Can cycling be a preferred transport choice and way of life in Singapore?

CNA

3 days ago

For about eight years now, Mr Vareck Ng has been using a bicycle to get around, a habit he picked up as a secondary school student.
During his undergraduate years, he even cycled from one end of the island to the other – between his home in Tampines and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) near Jurong West.
Now 23, the music teacher still cycles daily to work in Paya Lebar, which is a 12km journey that takes him around 45 minutes.
Over these eight years of commuting by bike, he has seen firsthand how Singapore's cycling infrastructure has improved.
"There's much more coverage than a few years back, so now you can find cycling paths in many places, especially bigger roads in the neighbourhoods. That's a huge improvement and one of the changes I've seen over the past 10 years – it's easier for people to hop on a bike and go.
"In terms of cycling culture, I've seen more children and elders cycle. But I think the group that I saw shot up the most is actually teenagers who are using a lot of the shared bicycles."
He has also noticed more end-of-trip facilities such as secure bicycle parking spots emerging across the island, which he attributes to the Government's Active Commute Grant, an initiative that allows developers to provide such amenities at a lower cost.
Mr Ashrin Amir, another cyclist who has been living in the western part of Singapore, noted that Singapore's roads are generally well-maintained, but the cycling experience can vary across different parts of the island.
The 44-year-old legal assistant who previously lived in Hillview first began cycling to work during the COVID-19 pandemic to avoid crowds on public transport.
He has kept up the habit since, even after moving to Tengah last month, clocking a 20km one-way ride from his new neighbourhood to his office in the central business district daily.
Riding to work has also slashed his travelling time. It takes him about 40 minutes by bicycle, compared to nearly two hours by public transport or around an hour by car, depending on traffic.
Mr Ashrin can see the difference when an estate has been built with cycling in mind: He has noticed more people cycling in Tengah compared to Hillview, likely due to the new estate's dedicated cycling paths and the abundance of bike-parking spots. With few feeder bus services serving the area, cycling is also the most convenient way to get around, he added.
Singapore has been retrofitting cycling paths in older estates as well, as 37-year-old mother-of-two Ava Gao has observed.
She finds cycling to be the most efficient way to cover the roughly 3km journey most mornings between her Bedok home and her three-year-old son's preschool.
That is because, as she described it, the distance is an "awkward" one – close, yet inconvenient by bus. Taking public transport would triple the travel time, because it requires switching buses just to reach a destination that is not too far.
Ms Gao, who works as a leadership and team coach, covers the route between their home and the preschool using a park connector mostly, though there is a stretch that requires her to ride on a shared pedestrian-cyclist pavement.
This has become slightly easier thanks to recent improvements in her neighbourhood's cycling infrastructure, she said. Sometime in the last few months, the pedestrian path was converted into a red-painted shared path for both cyclists and pedestrians.
However, as the upgrades were retrofitted into an already built-up neighbourhood, the paths were not widened. This makes it challenging for her to navigate the narrow stretch on a road bike with her child seated behind, especially when sharing the space with pedestrians.
The journey becomes much smoother once she reaches the park connector, where the paths are significantly wider.
The collective experiences of Mr Ng, Mr Ashrin and Ms Gao reflect the strides that Singapore has made in making cycling easier and more accessible for commuters, with the aim of promoting it as a sustainable and convenient mode of transport.
However, they also highlighted that there was still room for improvement.
There are now more than 730km of cycling paths and park connectors across the island. Expansion is underway, with plans to progressively upgrade and extend the cycling network to about 1,300km by 2030.
In February, Singapore's only cycling-permitted pedestrian bridge across the Pan-Island Expressway opened in Jurong West, cutting travel time for residents commuting to the Jurong Innovation District.
Spanning 110m in length and 8m in width, the bridge is expected to reduce walking time to the Jurong Innovation District by up to 35 minutes.
