About the engagement

The Public Transport Council (PTC) started its inaugural public engagement exercise in December 2015, in the lead-up to its first advisory report. The aim was to hear first-hand the issues faced by commuters on public transport, and use their feedback to formulate recommendations to the authorities.

At participants’ convenience

Challenge: It was difficult to find 400 commuters who were willing to spare 60 to 90 minutes of their time for the face-to-face sessions (which included 44 in-depth interviews and 51 focus groups).  

Solution: To recruit as many participants as possible, the PTC team relied on their contacts for recommendations.

And in meeting many of the participants for the first time, the PTC made the process convenient for them by carrying out the sessions at their preferred locations and timings. This included office lunch hours, evenings, weekends and public holidays. Sessions were held at offices, schools and commuters’ homes, all over Singapore. 

6 categories of commuters

Working adults, tertiary students, parents with young children, seniors, wheelchair users travelling alone, and car owners who use public transport.

3 categories of stakeholders

To provide a balanced view to their recommendations, the PTC also engaged taxi drivers, bus captains and other public transport frontline staff.

Recommendations

The Land Transport Authority Is already looking into the PTC's recommendations to address respondent's feedback. (E.g., Reduce escalator speeds during non-peak hours at stations that serve many elderly commuters to minimize the senior's fear of using escalators that they feel go too fast)

Read more in the PTC Advisory Report at https://www.ptc.gov.sg/research/advisory-reports

Why the PTC spoke to car owners: