The private transport sector (car and taxi) in Singapore is most probably sufficient for a city like Singapore, or maybe too much for a small island. I had been stuck in many traffic jams in which vehicles travelled at 1km/h or less. There are already enough empty cabs on the roads so a request for a seventh taxi company was turned down.
Though the private transport is good enough, I feel that the public transport sector (bus and trains) is somewhat lacking. For those who take the bus to school on a daily basis, I am sure that there are some occasions in which the bus is too packed to board. To give an example, I can take bus service no. 852 to school from Macritchie Reservoir. Since Macritchie Reservoir is an "interchange" stop – where four different roads meet – there are usually people alighting, which frees space to board. Though I have been sometimes unable to board, I am lucky to have two other bus services – 74, and the always unfilled 157 – which I can take. When I take service 852, I can see the bus captain shaking his hand, as a sign that there is no space available, as he passes the grouchy and sleepy passengers at the bus stops.
What can those grouchy and sleepy passengers do but wait for the next bus to arrive? Nothing. And even so, is there assurance that there will be free space? No. Service 852 comes at intervals of about 15 minutes, which means that those unable to board would have to wait for – 30 – or more – minutes… just for a ten-minute ride? I don't see why nothing is done since this happens so frequently (At least once a week). If it is only this leg of the service that is so crowded, then why not make a separate short service (i.e. Svc 852A from Ang Mo Kio to Bukit Timah Road)? A more severe example is 980 towards Sembawang at around 10p.m.. This service comes every 25 minutes at that time. It is either full or almost full.
MRTs are also very crowded such that a person in Jurong East need to take the train in the opposite direction to the end stop in order to get a place on board. I understand that there are many proposed lines coming up like the Circle Line, Downtown Line, Thomson Line and Eastern Region Line. This might be a long term solution, but it would take about ten years from now to get things up and ready. A short term solution is needed.
