SINGAPORE - More money will be given to help workplaces build facilities like showers and changing rooms to encourage people to walk, run or cycle to work, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on Saturday (Nov 2).
The authority's new Active Commute Grant, aimed at promoting active mobility, will provide a subsidy of up to 80 per cent of construction costs for end-of-trip features in more workplaces.
These facilities include showers, lockers, changing rooms and signs directing employees to these amenities. Grants are capped at $80,000 per development.
Replacing the earlier Travel Smart Grant, which was launched in 2017, the new grant is set to make it easier for more people to freshen up after choosing the healthier - and greener - way of starting their days at work.
An LTA spokesman said it had received 13 applications under the Travel Smart Grant scheme, and that it is evaluating these claims.
The new grant is an extension of the previous policy to more buildings. For example, light and general industrial developments can now apply for the grant when the previous benefit was restricted to offices.
Referring to LTA's new move at a separate event on Saturday, Senior Minister of State for Transport and for Communications and Information Janil Puthucheary said he hopes more people will consider mixed modes of transport in their commutes.
"What that means is you can walk to the MRT station and then maybe at the other end you could cycle. We accept it's going to be a mix of public transport and active mobility," he said.
"But if you don't encourage active mobility, public transport is not easy for everybody to use from door to door. That's what we are trying to do, close the gap," Dr Janil added.
Applications for the Active Commute Grant are now open and will close on June 30, 2021.
Developments already undergoing simple retrofitting works can also apply for LTA's co-funding retroactively.
In recent years, the Government has invested millions of dollars to promote walking and cycling as alternative modes of transport, especially when it comes to first- and last-mile options.
In August, Senior Minister of State for Transport Lam Pin Min said the Government plans to have 1,320km of cycling paths islandwide by 2030, three times the current network of 440km.
The aim, ultimately, is to make active mobility "an important part of the transport ecosystem", an LTA spokesman said previously in response to queries from The Straits Times.
