Assessment Cover Sheet

Assessment Title Assignment 1

Programme Title: BILM

Course No.: TL7303

Course Title: Urban Public Transport

Student Name: Hadeel Ali

Student ID: 201400606

Tutor: Kym Channell

Due Date: 28/10/2016 Date submitted: 27/10/2017

By submitting this assessment for marking, either electronically or as hard copy, I confirm the
following:
 This assignment is my own work
 Any information used has been properly referenced.
 I understand that a copy of my work may be used for moderation.
 I have kept a copy of this assignment
 I have read and/or attached the Turnitin Originality Report

Do not write below this line. For Polytechnic use only.

Assessor: Kym Channell Date of Marking:

Grade/Mark:

Comments:

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TL 7303 Urban Public Transport

Assignment 1

Marks available: 100 (Final mark awarded as %)

Course weighting: 30%
Learning outcomes 1. Analyse the relationship of urban form and public transport in terms
assessed: of financing, revenue, selection, function, organization and ownership.
2. Compare the principal roles of urban public transport by different
modes (road, rail and water)

Submission deadline: Saturday 28th October, 2017 before 23:59 (Moodle –Word Document)

Assignment.

2000 words (+/- 10%)

Discuss how the main barriers were overcome for achieving high quality modern urban public transport
services in two large cities.

1. These cities should be selected from two different continents. The cities you select should be
examples of reinvigorated or completely new systems for urban public transport. Your
assignment will describe the cities location and key demographic and geographical elements.

2. Identify the main barriers overcome to achieve high quality modern urban public transport

3. Explain the changes made in the public transport system and why those options were taken and
the benefits of the new system.

4. Explain which city you think was more successful in achieving its aims.

Note:

This assignment should be written on this document (a Word document - do not PDF the file) and appropriately
formatted; headings and subheadings should be used, you should use either Calibri or Arial font (size 11 –
excluding headings and subheadings), your work should be double-spaced and pages should be numbered.
Remember to reference your work (including in-text referencing) at all times using the APA format.

Submissions – Use this document as the template for your submission! Please submit the whole document
including cover page, instructions, your report and the rubric via Moodle. All assignments will be checked for
plagiarism and originality using Turnitin. All submissions must be saved using the following naming convention
(failure to do this may result in your assignment not being marked):

 First Name_ID number_ Assignment 1

 E.g. Ahmed_20109090_Assignment 1

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BILM Assignments – Rules & Guidelines

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY & HONESTY: When submitting this assignment you are confirming that you have
adhered to Bahrain Polytechnic’s policy on academic integrity and honesty including using APA referencing
appropriately. Any violation of this will be dealt with as stipulated in the policy.

LATE SUBMISSIONS: Late assignments are deducted 5 marks from your achieved mark for each 24 hour period
after the due date. For example, an assessment which has been graded as 73% will be reduced to 68% for the
first 24 hours late, and to 63% if late for a further 24 hours and so on. This applies to every day of the week
including the weekend and all public holidays. Assignments which are submitted so late as to receive a negative
mark will receive a final mark of zero.

EXTENSIONS: On application, in writing, tutors may approve an extension up to a maximum of two (2) days
(including the weekend and public holidays) for an individual assignment. Applications for extensions must be
received no later than 72 hours (3 days) before the due date. Only one extension per course will be given.
Please note that extensions will not be given for group work, tests or exams.

WORD LIMIT: All assignments have a required word limit which we permit a variation of +/-10%. For example
an assignment with a 2000 word limit means that you can submit between 1800 to 2200 words. These words
come from the main body of your writing i.e. your introduction to your conclusion. We do not include title
pages, contents pages, reference list or appendices. In-text referencing is included in the word count.
Submissions which are substantially under the word limit will receive a low mark for failing to answer the
question fully. If a submission is over the word limit, the tutor will simply stop marking at that point where it is
10% over (e.g. 2200 words for an assignment with a 2000 word limit). You will not receive any marks for work
that is submitted outside of the maximum word limit.

Marking will be as per marking rubric

Please refer to the generic Course Guide or your tutor is you require further clarification of the above points.

