I agree that there is no unsolvable problem, but the methods that have been proposed are not exactly very pragmatic a choice.

(i) Installing sanitary facilities to cater to the people who need to freshen up after their cycling.

Most of us usually bathe before arriving for work/school. To even leave the house requires some semblance of personal grooming in order not to be a nuisance to the public, thus by washing up (after a night of sleep) and then dressing up to go to work, and ending up dirty again is not a very attractive proposition to look at.

Not only that, where are we going to iron our clothes? What if there are plenty of people who wish to use said facilities at the same time?

(ii) A lot of time and resources would be wasted. In the theorized event where abovementioned facilities are built, the office has to bear the cost of increased water, electricity and other miscellaneous sanitary costs on top of the initial building and development costs.

I’d rather the government spend the money to improve the public transport system this way:

(a) Reassess the current public transportation system plan.

It’s ridiculous that I can reach Changi Business Park by car from Punggol in 15 minutes (taxi meter shows $10 bucks -shrugs-) while I have to spend approximately an hour or more using PT.

Compared to me coming to Singapore from Malaysia, where the MRT ride takes approximately 1 hour 30 minutes from Kranji MRT to Singapore Expo MRT.

The difference is ridiculous. Punggol is in the North East and definitely nearer to Changi, yet I can reach work only 30 minutes faster -___-”

And you say we have to be greener… I’m more interested in getting to work on time than saving the Earth (let’s not be hypocritical here, aite)

(b) Use of bicycles as a form of transport for those who live further from MRT/Bus interchanges.

I am actually receptive to the notion of using a bicycle (that is, if I can ever learn it, if not I’ll just use a kick scooter :x) to the nearest MRT, provided it’s not as far as more than 2 kilometers away. Okay lah, maybe if I use a bicycle I would actually enjoy the ride if the distance was longer as compared to a kick scooter, but oh wells.

Thus I like the idea of using money to improve the infrastructure of bicycle parks, instead of building more carparks…

Oh, I also like the idea of cyclist-only lanes. Alas, what would happen in our hypothetical cyclist-nation plan if there are cycling congestions?! :o

As for MAKING cycling a viable alternative in the business district, we first have to take into account what exactly it’s all about-

Time is money, and those in the CBD (or in a similar position) will not want to waste time.

People commute to and fro to do all sorts of things- buying stuff, meeting friends, meeting business associates, interviews, etc.

I believe the most important would be to reach the place of their business dealings in as pristine an clean a condition as they can be. Thus would they actually want to risk cycling along Shenton Way in their jacket, coat and tie on a hot Sunny Singapore day at say, 3pm to meet business clients from Switzerland?

I know I wouldn’t. I’ll be making Singapore a laughingstock of the SEA region =\

I know I previously answered a question by Alex on whether Singapore could be car free- I still believe we CAN be car-free, but whether we are ABLE to is a different question.

There are just too many things that we aren’t able to do without a car:

monthly grocery shopping at hypermarkets
taking our elderly folks out on outings
transport/deliver bulky items
dig our nos- oops

Teehee, last one joking only ah.

And I KNOW that there are taxis in Singapore, but there are people who do it on a daily and frequent basis.

UNLESS of course the government can come up with a comprehensive, at your doorstep super-convenient plan to get us from point A to B with Z conditions at no compromise whatsoever, then I think would be the day we could do without cars.

Until then, it’s a long shot becuase our own PT system is FAR from convenient.

And still very expensive =\

Join us! Look out for notices on YouthQuake 3 and come on down to share with us your views :)

Once the marketplace realises that there is opportunity to make money from bikes going into the city, business involving “bike lockers” / Shower rooms etc will spring up.

Once people realise that bike is viable and safe, it may reach a tipping point and hopefully we can become like a European city like Amsterdam.

