22 recommendations to make Singapore’s transport network family-friendly
In a bid to make Singapore’s transport system more family-friendly, an advisory panel has submitted 22 recommendations to Senior Minister of State for Transport Dr Lam Pin Min for consideration.
SINGAPORE – In a bid to make Singapore’s transport system more family-friendly, an advisory panel has submitted 22 recommendations to Senior Minister of State for Transport Dr Lam Pin Min for consideration.
According to a media release by the Secretariat for the Family-Friendly Transport Advisory Panel on Monday (April 30), the recommendations ranged from providing more signages to guide parents to nursing rooms and diaper changing facilities, to ensuring the elderly and disabled are able to move about freely.
For example, the Panel recommends barrier-free taxi-stands to facilitate the movement of wheelchair-users, as well as limiting the height of steps in public buses to make them more accessible to the elderly.
Commenting on the recommendations on his Facebook page on Monday, Dr Lam said he was “delighted to receive the report” on how Singapore’s transport network can be made “even more inclusive”.
According to the Panel, “the Government will study the recommendations and announce the outcome of the review in due course”.
In developing the recommendations, the Panel said it reached out to over 3,000 public transport users. An extensive public consultation exercise was carried out “through in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, Reach (reaching everyone for active citizenry@home) listening points and an online survey”.
Various social groups were consulted as well. According to the Panel, this included families with young children, families who drive secondary school children to school, families with members who are wheelchair users, families who cycle and use personal mobility devices, families with special needs members, and seniors who travel independently.
The Family-Friendly Transport Advisory Panel was established by the Government in June 2017. It is co-chaired by Mr Richard Magnus, Chairman of the Public Transport Council, and Mr Sitoh Yih Pin, Chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport.
The Panel is represented by members from key stakeholder groups, such as parents with young children, experts on seniors and disability issues, and academia.
