Shorter transport queues at air show as organisers send more cabs, buses
SINGAPORE — Visitors to the Singapore Airshow experienced far shorter waiting times for transport out of the event venue yesterday, after organisers stepped up the frequency of shuttle buses and worked with the authorities to encourage taxi drivers to head to the venue.
Experia Events, the event organiser, took steps following a barrage of criticism over its transport arrangements for the event, which saw snaking lines for taxis on the first day.
Responding to media queries, Experia attributed the longer waiting times on Tuesday to a close to 10 per cent increase in visitor numbers on the first day of the air show, as well as the “usual high demand for taxis during peak periods”.
“Experia Events has now put in place measures to manage similar situations, including increasing the frequency of shuttle bus services to Singapore Expo and working with the LTA (Land Transport Authority) to encourage more taxis to ply the Airshow event area,” the company said yesterday.
Previously, the shuttle buses ran every 15 minutes. Experia did not say what the increased frequency was when asked, only that they also added more buses.
In a first for the biennial event, Experia had forbidden taxi bookings to prevent the traffic congestion it experienced in previous years. However, the long wait for cabs on Tuesday, stretching past two-and-a-half-hours for many, had some visitors and participants urging that bookings be allowed. Online, many criticised the organisers for their poor handling, while others felt taxi drivers should have responded to the demand.
Yesterday, from 2pm to 6pm, TODAY observed a steady stream of taxis entering the event venue. All five taxi lots were consistently occupied, unlike the day before, where there were only two at each point in time. The queue, which reached all the way to the entrance of the show on Tuesday, stayed within the barricaded taxi stand yesterday.
Cab companies said they have been encouraging more drivers to go to Changi Exhibition Centre, where the show is held, through internal communication systems.
Said ComfortDelGro Corporation’s group communications officer Tammy Tan: “The taxi arrangement and logistics for the air show are determined by the organiser ... We will help out by broadcasting and encouraging more of our drivers to go there.”
Some drivers have given feedback that they were “stuck” in congestion while entering and leaving the venue, she added.
TransCab general manager Jasmine Tan said her company has been doing the same after receiving a notification from the LTA on Tuesday afternoon on the strong demand for cabs at the venue.
The transport arrangements, which will remain the same when the show opens to the public this weekend, feature shuttle buses that run between Changi Exhibition Centre and Singapore Expo. The buses are free for ticket-holders this weekend, but trade visitors currently pay S$8 per way. For trade visitors, there are also shuttles to selected hotels, at S$10 per way. Bicycles and other personal mobility devices are not allowed.
Visitors TODAY interviewed yesterday expressed relief at the improvements.
Mr Robert Dupuis, an exhibitor for copper alloys supplier Busby Metals, said he took the shuttle bus on Tuesday. “But it still took me a while to get back to my hotel, as the shuttle bus stop was quite a distance away. Since the queue is much shorter today, I decided to get a cab,” he said.
Another visitor who declined to be named said yesterday’s situation was a “significant improvement”.
“I didn’t want to wait in the heat for over an hour (the day before), so I’d walked all the way out to the main road and took a bus instead,” said the visitor, who waited in line for about half an hour yesterday.
Some taxi drivers whom TODAY spoke with were unsure if they would return for the rest of the show.
“It takes quite a while to come in and get out ... I’d have second thoughts about coming back. I may head to the airport instead,” said a driver with ComfortDelGro.
