The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Transport of the Government of Singapore.
History
Incorporation
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) was established on 1 September 1995 and was formed by the merger of various public sector entities: the Registry of Vehicles, Mass Rapid Transit Corporation, Roads & Transportation Division of the Public Works Department and Land Transportation Division of the former Ministry of Communications.
1996 Land Transport White Paper
On 2 January 1996, the Land Transport Authority published the 1996 Land Transport White Paper, titled "A World Class Land Transport System". It outlined the government plans. Changes to existing schemes were proposed along with schemes were introduced across various transport sectors. This included the Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) scheme, which eventually become ubiquitous in the city state.
1996 Rail Financing Framework
The 1996 Rail Financing Framework was a scheme that set out the financing framework of the rail transport system. In the white paper, it was phrased that the financing framework of the rail transport system would eventually be run on the basis of partnership, which the government and its regulatory authority would provide the assets and infrastructure (which remain fully owned by the regulatory authority), with commuters paying for the operating costs and operators extracting efficiency dividends within standards and fares set by the regulatory authority.
The framework allowed for an open up of the rail transport market with the operation aspects of the industry no longer tied to the authorities, allowing for more autonomy of the incumbent operator and new operators to enter the market. This also laid the foundation for the restructure and flotation of SMRT Corporation, previously a state-owned incumbent operator under the name Mass Rapid Transit Corporation, in 2000.
The framework was revised in 2008 as the New Rail Financing Framework (NRFF), which saw the regulatory authority re-assuming the full ownership of all rail assets, where the ownership and maintenance of which were previously held responsible under the individual operators.
Changes to public transport
To meet with the increasing number of commuters in Singapore, Land Transport Authority exercises on new changes over time.
Rail
LTA is responsible for the development of the rapid transit system and the expansion of the rail network. It aims to double the rail network by 2030. Since 2008, LTA has increased the length of Singapore's rail network from 138 km to about 180 km with the opening of the Boon Lay Extension in 2009, the Circle Line from 2009 to 2011 and the Circle Line Extension in 2012. Downtown Line, Thomson-East Coast Line are underway towards completion, with Cross Island Line and Jurong Region Line under planning.
Half-height platform screen doors were installed in all 36 elevated stations in 2012 for the safety of passengers and to reduce delays in train service from track intrusions. HVLS fans are also installed at all elevated stations starting from 1 June 2012 and ending on 6 January 2013.
Bus
LTA took on the role of central bus network planner from 2009, working with communities and the bus operators, SBS Transit and SMRT Buses, to identify areas for bus improvements and to shift the focus to placing the commuter at the centre and taking a holistic approach in planning the bus network, taking into consideration development in the Rapid Transit System (RTS) network and other transport infrastructure. It is meant for their feedbacks, and any changes will be under the monthly updates, this has been brought through Bus Services Enhancement Programme. Under BSEP, about 80 new services are being introduced and 1,000 buses are being added over five years.
Quality of Service (QoS) standards have also been tightened to reduce waiting time and reduce crowding. Now, those with increased loads run every 10 minutes or less during weekday peak hours in 2015. Feeder bus services have become more frequent too, with 95% of bus services now running at intervals of 10 minutes or less during the weekday peak periods, tightened from 85%.
Announced in 2014, the Bus Contracting Model (BCM) which took effect on 1 September 2016, saw LTA assuming the full ownership of all bus assets in Singapore.