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Table of Contents

.............................................................................. 1
 Introduction:- ..................................................................................................................................... 5
 Singapore location & geographical features:- .................................................................................... 5
 Singapore demographics:-.................................................................................................................. 6
 Singapore’s public transport barriers & developments:- ................................................................... 7
Delay on buses arrival time ....................................................................................................................... 7
Solution to the delay problem ................................................................................................................... 7
MRT noise problem................................................................................................................................... 8
Reducing the MRT noise level .................................................................................................................. 8
 Dubai location & geographical features ............................................................................................. 9
 Dubai’s demographics:- ................................................................................................................... 10
 Dubai’s public transport barriers & developments:- ........................................................................ 10
Road congestion ...................................................................................................................................... 10
Reducing the road congestion ................................................................................................................. 11
Dubai metro problems ............................................................................................................................. 11
Solving the Dubai metro problems .......................................................................................................... 12
 The city successfully improved its public transportation:- .............................................................. 13
Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................ 14

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  Introduction:-

Urban public transport is essential to transport people from one place to another. This could be resulted in

reducing the congestion dramatically within the city, minimizing carbon emissions, and it will improve mobility.

This report will talk about the urban public transport in Singapore and Dubai cities. The aim of it is to describe

the location, geographical features, and the demographics of these two cities as well as it will identify the main

public transport barriers within these cities and how they overcome it. Furthermore, it will discuss and explain

which city implemented the best public transport systems.

 Singapore location & geographical features:-

Figure 1 Singapore Map

Singapore is located in the southeast of Asia continent and it is positioned in the Indian Ocean. Moreover,

Singapore has a total area of 719.1 km2 and it is mainly consists of one large island and more than 60 small

islets (worldatlas, N.D).

The city land is mostly flat and it has a small amount of low hills located in the city centre. The west and the

southwest of the land are mainly consisting of low ridges while the southeast lands are flat. The highest point

of Singapore is Bukit Timah with 166 m/545 ft (worldatlas, N.D).

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  Singapore demographics:-

Singapore has a total population of 5,607.3 in 2016. The population density has been estimated by 7,797 per

km2 in 2016 (Department of Statistics, Ministry of Trade, 2016).

Figure 2 Sex Composition of Resident Population

According to this chart, the male ratio in 2016 is almost 49% whereas the female are 51% approximately

(Department of Statistics, Ministry of Trade, 2016).

Figure 3 Jurong East Male Population

This chart shows the age categorize of the male in Jurong East living near the MRT station. This reflected that

the large age group living there is between the ages of 60-64 (Department of Statistics, Ministry of Trade,

2016).

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 Figure 4 Jurong East Female Population

The above chart shows that the large female population living in Jurong East is between the ages of 60-64

(Department of Statistics, Ministry of Trade, 2016).

 Singapore’s public transport barriers & developments:-

Delay on buses arrival time

Population growth and the limited land space are the main challenges in controlling the traffic in Singapore.

The population has been grown from 4.8 million in 2005 to 5.3 million in 2012 and due to that the numbers of

journeys are expected to increase and reach 14.3 million (Ita, 2013). Besides, Singapore is facing huge

restrictions in land space. Generally, the roads are taking 12% of the total land area whereas a 15% is dedicated

to housing (Yue, N.D). These two factors in particular resulted in delays at the arrival times of the bus services.

In relation to the Land Transport Review Study in 2008, only 35% of the total buses arrive in 10 minutes or less

while the remaining number of buses have inconspicuous arrival timings. Consequently, this problem might

discourage the commuters to use the bus as transportation means (Ng, 2015).

Solution to the delay problem

The Land Transport Authority has announced a major investment and improvement in the bus transportation

system density through the Bus Service Enhancement Programme (BSEP). According to the BSEP, Singapore

government funded approximately 1.1$ billion to provide 550 new buses in the city roads. Therefore, the total

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number of the new buses reached almost 800 buses and it increased the buses fleet to 20%. In September

2013, an amount of 250 buses entered into service by introducing 14 new bus services. However, the remaining

buses have been rolled up in 2014 (Anonymous, CITY CLIMATE LEADERSHIP AWARDS, N.D). Moreover, the

entrance of these new buses resulted in minimizing the waiting time of the bus arrivals by 3 to 5 minutes also

by implementing BSEP the commuters started to enter the buses easier due to the reduction in crowd inside

the buses from 95% to 85% in 2014. Additionally, part of the BSEP scheme is to implement a sufficient amount

of new routes to be utilized as feeder routes that connect the residential areas with the buses interchanges

(Ministry of transport, N.D).

