Summary Reader Response Draft 1: Tapping Tech for Smoother Traffic

In the article “Tapping Tech for Smoother Traffic”, Tay (2018) expresses the need for Singapore to come up with more refined approaches by the 21st century to overcome an increasing vehicle population. Comparing the solutions, replacement of Area Licensing Scheme (ALS) to Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system had the biggest impact as it omits having officers to check on the passes. To identify blockage and control vehicles’ speed, cameras are installed on the expressways by the Expressway Monitoring & Advisory System (EMAS). Having a better traffic flow, it decreases the time taken for people to travel to designated places. Singapore aims to continue upgrading the transportation services and improving road safety. With technology advancement, it has made it possible for an undergoing satellite ERP system in the future. This pursuing plan allows Singapore to keep moving forward in conjunction with substantial transport strategies and with citizens as focal point. Based on the points stated, it is necessary to keep on upgrading Singapore’s transport services to optimize road usage while having the mindset on how to serve the citizens better.

Firstly, in order to reduce the number of cars on the go, buses are given more priority when travelling on the road. According to the Land Transport Authority’s (LTA) webpage, there is a bus lane scheme that allows for extension of full-day bus lanes by three hours till 11.00pm. This scheme has started since 21 March 2016 and other than buses, only ambulances, police cars and bicycles are approved on the lanes. In my opinion, the extension of operation is a good approach as this ensures the efficiency of being able to bring more people at once with a vehicle to their destinations. In a long term, it also helps commuters to save transport fees as they would cut down on looking for alternatives ways such as calling for taxis to get to places. Furthermore, according to Ministry of Transport (MOT) website, under Bus Service Enhancement Programme (BSEP) there will be an increase of the bus’s capacity to fit and carry more people around.

Secondly other than buses, improvements are made to rail network too. According to the news “New stations, line extensions planned for Singapore’s rail network” on Channel News Asia (CNA) website, Chong (2019) mentions the inclusion of two new stations for the North-South Line (NSL) for LTA’s Land Transport Master Plan (LTMP) 2040. With this ongoing action, the ultimate outcome would be to have better connectivity and it would be more convenient for the people living near the area. Also, based on MOT’s website, there will be upgrades and renewals made to the railway tracks to ensure lesser breakdowns from happening in the future and a smoother journey.

Lastly, LTA has been trying to make transportation services more suitable for the elderly. According to the Ministry of Health (MOH) website, other than having more affordable bus fares for the elderly, LTA plans to impose 50 Silver Zones by 2023. With that, it helps to ensure the safety of the elderly when they are crossing the roads. Based on LTA’s website, with more silver zones it reduces the rate of accidents among senior citizens and there will be more reinforcements made to ensure their safety.

With the continual of transportation improvements, Singapore has made a vast development in terms of making the country safer for the citizens as well as coming up with never ending measures to tackle road issues.

References:

Land Transport Authority. (2019). Road Regulations. Retrieved 26 September 2019, from https://www.lta.gov.sg/content/ltaweb/en/roads-and-motoring/road-safety-and-regulations/road-regulations.html

MOT Singapore. (2019). Gain new perspectives on land, sea & air transport. Retrieved 29 September 2019, from https://www.mot.gov.sg/About-MOT/Land-Transport/Public-Transport/Buses/

Chong. (2019). New stations, line extensions planned for Singapore’s rail network. Retrieved 26 September 2019, from https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/new-mrt-stations-lines-lta-master-plan-11564622

MOH Singapore. (2019). Go About Easily. Retrieved 29 September 2019, from https://www.moh.gov.sg/ifeelyoungsg/how-can-i-age-in-place/go-about-easily

Land Transport Authority. (2019). Factsheet: 20 More Silver Zones to Enhance Road Safety by 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2019, from https://www.lta.gov.sg/apps/news/page.aspx?c=2&id=89008989-648d-4650-acf3-1ed6fed48ce1

Summary Reader Response Outline

Summarized Article’s Main Point + Thesis Statement:

Singapore aims to continue upgrading the transportation services and improving road safety for citizens. It is a need to come up with more refined approaches by the 21st century to overcome an increasing vehicle population.

