More early birds for free train rides

There was a rise in ridership in the free train ride trial yesterday, the first day of school, compared to before the school semester ended. A 34 percent rise was recorded, with 31,500 commuters alighting at the destined stations between 7:00am and 7:45am. The daily average in May was 23,500.

There was also a two percent drop in ridership during the peak period between 8:00am and 9:00am.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA), however, said it is too early to determine if the trial is a success. In a statement, the LTA cautioned that July in general is a high ridership month. For instance, the total number of commuters rose six percent from May to 141,000.

In addition, the figures do not show that the public left home earlier to take advantage of the free train rides.

The Straits Times also reported that only six percent of the commuters got up early to take advantage of the trial. The result was collected from a 100-strong poll at three of the busiest stations - Tanjong Pagar, Raffles Place and City Hall.

LTA will be conducting a more detailed assessment of the trial later this year, as it believes that travel patterns will take time to form and stabilise.