everyone to do their part. Whenever you are travelling on the MRT or public buses, do you notice passengers who need the seats and lifts more, such as seniors, wheelchair users, pregnant women and parents with strollers, and voluntarily give way to them?
We also understand the difficulty faced by many parents travelling on public buses with strollers. Therefore, we will implement a pilot programme starting in April this year. On approximately 10 bus routes, bus captains will help parents with strollers and wheelchair-bound passengers with the use of the designated spaces, on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Sometimes, buses may be rather crowded. I encourage passengers to be more understanding of one another and assist those in need. The same hands you extend to help others today are in fact paving the way for your family and loved ones' needs tomorrow.
The spirit of mutual courtesy and care should also extend to the use of public roads. To ensure the safety of different users, such as pedestrians and users of personal mobility devices, LTA has implemented relevant regulations and optimised road infrastructure. We will continue public education and enforcement in this area to address dangerous and illegal behaviours.
I hope that as we use our shared paths, let us take greater care and not leave safety to chance, be gracious when resolving any differences and look out for one another.
( In English ): Mr Chairman, to conclude, we will continue to work hand in hand with fellow Singaporeans to enhance our land transport system and commuter culture. This will ensure that it is future-ready and able to meet the diverse needs of our people.
The Chairman : We have some time for clarifications. Ms Tin Pei Ling.
Ms Tin Pei Ling : Thank you, Chairman. Two questions.
One is that I hear that there will be a review of the COE system later part of this year. I would just like to ask if there is a specific timeline that we can look forward to.
Second is on land transport overall. It is on the impact of ageing population and ageing infrastructure. With an ageing population, of course, there will be more needs. More covered walkways, and covered walkways, if they are a bit lengthy, they may need benches along the way, lifts at overhead bridges, so on and so forth. There will be more demand of such to be built.
On ageing infrastructure, over time, obviously, you need maintenance, if not a refresh or rebuilding of these. These will add cost. So, I would like to understand whether it is possible to give us a sense of how such costs may increase over time, both the construction and lifetime maintenance, and whether it is feasibly sustainable over the longer run. If yes or no, how are we going to manage this?
Mr Jeffrey Siow : Chairman, I will take the first question and I will have Minister of State Baey take the second one.
For the COE review, I intend to start this immediately. We will have to take the rest of the year to do the consultation. We will take it as part of the Land Transport Master Plan process as Minister of State Baey has explained. Hopefully, by the end of this year, we ought to have some form of conclusion.
Mr Baey Yam Keng : As Ms Tin has mentioned, with the changing needs of the population, our infrastructure needs to keep up with the needs. Infrastructure like pedestrian overhead bridge (POB) lifts, as mentioned, we are in this current phase with more than 100 POB lifts. This is Phase 4. We are now focusing on locations that serve more seniors.
We may need a few years, because as we have mentioned in the House before, construction of a pair of lifts at the POB is not so straightforward. We need to look at underground services that may be disrupted and various things. It does take time and resources.
The Member has rightly pointed out, it is not just building it, it is also maintaining the lifts subsequently.
After Phase 4, do we have Phase 5 and subsequent phases? We do have Members asking for lifts at POBs in their respective areas. I believe, if I am not wrong, we have easily more than 700 POBs around Singapore. I do not think we will be able to install lifts at all the POBs or, in that argument or rationale, improve amenities or infrastructure to cater to all needs of the population over time.
I think MOT and LTA will have to look at each of the request and come up with a strategy of addressing the needs of as many as commuters as quickly as possible, as I have mentioned in my speech. It is about balancing the different needs, managing our resources prudently, bearing in mind not only the cost of the construction development but the whole tail of maintenance.
We will definitely make sure that whatever we build will be maintained properly. We call to the public and commuters to make use of these facilities properly, make sure that they last a long time so that we do not need to do repairs or refurbishment too frequently. I believe that with that kind of approach, we will be able to cater to the needs of our ageing population in time to come.
The Chairman : There are a number of POBs in my division as well, Minister of State Baey. So, do not forget mine. Mr Ang Wei Neng.
