LTA plans to make travelling more convenient

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will carry out trials later this year as part of a bigger move to harness technology for convenient travel, said Mr. Pang Kin Keong, the Transport Ministry's permanent secretary, reported The Straits Times. Speaking yesterday at a symposium themed 'Future Mobility' at the National University of Singapore, he said the authorities are also working on a use-first-pay-later system for public transport.

He said, "This eliminates hassle for the commuters in having to top up their fare cards regularly. For the operators, this reduces the need for front-end top-up service counters and machines."

The vision for fare payment, though, is what is termed the Be-In-Be-Out system, he added.

Instead of making commuters tap in and out to register a trip, the technology can detect and automatically register commuters in a bus or train so long as they have the fare cards on them. Such hands-free systems will offer commuters the 'ultimate convenience', Mr. Pang said. He added that the LTA will be studying the feasibility and applicability of the technology.

The Government aims to shift 75 percent of all peak hour trips to public transport by 2030, up from about 63 percent now.