the following is a media release by ShareTransport.sg:
Moh Hon Meng, CEO of Estatebuzz Pte Ltd, the technology company that developed the ShareTransport.sg website and app says the current transport situation in Singapore is “critical”.
“MRTs are jammed-packed and they breakdown periodically. Taxis are really expensive with all their surcharges, and COEs are over $50,000. The government is trying to come out with some solutions but it is time we do something ourselves.”
Moh explains how ShareTransport.sg’s buspool works: “Take an industrial estate like Book Keng/Kallang for example. There are about 20,000 people working there. If you divide it by the 40 large estates in Singapore, about 500 people in each estate work in Boon Keng/Kallang. Currently, these 500 people are individually taking public transport, often with multiple LRT, MRT and bus transfers, because they do not know each other. If we can get these 500 people into 12 direct buses (40-seaters), it would help reduce the crowdedness in public transport and on the trains, and give commuters a more direct, more comfortable, and more time-efficient commute to work.”
“That’s what our new website and iOS app is set up to do. We want to aggregate people who live in the same estate and work in the same places into shared transport. Once we have that information, we will go one step further and charter buses (and if there is demand, cars and limos) for our users to share and sell the seats online.”
Says Moh: “Before the 550 new buses from the government come along over the next 3 to 5 years, we plan to mobilize the private bus companies, who have over 5,000 private buses on the roads in Singapore, to help ease the load during peak hours.”
Moh adds: “When it comes to public transport, most Singapore residents feel quite helpless. There’s not a lot they can do. But now, they can tell us what they want and we’ll try and figure out the right vehicles and routes to offer them and sell the seats online.”
This is especially suited to the high density housing estates that Singapore has. ShareTransport.sg believes that the probability of finding people who live and work in the same places are high.
For more information, please visit www.ShareTransport.sg