Mr Ang Wei Neng : Chairman, I have two clarifications. Firstly, we are glad that the Minister has assured us that MOT is working to establish clearer criteria for distinguishing between Cat A and Cat B COE. In the meantime, I would like to seek clarification on the reduction in the supply of Category A COE. Is MOT still committed to increasing the overall COE supply by 20,000 as announced in 2024?
If so, could MOT consider rebalancing the supply of Cat A and B COE, using the new allocation, at least for the next 12 months. This approach will help to moderate the price of Cat A COE while waiting for MOT's review of criteria for Cat A and Cat B COE, which Minister has said will take until the end of the year.
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Secondly, we are pleased that MOT is also planning to enhance the renumeration and working conditions of the bus captains to attract more local residents to join the bus industry. We would like to enquire whether MOT will increase the subsidies for the public transport to ensure that these measures do not result in higher transport fares?
Mr Jeffrey Siow : Chairman, we have plans to inject up to 20,000 additional COEs over the next few years, as Mr Ang has pointed out. That plan remains unchanged. It was on the premise that the total mileage has fallen and our ability to manage congestion using ERP 2.0 will be enhanced. So, those reasons stay valid; we will continue to inject those COEs over the next few years.
We have been doing it based on a certain methodology that involves redistributing guaranteed de-registrations via cut and fill, as well as then subsequently doing the injections. The objective is to smoothen the COE quota supply overall.
As to whether we want to inject another parameter, which is to rebalance Cat A and B, we will evaluate that, but I am hesitant about introducing too many parameters. Because, as I think one of the Members, I think it was Mr Edward Chia, who said that in the course of doing this, we do not want to add too much uncertainty, too many variables and therefore, too much perturbation to the market. So, we will evaluate it, but I think, just sort of thinking offhand, probably not too likely.
On the second question on the bus captains, we are discussing with the unions as well as with the bus operators on how to execute the increase in the salaries for new recruits, starting salaries of bus captains. And I think Government is prepared to see what we can do to put in more support to the system. But I wish to point out that, in fact, for the bus network, the Government has already put in a lot of resources to support the financial sustainability of the bus network.
I mentioned the Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme, which is a significant inject of funds. Overall, on a yearly basis, the Government puts in a billion dollars as subsidies into the bus network. So, it is a significant support already. We have to see then overall, how the fiscal sustainability of the bus network can be maintained, so that we can continue to grow the network at a sustainable pace and that salaries are also then incorporated into the overall cost of maintaining this network.
The Chairman : Mr Liang Eng Hwa.
Mr Liang Eng Hwa : Sir, I believe the political office holders have not replied or responded to my cut on traffic congestion, so can I perhaps ask the Minister, whether is it because he disagrees with me that the traffic congestion has worsened or that there is no non-pricing solutions to traffic congestion, which I had asked for.
So, can I ask the Minister to consider again what I have raised in the cuts, which is that can we optimise the traffic light system, something that many countries have done; and how we can make it more responsive. It could be a really a good high-value AI-use case.
And then, the second suggestion, I mentioned about how we can have more expeditious clearing of vehicles during accidents. It is not really a high infrastructure item, something that can be managed, can be done. You just need to have the policy in place to say, "You got to clear the traffic within a certain time and there must be enough tow vehicles", and so on. So, I hope the Minister can give me a more encouraging response.
Mr Jeffrey Siow : Thank you, Mr Chairman. First of all, I want to apologise to Mr Liang Eng Hwa because he made a wonderful speech on transport with many ideas. And I was unable to reply to all the ideas that he had put out. But as he asked the clarification, it gives me an opportunity to be able to respond more fully to the good ideas that he has suggested.
Firstly, I want to reassure him because he had a very major concern about how if he had brought up traffic congestion, that ERP would be my first response. The answer is: not to worry, ERP is not our first option by any means. For the most part, ERP is always our last response, not least because ERP 1.0 gantries were hard to build and expensive to build; but even with ERP 2.0, I would like to reassure the Member that we would use road pricing only when it is really necessary. So, that is the first point.
