More people use public transport to get to work; journeys taking longer

More people here are taking trains and buses to work while fewer are driving to the office compared with a decade ago.

At the same time, the proportion of residents who take only taxis and private-hire cars to work has risen over the same period, population census data released yesterday showed. And while there has been increased connectivity, those who take the bus or train took longer to get to work.

The census surveyed 150,000 households last year. It focuses mainly on Singapore's resident population, which comprises citizens and permanent residents.

The data on commuting trends here does not account for temporary arrangements made due to Covid-19 restrictions.

According to the census, 57.7 per cent of employed residents here took combinations of the bus, MRT or LRT to work last year - up from 54.6 per cent in 2010.

This includes situations where workers drive or cycle to nearby MRT stations before taking the train, although such instances have decreased in the past decade.

The share of those who relied solely on a car for their work commutes dropped from 24.8 per cent to 21.1 per cent, while the proportion who used only taxi or private-hire car increased from 1.3 per cent to 3 per cent over the same period.

The share of residents who used other transport modes, such as motorcycles and private chartered buses, fell over the past 10 years.

About 9.8 per cent said they do not need any transport to get to work, up from 7.5 per cent in 2010.

The census also showed a shift towards using the MRT or LRT for work commutes.

Using the MRT and/or LRT with a transfer to or from a public bus was the dominant mode of transport last year at 25.7 per cent, up from 17.7 per cent in 2010.

The Department of Statistics (DOS) said this shift is in line with the expansion of the rail network, which has grown from about 160km to about 230km over the past decade as two new lines and more stations opened.

However, despite the increased connectivity, the median travelling time to work increased from 30 minutes to 37 minutes for those commuting by public bus, and from 40 minutes to 45 minutes for those taking only the MRT or LRT.

Those who used a combination of MRT, LRT and buses clocked 60 minutes, up from about 50 minutes in 2010. The corresponding travel time by car was 30 minutes - the same as 10 years ago.

There were also increases in median travel time for most students.

The DOS said the longer travel time on buses and trains was likely due to longer travel distances. It cited surveys conducted by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in 2008 and 2016 which found that the average public transport travel distance to work rose from 10.3km to 12.1km, and from 7.8km to 8.5km to school.

One factor could be that more people now live farther away from school and work. New MRT lines and longer trunk bus routes could have also enabled more people to take longer journeys via public transport, the DOS said in its report.

The 2020 census also collected data on how residents from different areas and housing types travelled to work and school.

LTA said the latest findings are encouraging and will help shape its plans to achieve 45-minute commutes to the city and 20-minute commutes to towns via walk-cycle-ride transport modes by 2040.

With more business nodes and industrial estates to be built outside the Central Business District over the next decade, more jobs will be brought closer to homes, it added.

Significant enhancements to the transport infrastructure, including transit priority corridors and continued expansion of the rail network, will encourage more people to go to work via public transport, it said.

Singapore University of Social Sciences transport economist Walter Theseira said what is of greater concern is that the use of non-motorised transport such as bicycles does not seem to have improved.

Associate Professor Theseira added that census data alone is not enough to assess whether improvements to the public transport system have worked out. Policymakers also need to look at other things, such as whether commuting habits are different across income groups.