Travel Time In Singapore's Public Transport

Singapore’s Public Transport system is evolving to provide better service, comfortable and seamless transit journeys to its passengers. A report by the consulting firm McKinsy suggests that Residents in Singapore are highly satisfied with the public transport system, which is among the best in the world (Straits Times, 2018). It recorded a satisfaction level of 86% among those surveyed with the overall public transport situation in Singapore. Research shows 16% of commuters in Singapore use Public transport for long journeys (travel for over 12 km in a single direction) each day (for work etc).

The key area of this research is to study the activities young adults engage in Singapore’s Public Transport during these long journeys. The productivity and boredom of the commuters during these journeys is subjective in nature (One may feel watching a TV show during the journey is productive, while the other may not). Keeping commuter’s productivity aside(due to its subjective nature) this research aims to investigate the question, does Singapore’s Public Transport System have the potential to be an opportunistic and enjoyable environment for young adults by creating abalance of digital and physical engagement during travel time? To understand the true nature of the topic, possibilities and the research question, this paper would be studying behaviour of commuters, their relation to waiting periods, long journeys, and the activities they engage in Public Transport. Through studying the Physical and Digital engagement of young adults during Travel Time in Singapore’s Public Transport the research would further talk about the possibilities and drawbacks of creating an opportunistic environment for young adults in the Public Transport Systems.

Research objective

A study of more than 34,000 workers across all UK industries was developed by VitalityHealth, the University of Cambridge, RAND Europe and Mercer, examined the impact of commuting showing how long commutes are bad for both people's health and productivity (Rebecca Smith, Business Insider, 2017). And longer commutes appeared to have a negative impact on mental wellbeing too, with longer-commuting workers 33 per cent more likely to suffer from depression, 37 per cent more likely to have financial worries and 12 per cent more likely to report multiple aspects of work-related stress. Even though Singapore’s transport is proven efficient, there are 16% commuters embarking on long journeys daily making it crucial to study the issue for their benefit. By offering commuters the option of being able to do more during their wait time they won’t feel as though they are waiting long – the time feels better utilised. According to MIT queuing theory professor, Richard Larson, perceived waiting time is longer the actual waiting time. The study demonstrates that actual waiting time, expected waiting time and perceived waiting time are all related to satisfaction with the waiting experience (Mark Davis, International Journal of Service Industry Management, 1988). Reading this research primarily aims to benefit the Singapore Government and authorities such as Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) of Singapore who believe in making the city more liveable. As Ms Chou Mei, group director of conservation and urban design at URA says, public spaces are like the living rooms of cities. "They provide spaces for people to linger, bond and interact with one another". The research would also study how marketing can be used as a tool to engage student commuters digitally and physically in Singapore’s Public Transport. By linking marketing strategies the research paper would study the practice of Design Communication in the given context.

Summary of readings

The readings this research is studying are journal articles geographically not limiting to studying Singapore’s Public Transport commuters. The readings look at studies, commuters and transport systems of different places such as New Zealand, USA etc. The conclusions from which can be applied to my research topic and the Singapore context. Singapore being a cosmopolitan city and a cultural mix of people makes studies from different studies performed in different cities relevant to some extent. Travel Time UseMs. Russell’s research, “What Do Passengers Do During Travel Time? Structured Observations on Buses and Trains” aims to study what people do during travel time in New Zealand’s Public Transport bus and trains. And it highlights the use of Structure methods to do so. This study is helpful in understanding and critiquing the methods of observation. The study used Structured observation as a way to assess how public transport passengers actually use their travel time. The research analysed how adult passengers were engaged in different activities on buses and trains such as “looking ahead/out the window,” reading, sleeping/eyes closed, talking, using a computer, listening on headphones, among other activities.