On using technology, I think Mr Liang gave many examples and I agree with him that, in fact, using AI for systems, such as traffic light management, would significantly improve the fluidity of our traffic. And in fact, the LTA is exploring this. They showed me something recently, has a very nice acronym called CRUISE. I do not know what it stands for, but it looks reasonable and I am happy to find a time to share with Mr Liang, if he is interested.
There were a few other suggestions on, for example, double deck highways on Keppel. I think Mr Liang also suggested that. I think that is less likely something that we will do. I am reminded of Boston, a city which had I spent quite a bit of time in. They had this Big Dig – I do not know whether you would be familiar with it. They spent many years and vast amounts of money putting that two double decker highway into the ground. And today, if you go to Boston, it is a much nicer place to be in, and we have all, as a student, I have driven on that before. I can tell you, it was not a pleasant experience, and more importantly, it bifurcated the sea front from the city. So, I do not think we really want to do that as far as possible here.
Mr Liang also mentioned about logistics. Very much so, we will work with the industry to try to improve how we do logistics in Singapore, make it smoother, in terms of delivering goods. In fact, MOT and MTI have been coming together to try to develop a logistics strategy that is more coherent. And I think at the appropriate time we will update the House on this.
Finally, on traffic clearance. Actually, the Expressway Monitoring and Advisory System (EMAS) already does quite a good job. Today, they take about an average of 15 minutes to clear jams or clear an accident on the highway and to then allow traffic to continue smoothly. Usually, after they clear the accident, if it is a minor accident, it takes about maybe half an hour to an hour for traffic to get back to normal. But for a serious accident, where if it involves a fatality, it needs a bit more time, and that is when the more difficult jams happen. So, I think in terms of performance, it is already not bad, but I agree with Mr Liang that we should use technology to see how we can speed up those processes and reduce the impact of such incidents.
The Chairman : I see a more encouraged look from Mr Liang now. Mr Louis Chua.
Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis : Thank you, Chairman. Just one clarification for Ministers on the EV chargers. I think the MOT has previously said that we are looking at three to 12 charging points per HDB carpark by 2025, but my question is not so much on the deadline, but more in terms of the number of chargers that can be supported, because in most of the multi-storey car park that I see, it is typically just three 7.4 kilowatt chargers. So, I just wondering in terms of the original tenders that were put out to upgrade the electricity infrastructure, what was the maximum power capacity or number of charging stations that can be supported?
One of the key feedback that we often get is that the additional charging lots is subject to power capacity and it just does not seem to be the case that we might get twelve in each multi-storey car park in the near term.
Ms Sun Xueling : I thank the Member for his clarification. We started with a baseline deployment of at least three charging points per HDB car park. And I have shared in my earlier reply that 90% of our car parks have achieved this. So, moving forward, we are monitoring developments in charging technology, and that is why in my speech, I had talked about a mix of slow chargers as well as fast chargers.
I wanted to take the opportunity to talk about how we are sequencing our fast-charging hubs. I had mentioned that we will be looking at having one in each HDB town, and this will be relying on existing spare capacity at car parks where possible, and for future tranches of deployment, we are also working with the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), and the Energy Market Authority (EMA) to optimise our electrical grid to minimise costly grid upgrades.
So, I think when we look at our charging infrastructure, we should look at it holistically. It should be a mix in future of slow chargers, fast chargers, and we are keeping our eye on ultra-fast charging hubs.
The Chairman : Mr Edward Chia.
Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui : Thank you, Chairman. My first clarification is to the Minister. I thank him for being receptive to my suggestions on COE reform. Just want to confirm that he mentioned that it could also be based on the OMV system, but there will also be considerations on combining into a single pool, doing away with Cat A and Cat B? Can I confirm if that it is also under consideration? Second, also, in terms of the consultation exercise, could you share who are the usual stakeholders that will be involved in the consultation exercise?
