SINGAPORE - From next month, motorists using Lorong Ah Soo in Hougang will see a new traffic feature which alerts them to approaching buses. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on Monday (Sept 27) it is starting its "Virtual Right of Way" trial for buses from mid-October. The move was first reported by The Straits Times in December. Electronic sign boards along Lorong Ah Soo towards Hougang Ave 3 will light up automatically when a bus is approaching to encourage motorists to give way. In a Facebook post on Monday morning, the authority indicated that this was one way of harnessing technology to "encourage gracious behaviour on our roads and create smoother journeys for commuters". For motorists turning left along this stretch of road, they can continue to use the lane for turning during the trial, which will last till January. According to the LTA, installation and testing works for these panels will commence on Monday. The idea is not completely new. Variations of virtual bus lanes have been proposed or trialled in cities in Britain and Switzerland in recent years. Early last year, transport researcher Meng Xie spoke about a dynamic bus priority system in the TUMCreate journal. TUMCreate is a public transport research platform manned by researchers from the Technical University of Munich and Nanyang Technological University. It is funded by Singapore's National Research Foundation as part of the Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise. Ms Xie said the virtual right of way "aims at improving bus operation while minimising potential negative impacts on private vehicles". Responding to the initiative, Facebook user Vincent Koh said: "It's not the technology but the people using it. No way around behavioural issues. It takes 30 years (for us) to return trays… How long is this going to take (for us) to be courteous on the road?" There are 211km of bus lanes in Singapore that give buses the right of way from 7.30am to 9.30am, and from 5pm to 8pm on weekdays. Of these, 23km are full-day bus lanes, which operate from 7.30am to 11pm from Mondays to Saturdays. The upcoming North-South Corridor, a highway linking Woodlands to the city, will have bus lanes along its entire 21½km length in both directions. More on this topic Related Story Experts see scope for taking away road space from cars to make way for buses, cyclists or pedestrians downtown Related Story Bus-only roads a possibility in move to speed up bus travel: LTA
SINGAPORE - About 2,500 travellers have arrived in Singapore via reciprocal green lanes from June 8 to Dec 25 last year, with two among them testing positive for Covid-19, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong has said. About 835 of the travellers came from three Asean states - Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia, he said in Parliament on Tuesday (Jan 5). Another 1,640 or so came from countries in North-east Asia - China, South Korea and Japan - while about 15 arrived from Germany. Mr Gan, who co-chairs the multi-ministry task force combating Covid-19, also said that as at Dec 26 last year, two people from Japan were detected with the virus during the mandatory test on arrival here for such travellers. The reciprocal green lanes facilitate short-term essential business and official travel between Singapore and its counterpart countries or regions, and the first such arrangement kicked in on June 8 last year between Singapore and China, in what was then called a "fast lane". Six provinces and municipalities in China - Chongqing, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Tianjin and Zhejiang - were included then, and Singapore currently continues to admit travellers from these places under the arrangement. The travellers have to abide by several rules. Either a company or government agency in Singapore can sponsor or apply for a prospective traveller to visit Singapore at least 14 days before arrival under the reciprocal green lanes. Approved travellers must take a Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction test within 72 hours before departure for Singapore at an authorised health centre designated by the government of a counterpart country, and obtain a certificate for a negative test. On arrival in Singapore, these travellers will be swabbed and must test negative once more before they are allowed to proceed with a 14-day itinerary, submitted by their sponsor during the travel application process. They are also required to use TraceTogether during their stay here. Besides the reciprocal green lanes, Singapore has in place two other travel arrangements with several countries and territories. Visitors from Australia, Brunei, China, New Zealand, Taiwan and Vietnam can apply for an air travel pass for all forms of travel and not be quarantined, provided they test negative for Covid-19 on arrival. Separately, the periodic commuting arrangement allows Singapore and Malaysia residents with long-term immigration passes for business and work purposes in the other country to periodically return home for short-term home leave. An air travel bubble with Hong Kong - which would have facilitated leisure travel between the two places - was slated to launch in November last year but was deferred following a spike in cases in the territory. More on this topic Related Story Travel under green lane arrangement affected after Indonesia's temporary ban on foreigners Related Story Singapore tightens restrictions on travellers from UK after emergence of new Covid-19 strain
SINGAPORE - When a road is too narrow to accommodate an actual bus lane, how can traffic planners give priority to buses? The answer: By implementing virtual bus lanes. Please subscribe or log in to continue reading the full article. Get unlimited access to all stories at $0.99/month Latest headlines and exclusive stories In-depth analyses and award-winning multimedia content Get access to all with our no-contract promotional package at only $0.99/month for the first 3 months* Subscribe now *Terms and conditions apply.