It also improves access to key destinations in the area, including Jurong Eco-Garden, NTU, the SJ Campus – the headquarters of Surbana Jurong, an urban development and infrastructure consultancy – and the upcoming MRT station at CleanTech Park on the Jurong Region Line.
While these are steps in the right direction, transport analysts and members of the cycling community said that it would take more than just bike lanes and cyclist-friendly infrastructure to make commuters turn to cycling as a viable choice. ​​​
In a written parliamentary response in May 2023, then-Transport Minister S Iswaran said that travel surveys conducted by the Land Transport Authority showed that the proportion of commuters who primarily cycle to work remains small, at less than 2 per cent.
To encourage more people to consider cycling as a viable work commute option, the analysts and cyclists said that supporting infrastructure must go beyond shared paths and park connector networks to meet the needs of daily riders. Equally important are end-of-trip facilities, including secure and sheltered bike parking as well as access to public or workplace showers.
First- and last-mile solutions such as bike-sharing services also play a key role in helping commuters close the loop and complete their journeys smoothly.
Apart from the physical infrastructure, attitudes need to shift as well – a view shared among the transport experts, cycling enthusiasts and regular commuters.
Fostering a culture of mutual respect among all road users – drivers, motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians – is crucial.
Promoting a clearer understanding of how to navigate shared spaces, including unspoken norms such as keeping left or moving in a single file, can go a long way in making the experience safer and smoother for everyone, they said.
Mr Steven Lim, vice-president of safety and education at Singapore Cycling Federation, said: "The roads, the paths and public spaces – the safety of these places is as good as the user can be.
"What creates accidents (between different users) are not the paths … it is how the user behaves there and then. If you are going to be careless or reckless, you are bound to get into some trouble."
If travelling by bicycle becomes more seamless and predictable, more people may be encouraged to give it a try, the experts and cyclists said.
ON CYCLISTS' WISH-LIST: CONTINUOUS PATHS, BETTER PARKING
Several commuters told CNA TODAY that they turned to cycling for similar reasons, which was to stay healthy and fit, or to cut down on their carbon footprint.
For some, it was about hitting two goals with one ride: getting a mood-boosting workout while saving on transport costs.
Others found cycling to be the more efficient option, especially when walking to their destination was not practical, but public transport involved inconvenient transfers or roundabout routes.
In many of these cases, riding a bicycle proved quicker than walking to a bus stop or MRT station and transferring between lines.
Some riders also found that using the park connector networks allowed them to beat the morning rush, such that cycling often got them to work quicker than driving or taking a private-hire car during peak-hour traffic.
This is the case for 53-year-old graphic designer Albert Domingo, who cycles daily from his home in Toa Payoh North to his office near MacPherson.
The ride takes him about 20 to 25 minutes, nearly half the time it would take by public transport, which stretches to around 45 minutes.
Overall, commuters told CNA TODAY that they have had largely positive experiences cycling and welcomed the steady improvements made to support riders here.
Many of them said that having more red-painted shared paths, expanded park connector networks and other enhancements were signs of progress.
The growing availability of bike-sharing services, such as those provided by HelloRide and Anywheel, has also nudged some people to switch from walking or taking public transport, especially for shorter trips or first- and last-mile legs of their journeys.
What needed addressing, they said, were the patchy availability of end-of-trip facilities, a lack of secure or sheltered bicycle parking, as well as discontinuous cycling paths. The risk of accidents – whether involving pedestrians or vehicles – also weighs on the minds of many cyclists.
Almost all commuters interviewed by CNA TODAY pointed to the lack of continuous or smooth cycling paths as a key drawback.
Mr Domingo said: "The cycling path is not continuous. When you cycle, you see a red 'carpet', but after a few meters, there's no more, and then again another (stretch)."
A cyclist who only wanted to be known as Mr Tan, and who used to cycle from his home near Whampoa to his workplace in Marina Bay, said that one reason he eventually stopped riding to work was due to a section of the Kallang Riverside Park Connector – particularly the stretch between Merdeka Bridge and Benjamin Sheares Bridge – being paved with bricks instead of tarmac, making for a bumpy and unpleasant ride.