My second clarification is to Senior Minister of State Sun. I think she mentioned about fast charging points, one per HDB town, and I think she mentioned that there will be six charging points per town. But typically, a HDB town has about 10,000 to 12,000 vehicles. Just want to check what is the projection in terms of adequacy, I think she mentioned about working with JTC and EMA to improve, what are the current limitations and what are the plans to actually resolve this limitation, so we can scale up more fast charging points per HDB town?
And my third clarification is to Senior Minister of State Murali, very pleased to hear that the maritime sector offers great job opportunities for Singaporeans and congratulations to the young scholars in Chamber today. Just want to ask what are the further plans to create more awareness among young Singaporeans about the job opportunities within the maritime sectors and in particular, what is current take-up rate for the GRaduate Industry Traineeships (GRIT) programme? And are there scopes to scale up the GRIT programme, so that more young Singaporeans can be exposed to the maritime sector and seize these opportunities for themselves?
Mr Jeffrey Siow : Thank you, Mr Chairman. I will take Mr Chia's first question, and then I will have the two Senior Ministers of State reply to his subsequent two questions.
First of all, I do confirm that indeed we will look specifically at Mr Chia's suggestion, which is to look at a system that is OMV-based, but also to look at merging Cat A and Cat B in a single-bidding category.
I think we have to look at how to do this, because there is probably still some merit to having some distinction between a mass market car category and a higher-end car category. We have to see how we can do this, but I think his idea is a very interesting one and we are very happy to try to explore that in the context of trying to find a system of categorisation that is a little bit more stable in the longer term.
As to who we consult, we will consult a range of stakeholders, obviously car buyers, both potential and current car users. We also want to consult the industry, so this would include both the motor dealers, but also car manufacturers and other industry observers.
I think we will also consult academics as well, because in a system like the COE, it involves auctions and I suppose, auction theory is very well developed. It is something that the academics will have something to say; and we will be very happy to seek views from them as well.
Ms Sun Xueling : On the Member's second question, our constraint really is our electrical infrastructure. I would like share that we have kickstarted our first phase of upgrades, which would benefit around 450 HDB multi-storey car parks and this upgrade is expected to complete by around 2029.
And for future tranches of deployment, so as to meet the targets, the numbers that Mr Edward Chia had mentioned, we are working with MTI and EMA to optimise our electrical grid to minimise costly grid upgrades and we will see what more can be done.
Mr Murali Pillai : Sir, I would like to thank the hon Member Mr Chia for his kind words about the efforts we have made thus far to attract young talent. On the specific issue about the GRIT programme, that involves traineeship, the good thing about the maritime sector is that we have jobs available. So, the natural thing to do for young aspirants is to apply for jobs instead of going through traineeship. So, for the maritime sector, we have not participated in the GRIT programme.
As to what further things we can do, I have identified in my speech, we work very closely with stakeholders, such as the Singapore Maritime Foundation, IHLs, our tripartite partners, our unions as well. And just one example that underscores this point. I spoke not too long ago about this lady, Ms Valerie Thai, who was a paralegal in a law firm. She attended an exhibition in a shopping mall that was run by the Singapore Maritime Officers' Union and the Employment and Employability Institute. And then, she decided to become a seafarer. So, we do all that we can to attract young talent into the maritime sector.
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The Chairman : There are five more Members who have raised their hands. I am trying to get to all of you, so do yourselves justice and to others. Ms Poh Li San.
Ms Poh Li San : Thank you Chairman. Just a quick question on the status on the autonomous vehicle trials. Other than the Punggol one, there is one more that is running in Marina Bay and Shenton Way area. Just to have an update on the progress of that. Also, it is a busy area, how will we deal with traffic congestion if there are some issues with the trials?
Mr Jeffrey Siow : Mr Chairman, I updated briefly in the speech. We are going to launch the autonomous buses in those two areas. I mentioned the two bus numbers which has now slipped my memory. I believe it is 400-something in Marina Bay and 100-something in Shenton Way. So, we will launch those I think in the second half of this year.
The Chairman : Mr Azhar Othman.
