COVID-19: LTA readjusts train frequencies after crowds form during peak hours
SINGAPORE — The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has made further adjustments to train frequencies on Monday (20 April) to reduce crowding during the current elevated safe distancing period to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Its initial adjustment to train frequencies, following a plunge in ridership amid the COVID-19 pandemic, created an outcry on the first day of implementation last Friday (17 April) when trains were found to be packed with commuters on lines such as the North-South, East-West and Circle lines.
LTA has since increased the peak-period frequency for trains from once every five minutes to once every three minutes. Before the pandemic, trains ran at intervals of two minutes or less during peak hours.
“Further adjustments have been made to our train frequencies to ensure commuters can keep a safe distance from one another should they need to travel for essential matters during this circuit breaker period,” it said in a Facebook post on Tuesday.
“These adjustments have also translated to reduced crowds during today’s peak commuting hours.”
LTA also advises the public to continue wearing face masks on public transport even after the current circuit breaker period, when safe distancing is not easily achievable as crowds return to public commuting.
The changes came after Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan advised the LTA in a Facebook post on Saturday to “err on the side of generosity... to over-provide rather than under-provide” in its bid to adjust its public transport frequencies.
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