The 35-year-old, who works in communications, added that during the lead-up to the Formula One race each year, the Singapore Flyer section of the same park connector is also completely closed, forcing him to ride on the road and deal with speedier cars.
Mr Francis Chu, co-founder of Safety for Active Mobility Users (SAMU), said having the cycling paths broken up into several small segments can be dangerous, especially if riders are forced to constantly mount and dismount their bikes to get over curbs.
"If you walk, you probably don't notice these so much. But if you're on a bicycle, this is a very significant interruption, especially for new riders," said Mr Chu.
Several cyclists also highlighted the importance of end-of-trip facilities such as secure bicycle parking and access to showers in making cycling more practical.
Mr Ashrin started riding to work only in June 2022, after discovering that his workplace had shower facilities.
His office building also put up a clothes dryer-closet last year, which he described as a welcome end-of-trip addition. It allows him to handwash his cycling outfit while showering in the morning when he reaches the office, and wear it again for the ride home.
For those whose workplaces do not offer showers, having access to public amenities – even paid ones – could be a workable alternative.
Mr Konain Saif, a 38-year-old socialpreneur, said it would be helpful if public spaces could serve as hubs offering end-of-trip facilities such as showers. In the city centre, these could be malls such as Suntec City or buildings in the Marina Bay area.
It is a service he would not mind paying for, he said, adding that this is especially needed in Singapore's hot and humid climate, where even a five-minute ride can leave one drenched in perspiration.
For a period, he temporarily stopped cycling to work from his home in Pasir Ris when his previous office building in Bugis was undergoing renovations and lacked shower facilities.
Mr Domingo's workplace in MacPherson does not offer shower amenities or bicycle parking, so he has found ways to adapt. He cycles in activewear and carries with him a change of office attire each day.
His daily routine includes loading his work bag onto the front carrier of his foldable bike. He also packs a cotton towel for a quick wipe-down upon arrival, before changing into his work clothes, which he pre-sprays with a spritz of cologne.
Riding a foldable bike also makes things easier for Mr Domingo, who previously used a road bike but had trouble finding parking. Now, he simply tucks his foldable bike under his desk at work.
Singapore's erratic weather that comes with sudden downpours is beyond anyone's control, so having access to secure or sheltered bicycle parking can go a long way in helping commuters not get soaked, the cyclists said.
Mr Marcus Tay, 43, who has been cycling to work for the past 12 years, said he would like to see more sheltered and secure bicycle parking lots across the island.
At workplaces, it would be ideal to have designated parking areas reserved for employees, to reduce the risk of theft, the environmental sustainability director said.
He added that his current office building provides bicycle parking, but the lots are fully exposed to the elements, which can accelerate rusting of bike components over time.
He also said that his office has a policy where bicycles left on the premises for more than 24 hours without moving will be removed. This makes it difficult for him to leave his bike overnight – such as on days when he cycles to work in the morning but there is a thunderstorm when heading home in the evening.
Cyclists said that the risk of accidents remains a key concern when choosing to commute by bike.
Navigating shared pavements or roads can be challenging due to speed differences between cyclists, pedestrians and vehicles.
Blind spots also pose a danger, particularly when riding alongside moving vehicular traffic. Many cyclists tend to keep to the left shoulder of the road, but this becomes problematic at exits located on the left, since it forces them to cross to the right in front of vehicles in order to continue heading straight.
WHAT THEY WANT MOST: DEDICATED BICYCLE LANES ON ROADS
Almost all cyclists who were interviewed agreed that dedicated bike lanes on the road would be the best and most ideal upgrade.
Such lanes, they said, would make journeys both smoother and safer not just for cyclists, but for all road and pavement users.
Dedicated lanes would allow cyclists to travel at more consistent and faster speeds, without having to weave around and slow down for pedestrians as they currently do on shared paths.