I. More Priority Given to Buses

II. Improvements to Rail Network

III. Making Transportation Services More Suitable for Elderly

My Thesis Statement:

It is necessary to keep on upgrading Singapore’s transport services to optimize road usage while having the mindset on how to serve the citizens better.

IV. More Priority Given to Buses

a.      Bus land scheme to extend bus operating hours.

b.     Extension of full-day bus lanes by three hours till 11.00pm helps to increase efficiency of buses.

c.      Bus Service Enhancement Programme to increase bus capacity.

V. Improvements to Rail Network

a.      New stations to be added to North-South Line.

b.     LTA’s Land Transport Master Plan (LTMP) 2040. Better connectivity and more convenient for the citizens.

c.      Upgrades and renewals made to the railway tracks.

VI. Making Transportation Services More Suitable for Elderly

a.      Having more affordable bus fares and impose Silver Zones.

b.     50 Silver Zones by 2023 helps to ensure the safety of the elderly when they are crossing the roads.

c.      Reinforcement to road safety to reduce accident rates.

VII. Conclusion: With the continual of transport improvements, Singapore has made a vast development in terms of making the country safer for the citizens as well as coming up with never ending measures to tackle road issues.

Summary Draft 2: Tapping Tech for Smoother Traffic

In the article “Tapping Tech for Smoother Traffic”, Tay (2018) expresses the need for Singapore to come up with more refined approaches by the 21st century to overcome an increasing vehicle population. Comparing the solutions, replacement of Area Licensing Scheme (ALS) to Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system had the biggest impact as it omits having officers to check on the passes. To identify blockage and control vehicles’ speed, cameras are installed on the expressways by the Expressway Monitoring & Advisory System (EMAS). Having a better traffic flow, it decreases the time taken for people to travel to designated places. Singapore aims to continue upgrading the transportation services and improving road safety. With technology advancement, it has made it possible for an undergoing satellite ERP system in the future. This pursuing plan allows Singapore to keep moving forward in conjunction with substantial transport strategies and with citizens as focal point.

Summary Draft 1: Tapping Tech for Smoother Traffic

In the article “Tapping Tech for Smoother Traffic”, Tay (2018) expresses the need for Singapore to come up with more refined approaches by the 21st century to overcome an increasing vehicle population. Of all the other solutions, the replacement of Area Licensing Scheme (ALS) to Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system had the biggest impact. Omitting the need of having officers to check on the passes, a fee is imposed and docked from every car’s smart card device when passing the gantry. The daily traffic had a significant reduction. With a better traffic flow, it decreases the time taken for people to travel to designated places. Singapore aims to continue upgrading the transportation services as well as improving road safety. Due to the advancement in technology, it has made it possible for an undergoing satellite ERP system in the future. This pursuing plan allows Singapore to keep moving forward in conjunction with substantial transport strategies and with citizens as focal point.

Submission 1: Formal Letter

Subject: Self Introduction

Dear Mdm Fazilah

I am Tay Wan Xuan from Tutorial 3 of your Effective Communication lesson. I graduated in Green Building and Sustainability at Temasek Polytechnic and have managed to acquire knowledge on sustainable and passive designing as well as building management. Currently, I am a Year 1 student studying at Singapore Institute of Technology under Sustainable Infrastructure Engineering Building Services.

I have never thought that I would end up in the engineering field thus to say, I am fully interested in it at first would be a lie. With engineering, it made me realised I could create things that helps to solve problems and impact both the people and environment. I like the idea of seeing something getting made from nothing which is why engineering started to get interesting for me. Being able to come up with innovative ideas and designing it is also a plus point to my interest.

In terms of communication strength, I feel that I am good at listening. Since different people have different opinions, hearing them out first before proceeding a certain task is a way to minimise internal conflicts. For weakness, I am a shy person when it comes to interacting with a lot of strangers at one go. It tends to get a little overwhelming for me and sometimes it gets tricky to find appropriate words when describing my point of view.

Hence, I hope through this module I can gain a bit more confidence when trying to socialise with strangers as well as to be able to learn how to convey my message across in a clear and concise manner to my peers or to people who I would be working with in the near future.

Thank you for your time and patience in reading this.

Yours Sincerely

Tay Wan Xuan

T3G2