The LTA (Land Transport Authority) and UITP (International Association of Public Transport) Singapore International Transport Congress & Exhibition (SITCE) concluded on Friday and reflected the need to harness the potential of public transport for more liveable cities in the Asia Pacific region.
Asia is currently home to 17 megacities, which is expected to grow to an unprecedented 22 by 2030, creating a variety of urgent urban challenges, from congestion to road safety and pollution, with rising incomes leading to a doubling of motor fleets every five to seven years in Asian cities.
What emerged from the SITCE event was that the Asia Pacific region is a hotbed not only of innovation but implementation of creative solutions when it comes to further increasing public transport’s energy efficiency; providing much-needed capacity boosts to bus and rail (like in Singapore, which is committed to building 1km of rail per month for the next 15 years) or concrete examples of ‘Mobility as a Service’ (MaaS) being rolled out.
Examples of improved customer experience through advanced mobile apps and providing for individual needs in mass transit systems, shown by the flourishing tests of shared autonomous vehicles in the region, were also key highlights of the event.
For other cities around the world faced with such rapid urbanization, Asia is taking a lead in developing more liveable cities whilst navigating the evolving mobility landscape and offers many valuable lessons to help cut congestion and enable greener and healthier cities.
“Decades of efforts to develop public transport in the region are paying off,” said UITP Secretary General, Alain Flausch. “Supportive policies are being put in places like Malaysia; significant budgets are being allocated in places like China and urban development and mobility policies are increasingly aligned, such as in Japan. Now the challenge is the speedy implementation of major projects to meet ever-growing demand”.
“Finding the right balance in mobility for any city is not easy,” said Chew Men Leong, LTA chief executive. “Every country and every demographic is unique and the challenge is about meeting the needs of the citizen whilst keeping in mind the common good for society. Cities such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo have to cater for continued growth in public transport ridership. To succeed, we need to move beyond just providing mass public transport to more customized public transport options.”
The LTA UITP Singapore International Transport Congress & Exhibition (October 19-21 2016) attracted more than 3,000 participants from 46 countries bringing together both regional and international transport experts.