The research also clarifies the prevailing assumption in transport planning and transport economics that travel time is a “disutility to be minimised” (Mokhtarian 2005). The study suggests the statement to vary from person to person and open to challenge. Further discussing how Passengers are not always “doing nothing” while traveling, and even if they are, this inactivity may have value for them. This study is relevant to my research as it is performing a similar analysis in a different context, also highlighting the style and methods to conduct the analysis. The article “Travel time use and its impact on high-speed-railway passengers' travel satisfaction in the e-society” by Bo Wang and Becky P. Y. Loo found that the recurring use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) device may relieve the lonely feeling and thus increase passengers’ travel satisfaction as e-activities may make the travel time desirable and change people’s standard perception of it being “wasteful” and “unproductive”.

On the other hand “Smartphones, travel time-use and attitudes to public transport services” by Tom E. Julsrud and Jon M. Denstadligave a different perspective on commuters using smart phones in public transport as they discussed that active smartphone users create new demands such as lack of opportunities for working/studying on board, and need for better seating. The authors also suggested that active smartphone users have high expectations of their travel time to be more productive. “Mobile Phone Use Behaviors and Postures on Public Transportation Systems” by Huey-Wen Liang, and Yaw-Huei Hwang closely observed different Body postures and typing styles used by commuters on the phone on the MRT in Taiwan. They also concluded that a high percentage of MRT passengers used mobile phones and most of them engaged in browsing. These three articles speak about active smartphone using commuters and their characteristics in different contexts.

Social Engagement

Esther Kim’s research, “Nonsocial Transient Behaviour: Social Disengagement on the Greyhound Bus” observes passengers on Greyhound Line ( common intercity buses in North America) and describes different scenarios in which people disengage from each other on long distance bus journeys. The author aims to understand why people disengage from each other and what kinds of situations makes them do so. The discussion in the article was based on the author’s observations and informal interactions with the Greyhound bus passengers for two years. The author explains his theory of Nonsocial Transient Behaviouras a concept different from “civil inattention’’ coined by Erving Goffman (1963). As the cause of people disengaging in the prior concept is not to respect other people’s space but because people prefer to be invisible. The insights from Esther Kim’s research explains passengers’ social behaviours on public transport which set a foundation to conduct my research. Kim’s research also introduces key terminologies in context of this research. “Mistakenly seeking solitude” by Nick Epley and Juliana Schroeder that appeared in the October, 2014 issue of the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, also demonstrated different experiments conducted on Public Transport commuters. This experimental study gave relevant insights on face to face interactions and physical engagements impact on commuters. These experiments were useful for the research as It showed how commuters are hesitant to interact with other people but the data findings suggested that the commuters would enjoy more if they had conversations with the strangers who sat near them in the transport setting rather than alienating themselves. This article also had findings on the impact of digital engagementon face to face connections which is another perspective of the research paper. While Kim’s research focussed on explaining the situations and concepts of disengagement in the commute, “Mistakenly Seeking Solitude”explained the positive consequences of engaging on the commute. Both of the research work together to answer the why and if of the given topic. The above readings covers different aspects of the topic to give a holistic view, forming a foundation to explore the possibilities and potential of turning Singapore’s Public Transport into an opportunistic environment for the young adults.

Proposed research methodology

The Paper would be based on Primary Research research collected through conducting interviews and Focus Groups. These methods are chosen over observational methods as areas such as boredom and activities commuters are engaging in cannot be assumed by just looking at them. Participants involved will be young adults of Singapore, with a mix of nationality, balance of gender aging 20-30 years either studying in university or working using Singapore’s Public Transport. Interviews: The interviews will be carried out with three set of participants- students from college, young working adults and commuters on the MRT. The interview would record the travel timings, line used by the interviewee and further seek their opinions on:activities do they engage in during long travel time. using smartphone, the applications or activities on the smartphone engaging them. Engaging socially during travel time, facing barriers of social interaction with fellow commuters. Boredom and opportunity in the MRT. Focus Groups: The focus group of twenty participants using MRT for long commutes, of mixed backgrounds, genders and races would be hosted in order to discus the above points on a next level. This would be helpful as it helps to observe the impact of one commuters opinion on the other, and to understand the differences and common grounds in the opinions needs and wants of different commuters on the above statements.