Mr Azhar Othman : This question is for the Acting Minister. He mentioned about the shared space of motorcycles on the road. There are 140,000 motorcycles, if I got it right, and there are 70,000 motorcycles from the causeway that goes to Singapore. Almost half of them come from the other side. And yet, they do not pay any COE, they do not pay any road tax. How do we justify Singaporeans paying so much, sharing the same space, and yet the other side are not doing so?
Mr Jeffrey Siow : Thank you, Mr Chairman. So, first of all, I have a lot of sympathy for the concern. We hear this a lot, very often from our Singaporean motorcycle riders. As to whether or not they are being treated fairly. This is why we have the Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) and the Goods Vehicle Permit (GVP) schemes.
The idea is that Malaysian motorbikes, when they come in, they pay a fee and then this equalises the cost. The fees are set such that the cost of owning and using a foreign registered vehicle in Singapore is equalised with that of a Singaporean vehicle. We applied a fee to cars, we apply a similar but lower fee to motorcycles.
LTA and MOT, we periodically review this fee, and in fact, we are going to raise the fee substantially from 2027 onwards. At the same time as when the RTS Link is open.
In addition, for our local motorcycles, just so that I address this point, the Government already applies lower ARF, lower road taxes – in fact, ERP charges are also lower for motorcycles relative to other vehicle types.
So, it addresses and recognises how motorcycles are in fact using not fully the same road space as a car but nonetheless still using some road space. They cause some level of congestion and therefore, we have to make sure that is priced properly and the externalities are properly taken into account.
The Chairman : Mr Gerald Giam.
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song : Sir, I am glad to hear that the Acting Minister wants to reduce the long travelling times on public transport. But he would appreciate that time is not the only factor contributing to a good commuting experience. A one-hour plus commute standing all the way is not easy on the back and the legs.
And since the binding constraint as Senior Minister of State Sun said, is not buses, but bus captains, can LTA deploy more double decker buses or bendy buses on heavily utilised routes, especially during peak hours, so that commuters can get a seat during their commute, or minimally do not miss their bus because it is full.
Mr Jeffrey Siow : Thank you, Mr Chairman. Absolutely agree. I think our intent is to try to deploy as many double decker buses as possible.
Just to explain a little bit, we do still have a legacy fleet of single deck buses. I am often asked, "Oh, why is it during peak hour, we are still deploying single deck buses?" and I get lots of angry emails very often on this particular issue. The reason is actually there are additions to the buses. I put in all my double deckers and then, on top of that, during peak hour, whatever single deckers I have, I also put in. And therefore, people do not like it when they see the single deck bus coming, but it is in fact an addition; it is not a subtraction.
Secondly, for electric buses, in the beginning when we first started buying them, most of them were single decker. And in Singapore, because we have to customise our buses, we had to wait for some time before the double deck electric buses came on stream. And so in the interim we did buy some of the single deck electric buses to start the electrification process. So, that is why you have still fairly new electric single deck buses in Singapore.
But of course, we want to try to have double decks, high-capacity buses as much as we can, because they are the most efficient, space saving and reduces our reliance on bus captains, because one bus captain driving a double deck is much better than one bus captain driving a single deck.
So, these are sort of the reasons that are hard to see on the outside, but I hope the Member and the public understands why you still see single decks on the roads today.
The Chairman : Ms Elysa Chen.
Ms Elysa Chen : Thank you, Chairman. Given the multiple road diversions and traffic disruptions that residents along the North-South corridor construction zone have had to endure since 2020, including the ongoing closure of Marymount Flyover and the successive road reconfiguration in the Bishan-Sin Ming area, what is the current construction timeline for the tunnel section of the North-South corridor from Lentor Avenue to the city? And what measures is LTA taking to minimise further disruption to residents and road users for the remaining construction period leading up to 2029?
My second question. I welcome efforts to also normalise asking for a seat on buses and trains, especially for seniors, pregnant women and those with less visible conditions. Encouraging commuters to communicate their needs can help to build a more gracious and responsive public transport culture.
At the same time, we have seen incidents overseas where disputes over priority seating escalated into confrontations, such as the case in Taiwan, when a woman calmly handed over her shopping bag to a fellow commuter and then proceeded to kick an elderly woman across the aisle just as the elderly woman was demanding that the younger woman give up her seat.