This cuts down on the dangers of riding alongside cars, trucks and lorries, especially when navigating out of the left-most lane, which makes the experience more stressful and risky.
If on-road bike lanes are not feasible, then the next best move would be to widen shared paths for pedestrians and cyclists, and to link up disjointed pathways to create more continuous, connected routes, the cyclists said.
Mr Chu of SAMU said it is also important for motorists to respect zebra crossings by not stopping on them, and by slowing down to check for pedestrians or cyclists before proceeding.
"(Not respecting zebra crossing) creates a lot of unnecessary risk, because the crossing is the designated path for pedestrians, elderly, children and cyclists to cross."
Drawing on global best practices, transport experts and urban planners said that there are key foundational elements that can help make a city more bicycle-friendly.
Dr Alex Li Shengxiao, assistant professor in urban planning from the National University of Singapore (NUS), said: "Singapore possesses many foundational elements of a bicycle-friendly city, including strict car management policies, a growing car-lite culture, a well-integrated public transit system and numerous compact, mixed-use urban neighborhoods."
Yet despite these advantages, cycling remains a relatively uncommon way to get around here, he noted. One reason could be the lack of a fully connected network of clearly marked, dedicated bicycle lanes.
Dr Li, who is from the department of architecture at NUS, added that the limited integration between cycling and public transport, such as the absence of bike racks on buses and trains, also makes multi-modal commuting less appealing.
However, some of the trade-offs are inevitable especially in land-scarce Singapore, where creating more bike-friendly infrastructure could mean giving up space for other uses.
Urban planners and the authorities will need to strike a careful balance on how roads and paths are allocated among competing users.
Associate Professor Walter Theseira, a transport economist from the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), said that the planner must choose at some point how to work out a compromise among the groups of pedestrians, motorised road traffic and those who are cycling or using active mobility devices.
"That's because there is limited space, and the three groups have very different speeds and usage needs," he added.
"So, if you do want to improve cycling experiences, you are likely to have to degrade something else in some areas, for example, by reclaiming a road traffic lane, by reducing the pedestrian space or by removing aesthetics such as the greenery."
There are trade offs – the removal of green verges would reduce the buffer against traffic noise and worsen the urban heat island effect, noted Mr Wisely Ong, a PhD candidate and graduate tutor at the National University of Singapore's (NUS) Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and interdisciplinary research centre NUS Cities.
The challenge is even greater in older towns and neighbourhoods, where space constraints in already built-up environments leave limited room for new infrastructure.
Transport engineering consultant Gopinath Menon said that some retrofitting – the process of adding new features or making modifications to existing structures – would be necessary in such public housing estates if that is the case.
What could hinder efforts to make routes more continuous and cyclist-friendly are existing infrastructure that may get in the way, such as bus shelters or overhead bridge staircases along footpaths, added Mr Menon.
This was something that Dr Samuel Chng from the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) noticed in his own Bukit Panjang neighbourhood. He is research assistant professor and head of the Urban Psychology Lab in the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities.
"If there's not enough space, something has to go," Dr Chng said.
"Either you take away some trees or plants on the side, or in my case, where I live, the school had to give up some of its land area. The fence was shifted back a little so that the authorities could incorporate, expand and build the shared path.
"All these need a lot of planning, as well as time and a lot of resources, because you have to tear down the wall, move the wall and set it back, then build the path."
That said, the experts and members of the cycling community have noticed that car-lite, bike-friendly features are increasingly being factored into the design of newer towns such as Tengah and Bidadari.
NUS' Mr Ong said cycling infrastructure in more established parts of Singapore may appear to be an "add-on" or "ad hoc", due to land constraints and how the city developed.
"However, the Land Transport Authority and Urban Redevelopment Authority have been actively seeking to make cycling more seamless and convenient," he said.
Singapore's street design will continue to evolve in line with its car-lite vision and related initiatives, he added.
