SINGAPORE – The number of commuters who exited MRT stations in the Central Business District (CBD) during weekday morning peak hours from January to October was about half that of pre-Covid-19 levels, with sustained flexible working arrangements driving a shift in travel patterns.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said ticketing data also showed slightly lower peaks in public transport ridership during the morning and evening rush hours, as overall ridership for buses and trains in October 2022 remained lower than in October 2019.
In the first 10 months of 2022, an average of 1.22 million trips were made each weekday on buses and trains during morning peak periods – 77.8 per cent of the 1.57 million trips made each weekday morning over the same period three years ago.
Whole-day ridership across the week, including weekends, made a slightly better recovery, with an average of 6.31 million daily trips taken on public transport from January to October – about 81.5 per cent of daily ridership before the pandemic struck.
This was despite a major easing of Covid-19 restrictions in April, which removed limits on social gatherings and the number of workers allowed back at workplaces.
The data given to The Straits Times by LTA echoed comments made by Mr Chua Chong Kheng, the authority’s deputy chief executive for infrastructure and development, during a panel discussion in early November at the Singapore International Transport Congress and Exhibition (SITCE).
Mr Chong said then that travel on public transport between regions outside the CBD, versus travel into the CBD, had risen compared with before the pandemic.
During the same SITCE panel discussion, executives from public transport operators in other countries also highlighted changes in commuting patterns in their cities because of Covid-19 and the move towards flexible work.
Mr Brieuc De Meeus, chief executive of STIB-MIVB, the public transport operator in Brussels, said there has been a shift in the types of trips made on public transport in the Belgian capital and the profile of public transport passengers from business to leisure.
He said public transport ridership in Brussels exceeds pre-Covid-19 levels on Saturdays. But on other days, such as Tuesdays and Thursdays, ridership dips below 90 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.
Asked if there are similar trends in Singapore, LTA said the distribution of public transport ridership by the day of the week and time of day is generally similar to pre-Covid-19 travel patterns.
“LTA is still monitoring the situation, and will review the necessary measures to alleviate peak loading and encourage off-peak travel,” said a spokesman for the authority.
Observers pointed to flexible working arrangements and the reconfiguration of offices spaces to support hybrid work and hot-desking, where there is no fixed space for workers, as the main reasons for the reduced travel on public transport here.
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