Summary Reader's Response Draft 3

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According to Tay’s “Tapping Tech for Smoother Traffic” article (2018), Singapore faces the perpetual challenge of balancing density with liveability due to limited land. More advanced traffic management measures are required for Singapore to manage the increasing vehicle population and a greater and more complex road system. Tay also states that Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) launches The Intelligent Transport System (ITS) to process and gather data automatically. Not only does ITS boost traffic coordination and control, but it also gives real-time traffic information to assist users in smoother journeys. The implementation of ITS boosts Singapore’s traffic safety and efficiency and allows Singapore to top the 2017 Global Smart City Performance Index by Juniper Research. Moreover, transport technology in the city-state is constantly upgraded for better equity and efficiency with the improvement of traffic lights and satellite ERP system (Tay, 2018).

With the implementation of the Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system and Expressway Monitoring Advisory System (EMAS), Singapore’s traffic flow has become smoother with less congestion and safer with a reduced in the number of accidents. On top of that, Parking Guidance System helps motorists to locate parking lots efficiently.

Firstly, Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system reduces the rate of traffic congestions and accidents (Tay, 2018). Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) was invented to take the place of Area Licensing Scheme (ALS) (Tay, 2018). According to Sustainable Urban Transport (n.a.), ERP deducts tolls automatically from smart cards fixed on each in-vehicle unit once a vehicle passes the ERP gantry. This ERP system saves the effort of vehicles slowing down or stopping to pay tolls and is able to capture vehicles at the speed of more than 120km/h. With this smart system, roads are less congested and the average speed of traffic has been increased from 30 to 35 km/h under ALS to 40 to 45 km/h under ERP (Debnath, Haque, Chin & Yuen, n.d.). Another smart technology system invented is the Expressway Monitoring Advisory System (EMAS). EMAS is a smart incident management tool, that oversees the traffic along the expressways. It recognises accidents, breakdown of vehicles and other incidents with the help of cameras. With EMAS, recovery crew is able to attend to the situation immediately to recover the traffic flow (LTA 2021). Statistics show that the road accident fatalities yearly have been reduced from approximately 210 in 2000, to 122 in 2017. Break down of vehicles are able to be resolved and clear out of the road within 15 minutes (Tay, 2018).

Secondly, Parking Guidance System allows motorists to look for parking lots more efficiently. It provides information through 29 roadside electronic information panels, allowing motorists to know the carpark availability while driving (LTA, 2021). With the parking system, there is a decrease in the rate of circulating traffic looking for available parking in central business district and major shopping areas. This in turn reduces the traffic flow and time taken for vehicles to be parked (Debnath, Haque, Chin & Yuen, n.d.).  Motorists are able to make proper decisions and fully utilise the parking facilities (LTA, 2021).

However, with all the great developments of ITS, there is a possible risk of cyber-attacks. Cyber attackers can possibly take over and disrupt the intelligent systems, causing travelling and the transport system in Singapore to be at a risk (Tan, 2019). Take the attacks which happened against Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and National University Singapore (NUS) in 2017 as examples, hackers can hack into the systems easily to retrieve information and disrupt the transport systems. In order to prevent such risks, constant surveillance with staffs staying on high alert is needed (Tan, 2019).

All in all, Intelligent Transport System (ITS) has improved the transport system in Singapore greatly and efficiently. Traffic flow is smoother with less congestion, with car travelling at an average speed of 27 km/h (C40, 2013). The number of road accidents has also reduced and vehicles are also able to find parking efficiently.

 

References

C40 Cities. (2013, September 23). Singapore: Intelligent Transport System. https://www.c40.org/profiles/2013-singapore

Debnath, A. K., Haque, M. M., Chin, H. C., and Yuen, B. (n.d.). Sustainable Urban Transport. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.3141/2243-05

Land Transport Authority. (2021, January 22). Intelligent Transport System. https://www.lta.gov.sg/content/ltagov/en/getting_around/driving_in_singapore/intelligent_transport_systems.html

Land Transport Authority. (2014). Smart Mobility 2030. https://www.lta.gov.sg/content/dam/ltagov/getting_around/driving_in_singapore/intelligent_transport_systems/pdf/smartmobility2030.pdf

Software Advisory Service. (n.d.). 6 Common ERP Challenges in 2019. https://www.softwareadvisoryservice.com/en/blog/6-common-erp-challengesin-2019/

Tan, C. (2019, October 21). Singapore will not rush into new tech for transport: Khaw Boon Wan. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/singapore-will-not-rush-into-new-tech-for-transport-khaw-boon-wan

Tay, Q. W. (2018, July). Tapping Tech for Smoother Traffic. https://www.clc.gov.sg/docs/default-source/urban-solutions/urb-sol-iss-13-pdfs/11_case_study-singapore-intelligent-transport-systems.pdf

Tham, I. (2017, May 12). Hacker broke into NUS, NTU networks in search of government, research data. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/hackers-broke-into-nus-ntu-networks-in-search-of-government-research-data

Toh, T. W. and Baharudin, H. (2019, October 22). Cyber attacks pose serious threat to rail operations and can cause problems such as signalling faults, says experts. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/cyber-attacks-pose-serious-threats-to-rail-operations-and-can-cause-problems


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