One example is the Friendly Streets initiative, which aims to make walking and cycling safer in areas with high pedestrian activity. This includes barrier-free, same-level crossings and traffic-calming measures such as road markings – features that can improve the overall travel experience for cyclists also, said Mr Ong.
WORK IN PROGRESS: A CULTURE OF CONSIDERATION
Ultimately, improved infrastructure is just one area of consideration.
The assumption is that improving and upgrading cycling infrastructure would naturally lead to more people taking up cycling, Dr Chng said.
"But is that true? If it is such a simple case, then a lot of things would have very little friction. If you build the infrastructure, people will use it. But people are much more complex than that, and something like cycling has many, many layers of consideration."
For one thing, commuters may take into account factors such as Singapore's hot and wet weather, and the availability of fast, affordable public transport as an alternative. The latter remains a strong competitor, especially when weighed against the discomfort of cycling in the heat or rain.
Therefore, Singapore needs to take a more holistic approach to transport planning, Dr Chng said.
Building a resilient system gives commuters flexibility – allowing them to switch seamlessly among the different commuting modes of walking, cycling, taking public transport or driving, depending on their needs.
Another is to foster a culture of mutual respect among the different groups – pedestrians, cyclists, users of personal mobility devices and motorists – and encourage a shared understanding of unspoken rules when navigating common spaces.
This two-pronged approach – improving infrastructure while shaping social norms and attitudes around shared spaces – could help to create a more welcoming environment, encouraging more people to consider cycling as a viable way to commute, the analysts said.
When it comes to building a culture of consideration, they and regular cyclists said that it begins with helping people understand how to share roads and paths, and encouraging them to be more mindful of those around them.
Public education campaigns and legislation can play a role in reinforcing gracious behaviours until they become intuitive or second nature.
The analysts pointed to the 2002 "keep left" escalator campaign as an example. Spearheaded by SMRT and the Singapore Kindness Movement, the campaign encouraged people to stand on the left and let others overtake on the right.
Mr Lim from the Singapore Cycling Federation said: "It took time. Nowadays, it has become 'auto' (for people to stand to the left). It will take some time to shift (practices).
"Once you have that type of visual presence, people will know how to make adjustments.
"Of course, as time goes by, infrastructure are being built and rules are being finetuned … it is getting better."
On the legislative front, regulations can also help shape behaviour – including the recent ban, which took effect on July 1, prohibiting bicycles and non-motorised personal mobility devices from using pedestrian-only paths.
In the meantime, introducing visual cues can subtly influence how commuters move through shared spaces.
The red-painted cycling paths are a step in the right direction, for example.
Dr Chng from SUTD said: "We can see the recent upgrades in cycling infrastructure, where now they have the red paths and bumper strips, so that helps to kind of segregate cyclists from pedestrians, and helps slow them down.
"LTA has done some experiments for the roads and motorists. For some of the sharp bends, they played around with colours and road painting to slow motorists down … so that could also be done in a more fun, unique way for cyclists and pathways.
"For instance, we could have floor art near the (road) intersections ... some way in which we could spruce up the system, yet at the same time, with some kind of environmental psychology principles, create the sense that 'you need to slow down, this is a place of high traffic'."
Such features could be added without placing more strain on space, which is already a key constraint, the experts said.
Until shifts in attitudes happen and etiquette are learnt, seasoned commuters encourage newcomers to gear up with the right equipment and familiarise themselves with the dos and don'ts. This means observing speed limits on park connector networks and having good manners when using shared paths.
This awareness can be fostered among the young, whether in school or as part of road safety teachings after obtaining a driver's licence.
Mr Ng, the music teacher who has been cycling for eight years, said: "As a teacher, I hope to show my students that getting around on two wheels is not only possible, but is an enjoyable way to get around. Seeing more students building up their independence and cycling to school would be a win for the community.
"Even if they choose to drive when they grow up, (having) a role-model (cyclist) would help them be more gracious commuters, treating riders with respect, just like everyone else."