MRT noise problem

Many of Singapore residents have been exposed to noise pollution specially the ones who lived near the MRT

tracks. The men and women in Jurong East the residential area near the MRT track are between the ages of 60-

64. These people required quiet residential area due to their ages. Meanwhile, the MRT operators tend to

increase the trains frequency as a result of the commuters complains about the long waiting times and

overcrowds. Furthermore, the MRT system was built in the 1987 and owing to that, MRT generated noises

because of the wear and tear. The dramatic increase in the car ownership led to huge road congestion. As a

consequence of that, the MRT noise pollution will remain owing to the frequent operation to reduce the car

usage (Sim, 2011). According to the National University of Singapore, the MRT noise level in Singapore reaches

69.4 and this caused a major hearing loss as well as sleeping problems to the residents (Anonymous, Living with

noise pollution, N.D).

Reducing the MRT noise level

Singapore started a MRT noise reduction project to improve the city environment. The government completed

the installation of noise barriers at Jurong East Station and Bishan Station (lta, 2013). Generally, the installation

of the noise barriers has been conducted in two phases. The first stage started by positioning about 8km of the

barriers on the normal track along the eastern and western sections of the east-west line and it has been

completed between the year of 2014 and 2016. However, the second phase is expected to be complete during

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2020 (Anonymous, Installation of Railway Noise Barriers, 2013). Furthermore, Singapore is conducting a study

project with the National Environment Agency to look for alternative solutions to reduce the trains’ noise

pollution (lta, 2013). The reason for such study project is that the city is booming and many people started to

live in the residential areas near the MRT tracks. Particularly, the government gave the priority to start the

noise barrier project in high density residential areas and schools located near the MRT tracks (lta, 2013).

 Dubai location & geographical features:-

Figure 5 Dubai Map

Dubai is located in the continent of Asia as it is positioned in the southern coast of the Arabian Gulf and it has a

total area of 4.114 sq km (Briney, 2017). Moreover, the outer side of Dubai is generally considered as a desert

area (Anonymous, About Dubai, N.D).

The geographical features of Dubai are mainly made up of a deserts lies within the Arabian Desert. The rugged

and undeveloped Hajjar Mountains are located in the farther east of Dubai city (Briney, 2017). Although, Dubai

has limited water bodies but it has a small bay called the Dubai Creek which separated the city to north and

south sides (Anonymous, Dubai Geography, N.D).

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  Dubai’s demographics:-

The total population of Dubai city is almost 2,698,600 in 2016. Dubai density is approximately 122 p km2 in 2017

(Anonymous, Dubai Population , 2017).

Figure 6 Population by Gender of Dubai

According to the above chart, the number of male was estimated by 1,888,520 whereas the female number is

approximately 810,080 by 2016 (Dubai Statistics Center, 2016).

 Dubai’s public transport barriers & developments:-

Road congestion

Dubai has the highest number of cars ownership comparing to large cities such as New York and London. The

number of vehicles in Dubai per 1,000 residents is approximately 600 whereas New York and London have

almost 305 and 213 vehicles per 1,000 people. Moreover, the number of vehicles in Dubai increased from

740,000 in 2006 to more than 1.5 million in 2016. According to Nadeem Shakir, the Technical Director and

Transport Planner at Aurecon Group, the average timing of a trip can take almost 35 minutes and it is predicted

to increase throughout the years. This reflected negatively toward the buses service in Dubai because the buses

share the same routes of the cars and they are generally conducted to the same congestion. As a result, the

buses tend to arrive late to carry-up people and drop them off to their destination. However, one of the major

reasons of Dubai having a high vehicles rate is because of the weather and many of the public transport station

do not have shelters to reduce the summer heat (Shahbandari, 2016).

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Reducing the road congestion

Dubai city made a major investment by implementing Dubai metro to reduce the road congestion. The metro

red line was launched in 2009 and it was the only functioning line in Dubai. This line tends to serve 26 stations.

