Speech by Senior Minister of State Dr Lam Pin Min at Travel Smart Day 2017

Good morning ladies and gentlemen,

1. Thank you for joining me to celebrate our fifth Travel Smart Day. I am very happy to see so many of our Travel Smart partners this morning and all in your exercise gear! I would especially like to thank Ernst & Young, IBM, KPMG and Rajah & Tann who have been with us since we first began our Travel Smart journey five years ago. In fact, I may well be the newest member of the Travel Smart community here! 

Why Travel Smart?

2. Our rail capacity has expanded substantially in recent years. In the last five years, the Circle Line Extension, Downtown Lines 1 and 2 as well as the Tuas West Extension have added more than 30km to our rail network. We have added 135 additional trains and 29 train cars to the MRT and LRT networks respectively over the same period, resulting in less crowded train rides for commuters. And we are not stopping there. The Downtown Line 3 will open next month and provide a new route for commuters travelling from the east to the centre and north-west of Singapore. 

3. Like many other cities, our public transport system supports travel demand during the short two-hour peak-period windows in the mornings and evenings on weekdays. So with Travel Smart initiatives, we try to nudge commuters to change their travel patterns by a few minutes to enjoy more comfortable rides. In fact, more than 15,000 commuters have shifted from peak to off-peak travel daily. This is equivalent to 10 train loads of passengers. We are extremely encouraged to see such change and as such, we are studying how travel incentives can better reach out to even more commuters in the future.

Enhancement of Travel Smart Grant

4. The Travel Smart Network would not have been successful without the support of employers who had made the extra effort to provide flexi-work arrangements for their employees. We recognised the effort and had supported Travel Smart Network companies with annual grants of up to $160,000 to co-fund initiatives for flexi-travel arrangements by their employees. In fact, the family of Travel Smart companies has grown from 12 to more than 200 companies with over 320,000 employees. They belong to a wide range of sectors, from manufacturing to logistics and financial services, from local SMEs to MNCs. 

5. Among these 200 companies, we have been very encouraged by one which has tapped on the grant to build facilities. Over the past year, Singapore Press Holdings has worked with LTA to build bicycle racks and showers to support employees who travel to work early to exercise or cycle to work. To build on these efforts, from today, we will extend the Travel Smart Grant to all developers and owners of office buildings, who can use the grant to provide end-of-trip facilities such as showers, lockers, and drying stations. 

Upgrade of Travel Smart Rewards

6. Travel Smart Rewards, another key initiative to encourage off-peak travel, has also been a hit with many. It allows commuters to earn points for taking off-peak trips. The more points you get, the greater your chance of winning the monthly lucky draw prize of $1,500. And, if your company is part of our Travel Smart Network, you earn additional points under the corporate-tier rewards. 

7. I am happy to note that Jun May, a UOB officer, won $1500 in a recent monthly lucky draw. As a user of the Travel Smart Rewards since 2016, she beats the morning crowd by leaving for work before 7am and enjoys cash rewards when she plays the Travel Smart Reward game on the website. 

8. The Travel Smart Rewards has also become smarter with a Version 2.0 which was launched in April earlier this year. It is even more user-friendly and responsive to individual commuter travel behaviour. Commuters can make use of the travel planner that analyses one's travel patterns which suggests an off-peak tap-in time to help them earn more rewards. Those who follow the suggested travel times, and show a sustained change in their travel pattern, can earn rewards of more than $100 per year. There is also an interactive game which gives commuters the chance to earn more points, which translates to more cash rewards of up to $200!  

9. Within six months, almost 90,000 Travel Smart Rewards 1.0 members have signed on to Travel Smart Rewards 2.0. In addition, another 20,000 have newly signed up for this. 

10. In June this year, LTA organised the second edition of the #wetravelsmart competition for companies in the Travel Smart Network to encourage their employees to sign up for Travel Smart Rewards. I am happy to announce the two organisations with the highest number of active users of the corporate-tier Travel Smart Rewards. They are:

• Ministry of Health Holdings (MOHH) (among companies with 500 or less employees); and 
• MSIG (among companies with more than 500 employees). 

11. Congratulations to both MOHH and MSIG!
 
12. This has been an exciting year for the Travel Smart community. We have improved our Travel Smart Rewards with new, exciting features and also enhanced our Travel Smart Grant. These upgrades benefit both commuters and employers. Commuters who shift their travel patterns from peak to off-peak hours enjoy more comfortable public transport journeys and monetary benefits. Meanwhile, employers who promote more flexible working and travelling arrangements for your employees can also count on the Government's support. Together, we can make more efficient use of our public transport resources.

13. I hope you will continue to lend us your strong support. Thank you.