Residents in towns like Sembawang, Bukit Panjang, Punggol have longest work commutes

SINGAPORE – Residents in Sembawang took the longest time to get to work in 2025, with a median travelling time of 50 minutes – the highest among Singapore’s towns.

They were followed by those living in Bukit Batok, Bukit Panjang, Choa Chu Kang, Jurong West, Punggol, Sengkang, Tengah, Woodlands and Yishun, for whom the median travelling time was 45 minutes.

These findings were published in the General Household Survey 2025, which was released by the Department of Statistics (SingStat) on June 30.

For Sembawang resident Aaroon Krishna, the findings ring true: The 41-year-old operations executive spends about an hour travelling to work by public transport four days a week.

His journey includes a walk from his home to Sembawang station, waiting for the train, a ride on the North-South Line (NSL) to Jurong East station, another wait for his next train, a ride on the East-West Line (EWL) to Pioneer station, and a walk to his workplace.

Based on the General Household Survey 2015, people living in seven of those 10 towns also had the longest median commute of 45 minutes. The other three towns, Bukit Batok, Jurong West and Tengah, were not included in the previous list.

Singapore-based urban transport researcher Paul Barter said most workplaces are located in the Downtown Core, central region and other areas such as Tuas and Pasir Panjang.

SingStat said almost half of employed Singapore residents worked in the central region. Hence, people who live farther from these job centres would naturally take longer to travel to work, Barter said.

Poh Li San, the MP for Sembawang West, told The Straits Times that she had not received complaints from residents about long travelling times, as the NSL’s Admiralty station is within walking distance of many estates, while Woodlands station on the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) can be reached by bus.

She added that most of her residents working in the central area can use the NSL or TEL, and can often get a seat when boarding during the morning peak.

Others may work nearer home, such as at Woodlands Industrial Park or in Ang Mo Kio, said Poh.

Liang Eng Hwa, the MP for Bukit Panjang, noted that residents living farther from Bukit Panjang MRT station – such as Fajar and Segar – may find it inconvenient and time-consuming to travel within the town just to reach the MRT station, particularly during peak hours.

He added that the Downtown Line’s indirect loop through the city centre – from Bugis to Bencoolen stations – could further lengthen some journeys.

But Liang said there are city-bound bus services such as 972 and 972M, which use the expressways, offer faster connections, and complement rail services.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) told ST that it has been strengthening Singapore’s rail and bus networks, while improving first- and last-mile connections, especially for those who live farther from existing transport points.

This includes developing new rail lines such as the Jurong Region and Cross Island MRT lines to serve areas that lack direct rail access.

Since the $900 million Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme was launched in July 2024, about 244,000 commuters – including those from Sembawang and Bukit Batok – have benefited daily from 35 new or extended services and more than 60 improved ones, LTA said.

Conversely, residents of Tanglin had the shortest work commutes in 2025, with a median duration of 25 minutes.

Those living in Bukit Merah, Bukit Timah, Clementi, Geylang, Kallang, Marine Parade, Novena, Outram, Queenstown and Toa Payoh had the next-shortest median commutes, at 30 minutes.

People living in these 11 areas were also among those with the shortest commutes in 2015. Those living in Bedok, Bishan and Serangoon also spent 30 minutes travelling to work then.

Clementi resident Farisha Mohd, 26, takes 30 to 40 minutes to get to her workplace in the Central Business District.

The administrative executive typically starts her journey at 8.20am with a walk to Clementi station, before taking a train ride on the EWL to Tanjong Pagar station and then walking to her office.

Barter noted that most of these places are closer to the city centre, while Clementi and Queenstown are nearer employment areas in south-west Singapore, shortening commutes.

He added that a larger proportion of high-income households are in areas such as Tanglin, Bukit Timah and Novena. This could mean more work trips being made by cars, taxis or ride-hailing vehicles, which tend to be faster than public transport.

Samuel Chng, a research assistant professor who heads the Urban Psychology Lab at the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities at the Singapore University of Technology and Design, cautioned that work commute times alone might not fully reflect the quality of public transport journeys. He said travel time is often less important than whether the trip is reliable, comfortable and predictable.

For instance, passengers may opt for a direct bus over the MRT because they can get a seat and experience less stress during the journey. Others may combine buses and the MRT because the bus provides a first- and last-mile connection rather than making the overall journey inefficient, he added.

Chng said it may be more meaningful to measure how convenient and pleasant a commute is, rather than its duration alone.

There were also changes in how residents travelled to work on the whole. In 2025, 60.1 per cent used public transport, up from 57.7 per cent in 2020.

The share of employed residents who combined rail and bus services rose from 26.4 per cent in 2020 to 30.3 per cent in 2025.

Meanwhile, the proportion relying solely on public buses fell from 15 per cent to 12.9 per cent over the same period.

Bus-only commuting was most common among those living in Bukit Merah (20 per cent), Marine Parade (17.9 per cent), and Jurong East (17.1 per cent).

SingStat noted that the opening of the fourth stage of the TEL in June 2024 prompted more people in Marine Parade to switch to rail services. The proportion relying solely on buses consequently fell from 26.1 per cent in 2020 to 17.9 per cent in 2025.

Overall, the share using only rail services to get to work rose from 14.2 per cent in 2020 to 15.8 per cent in 2025.

The highest proportions of people who commuted to work solely by car were from Bukit Timah (43.9 per cent), Tanglin (39.6 per cent) and Novena (31.8 per cent), where there was a higher concentration of private housing, said SingStat.

Those who relied only on buses had the shortest median travelling time among all modes of public transport, at 35 minutes.

SingStat said this partly reflected the higher proportion of bus-only commuters who worked closer to home, compared with those who used rail services.

Meanwhile, those who used only rail services had a longer median commute of 45 minutes. Others who used both buses and the MRT or LRT had the longest median travelling time of 56 minutes.

Barter said passengers are more likely to take the MRT for longer journeys, as it is typically faster in such cases. The bulk of shorter trips, by contrast, are more likely to be feasible by bus alone.