LTA claims commuter traffic fell by nine percent yesterday during peak period

According to the Land Transport Authority (LTA), commuter traffic to the city decreased by up to nine percent to almost 86,000 during the peak 8:00am to 9:00am period at the designated 16 stations in the city yesterday - compared to the average daily figures of 94,000 for the first three weeks of June.

Meanwhile number of commuters who exited the stations from 7:00am to 7:45am rose by 25 percent to nearly 29,000 in comparison to the daily average of 23,000 for the first three weeks of June.

However, since yesterday was just the first day, LTA claimed travel patterns could take time to stabilise as employers and employees continue to adjust work hours on top of daily fluctuations in travel data. The local transport authority will continue to monitor the commuter flow data over the forthcoming months to derive an effectiveness of the year long trial.

Transport Researcher of the National University of Singapore (NUS), Lee Der Horng, echoes LTA's comments. "It is still the school holidays, and people take time to change and get used to new travelling habits," he told The Straits Times.

LTA also added there were adequate capacity in the trains during for the pre-peak period after working with the train operators to add two additional train trips along the North-South and East-West Lines. Transport Minister, Lui Tuck Yew, claimed the free rides could transfer up to 20,000 commuters from the peak period to the non-peak period.