As we promote the norm of asking, how will the Ministry also ensure that commuter education emphasises mutual respect and a zero tolerance for aggressive or entitled behaviour?
Ms Sun Xueling : I thank the Member for her clarification. I will have to come back to her specifically on the timeline that she requested, but on the question she had about the disamenities that can be caused due to construction works, we definitely recognise this, that it disrupts residents, commuters, motorists as well. And we continue to seek our residents' patience and understanding.
Just bear in mind that we are trying to enhance transport connectivity at the end of the day, as well as to shorten travel times for our commuters as well as our motorists. Before the commencement of construction works, the LTA often carries out assessments to determine if existing road networks can be improved.
LTA and its contractors will also work closely with stakeholders and residents living near the works to minimise the inconvenience caused to them. And where possible, additional road or lane closures which are needed during certain phases of work will be carried out during off peak periods to avoid further inconvenience to residents.
The Chairman : We are quite close to guillotine time, so the last two clarifications. Sorry, Minister of State Baey, I forgot the second part.
Mr Baey Yam Keng : Yes, I thank Ms Chen for the clarification. Indeed, to make our commuting experience enjoyable, pleasant, every commuter plays a role. Therefore, whether is it someone who needs help or can offer help, we want to make this a norm that people are encouraged to ask for a seat, you know, and it is not just for priority seats. Any seats could be taken or could be given up for anyone who is in greater need.
So, we have the Caring Commuters' movement. We have Caring Commuter champions. We have the graciousness campaign going on. And we will continue in these efforts to cultivate a gracious and a caring culture on public transport. We hope that through education we can develop a new generation of commuters. And the kids can also influence their parents and elders to be more thoughtful for other commuters.
The Chairman : With the Singapore Kindness Movement, let us all be kinder. Mr Dennis Tan.
Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong : Thank you, Chairman. I am not sure that my cut on covered linkways for condominiums has been adequately addressed.
Could I just ask for Minister of State to address the questions specifically regarding those situations where the condominium needs assistance for a covered linkway, including in a no man's land situation to connect them to the nearest bus stop? And also my suggestion that URA and LTA mandate at the planning permission stage that developers provide shelter connectivity to the nearest public transport node?
Mr Baey Yam Keng : I would like to update the Member that right now, for upcoming condominium developments with more than 700 dwelling units and are located within 400 metres of a MRT station, developers are already required to submit walk-cycle-ride plans as part of the development application process. If covered linkways are required to connect residents to nearby transport nodes, URA will work with LTA to impose requirements on the condominium developers to construct these covered workways as part of the planning approval. So, that is for new developments.
I know that for existing condominiums or estates that were built before this requirement, there could be challenges. And for LTA's planning, you might be aware that we already provide linkways, covered linkways within transport nodes, 400 metres, 800 metres within Friendly Streets and all these. But in areas where the land belongs to another agency, like PUB as in the case that he mentioned in his cut, LTA will help to discuss with the different stakeholders. If it is on PUB land, PUB must give approval. And we have to respect the authorities' assessment of the land. There could be drainage or water pipes underneath that may be affected if we have to dig and build a sheltered linkway. So, there are technical considerations that we have to respect in the respective agency's assessment.
I know the Member has been pushing for a particular condominium, Parc Vera, if I am not wrong. In the case of that particular condominium, I understand that the condominium does not currently meet the LTA's requirement because there is no internal sheltered linkway from the residential building to the side gate – so that must first be in place, before LTA can even think about joining it to a bus stop or transport node.
These are things that would need to be worked through. LTA will be happy to look into it and we can provide more details if the Member can file a Parliamentary Question.
The Chairman : On that note, can I invite Ms Tin if you would like to withdraw your amendment?
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Ms Tin Pei Ling : Many thanks to all. I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.
[(proc text) Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. (proc text)]
[(proc text) The sum of $3,109,174,200 for Head W ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. (proc text)]
[(proc text) The sum of $13,306,280,300 for Head W ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. (proc text)]