102 views

Here's why Singapore couldn't top global transport satisfaction rankings

Almost 3 in 5 Singaporeans find it more stressful to use public transport.

Singapore lagged Mumbai and London in the global rankings for infrastructure satisfaction with an index score of 4.21, indicating that Singaporeans are generally displeased with the nation’s infrastructure system, global infrastructure firm AECOM revealed.

According to AECOM’s report, 58% find it increasingly stressful to travel via public transportation whilst 59% said that they would not be willing to pay higher fares for public transportation. The report was based on a survey of over 1,000 Singaporeans.

The weight of Singaporeans’ sentiment towards public transport increases as 84% use public transportation as their primary mode of transportation, of which 55% take the subway.

High fares and delays could play a role in people’s dissatisfaction, the survey revealed. A total of 22% rated overall public transportation as unaffordable, whilst 20% rated public transportation reliability as ‘poor’.

However, around 18% of the respondents are willing to pay higher fares for public transportation. Some 22% are also willing to pay higher taxes to fund improvements in infrastructure.

Less than half of the respondents (45%) think that the city government usually makes the right decisions about which large-scale infrastructure projects to fund, hence indicating that the majority of Singaporeans are dissatisfied with the decision-making process, AECOM added. As such, most Singaporeans (62%) agree that the private sector should be more involved in infrastructure development.

Half of the respondents felt that large-scale transportation projects were usually completed on schedule.

However, in the last 12 months, a large majority (64%) did not have the opportunity to provide feedback to a public transportation provider, and 36% said that public transportation providers had not interacted with them.

Moreover, less than half of respondents (40%) said city officials were clear about submission procedures when requesting citizen feedback about public infrastructure issues, whilst half of them indicated that they felt that requests for feedback on infrastructure improvements or investments come too late in the process for the feedback to be meaningful. 

Join Singapore Business Review community
A NOTE FROM SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW

If you've been wondering whether SBR could work for your company — yes, probably.

A lot of the companies we partner with started as readers. They'd been following our coverage for a while, saw their own customers and competitors in it, and eventually asked the obvious question: could we do something with you? The answer is usually yes. The shape of it depends on what you're trying to do.


The options are broader than most people assume — thought leadership articles, sponsored content, industry summits across Southeast Asia, regional awards programmes, podcasts, and media placements in print and digital. Some partners use one channel; most use a mix. We figure out the right combination by starting with your brief, not with our rate card.


So if the question has been on your mind, here's the easy way to ask it.

We'll tell you honestly whether we can help, and how. It's a better use of everyone's time.