Written Reply by Minister for Transport Ong Ye Kung to Parliamentary Question on Incentivising Public Transport Operators to Reduce Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Mr Leon Perera asked the Minister for Transport whether there are currently sustainability clauses in the Ministry's contracts with public transport operators to incentivise them to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. 

Reply by Minister for Transport Ong Ye Kung:

1.     Under our public transport service delivery structure, Government is the owner of key public transport infrastructure and operating assets, which includes public buses, trains, signalling systems and other operating assets. Hence, Government is in a position to advance sustainability goals directly.

2.     For new public buses, LTA will purchase only cleaner energy vehicles to progressively replace the existing fleet. To date, LTA has deployed on a trial basis, 50 diesel hybrid buses and 15 electric buses, with a view to expanding such fleets. This is the first step in achieving our target of a 100% cleaner energy public bus fleet by 2040.

3.     For rail, all new stations since 2014 are designed to minimise carbon dioxide emissions, and to meet Green Mark certification requirements. Our rail operators also comply with energy efficiency requirements under the Energy Conservation Act, which mandates energy efficiency requirements and energy management practices.

4.     As public transport remains the most carbon-efficient mode of transport, we would like to encourage more people to adopt Walk-Cycle-Ride to meet their commuting needs. The peak-period Walk-Cycle-Ride mode share was 72% in 2019, and we aim to increase this to 90% by 2040.