LTA, SMRT, SBS should take more charge of things like that. One way is to build covered bike size lockers for them. Like lockers found overseas in Greyhound and train stations in Europe, US and Canada. They can be rented out by the hour at an affordable rate and being covered, reduce the theft esp of those more attractive and expensive bikes. CCTV should be deployed to enhance security,and if thought out properly, the whole surveillance and rate chargings could be achieved without too much cost. Right now, ERP charge collections are being used for what? Expensive digital info displays which proved useful to nobody because you are all too often on the expressways already in a traffic snarl and stuck when you see them.

9. The reason why cycling is faster than public transport is that cyclists can take the shortest cut direct to and fro plus not have to wait or walk far to catch a bus or train. They can pedal down alleys or narrowly down side streets between buildings, even against the flow of traffic, etc, thus always able to take the shortest cut almost like pedestrians would walk, only much faster.

They are studying without an income. I understand these “poor” students. If I am not wrong, this issue has been raised infinite times but no action is taken or even attempted. We must remember SMRT and SbsTransit are private and listed in SGX and thus profitability is particularly important. If we still think we are taking public transport everyday then we are being naive. They are all private!

Cheers
hongjun
http://hongjun.blogspot.com/

Congrats to WP for hosting such forums as these are constructive for Singapore!

About Cycling
I strongly advocate that cycling should be seriously studied as a viable alternative mode of transport!

If efforts are made for the road system to be more friendly and safe for cyclists in the business district, the minor problems such as sweatiness/ cycle parking areas etc will sort themselves out. If there is a demand for these, the marketplace will cause industries such as showers ( eg cubicles) and cycle rental systems to mushroom.

If there is a will there is a way. I just wonder why the govt is so negative about this.
Do we always have to force them to do something good for us?

About carpooling
Those of us old enough like me would remember that this was already tried and proved to be a failure. The car pool was the predecessor to the Area licensing scheme ( must line up to buy daily license) which led to the ERP. Car-pooling failed as forcing cars to carry at least 4 people before being allowed into the CBD caused a small “bogus” passenger for hire to sprout from nowhere. People will stand outside the gantry post and get paid small sums of money just to make the number and once past the post, these fake passengers will alight and then walk back to be picked up by other cars.

Anyway, good effort by the three speakers.

1. In a tiny islet of 46km x 23km, cycling to work like Amsterdamers is truly feasible. It is much faster than waiting for crowded buses and trains, as those who do it will testify, given the stupid Hub&Spoke system of public transport imposed by our geniuses copying large cities.

2. Drawbacks include Safety, Sweating, Parking, Exertion.

3. For Safety, cyclists should be given preferably, their own lane. Cyclists will include battery-powered bicycles, usually about the same top speed as a fast cyclist. Cyclist Helmets should probably be mandatory. Bike bags and panniers will solve the problems of carrying 1′s briefcases, laptops, handbags, etc. Some are lockable, like those on motorbikes. If pavements are allowed for cyclists, this will be safer for Them, though maybe not for Pedestrians! But experience and experiment can solve this. There are ways for both to use pavements rightfully. There may be a need to Type-Approve certain models to ensure roadworthiness, for example, every cycle must have Reflectors, battery-operated Flashers, Reflective Vests/Helmets?, Bell, etc, for night.

4. Sweating is a big drawback in our hot climate. However, if offices can cheaply modify toilets/install hotwater showers and changing rooms for personal make up and grooming after showers, this is solved. A govt tax incentive could encourage every building to install hotwater showers and changing/grooming rooms, [with Lockers]. Even as standalone public facilities built by govt. Maybe a small fee may be charged for use, to encourage building owners to build/maintain them. There is need for shampoo and shower cream dispensers, though most will bring their own. There is a Chicken and Egg problem as people will not buy cycles and cycle to work until there are showers but if they don’t, building owners and govt won’t build them.

5. Physical Exertion pedalling a bicycle is no problem because modern bicycles are cheap, light, [even battery powered], multi-geared, for easy pedalling. The Exercise will be beneficial.

6. Parking could be unsightly but fairly easy to solve by designating/building Cycle Stands, maybe easily by modifying current Roadside Barriers which currently serve only to separate/control pedestrian vs vehicular traffic.

7. Thus, there are no unsolvable problems to promote cycling to work. Just some commonsense initiatives needed.