However, five more metro lines were opened in 2010 and by that the number of commuters using the metro

raise up from 6% in 2009 to 12% in 2010. What is more, the Road and Transport Authority of Dubai improved

the feeder buses system in order to bring

people to the metro station. The metro station

is covered to reduce the heat which

encouraged commuters to use it (Adamoski,

2010). As a consequence of Dubai metro, the

Figure 7 Number of Dubai Metro Users road congestion reduced by 25% due to the

shifting from cars to metro. Additionally, metro considered as a preferable transportation mode in Dubai and

the number of commuters using the metro increased from 164.307 million to 178.647 million in 2015 (Tayer,

2015).

Dubai metro problems

Using Dubai metro general cabin for female is very uncomfortable during peak hours due to the increase in

males’ population almost by 1,888,520. According to an article was published at Khaleej time’s news in 2012,

many female faced different types of harassments by males’ passengers in Dubai metro especially in using the

general cabins with the crowds (Gokulan, 2012). Moreover, it turned out there is another problem in Dubai

metro which is many men’s have been using the women’s and children’s sections. Men tend to use the women

and children cabin in peak hours and the women’s are struggling because they cannot find a private space for

them. Even though, men’s get alert to move to the general cabin but they do not obey the rules. Furthermore,

lack in security in Dubai metro station makes the problem bigger (Nisha, 2014).

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Solving the Dubai metro problems

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) of Dubai notified that the women and children section will be

upgraded to be fully specified for women and children’s only space. According to Muhammad Mudharreb the

Director of Rail Operations at the RTA, there are a huge demand and acceptance from the women and children

travellers for the dedicated metro space. The female commuters are pleased with such service because they

are traveling comfortably. Due to the fact that the number of women and children using the metro increased in

2013, this section gave them more privacy in travelling. Moreover, to control this section Dubai metro

increased the security staff to explain the metro rules to the commuters. Furthermore, when a man enters the

wrong section they will be immediately informed to move to another section (Leijen, 2015). Additionally, the

Roads and Transport Authority started to release a 100 Dh fines to every male uses the women and children

section in Dubai metro in order to maintain the privacy and comfort for the female commuters in 2015

(Anonymous, Dubai metro: Dh 100 fine, 2015).

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  The city successfully improved its public transportation:-

Both of Singapore and Dubai cities conduct successful improvements in

their urban public transport systems. Singapore effectively enhanced its

public transport systems. According to the chart the number of Bus

ridership is almost 3,939,000 which is 54.60% of the total Singapore

population whereas the MRT users approximately are 3,095,000 which is

Figure 8 Number of Public Transportation Users

42.90% of the total population. Therefore, commuters tend to use the
In Singapore.
MRT and Buses over the LRT that has almost 180,000 users which is

2.49% of the total population. For that reason Singapore improved its bus services by extending the number of

buses as well as it developed the MRT system. On the other hand, Dubai massive road congestion is due to the

high number of vehicle ownership as well as buses shares the same

routs with cars so in this case buses are conducted to the same traffic

and delay. Consequently, Dubai developed a new public transport

system which is the Dubai metro with modern facilities that cope with

the city standards. Consequently, the number of Dubai metro users

Figure 9 Number of Public Transportation Users In increased by 100.5 million in 2017 which is higher than the other public
Dubai

transportation system according to the chart. In my opinion, Singapore is the best country in conducting urban

public transport due to its size as well as the number of commuters that use the public transport is higher than

the people who use their own vehicles. The car ownership in Singapore reduced from 3% to 0.25% in 2017.

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Bibliography
Adamoski, M. A.-R. (2010, 11 N.D). DUBAI FROM GLOBAL TO LOCAL. Retrieved 10 25, 2017,
from cemusstudent: http://cemusstudent.se/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/GCSF-Project-
Dubai.pdf
Anonymous. (2013, 3 12). Installation of Railway Noise Barriers. Retrieved 10 25, 2017, from lta:
https://www.lta.gov.sg/apps/news/page.aspx?c=2&id=1d9e540d-3cda-44f5-a26f-fbb0986fdd62
Anonymous. (2013, 3 12). INSTALLATION OF RAILWAY NOISE BARRIERS . Retrieved 10 24, 2017,
from lta: https://www.lta.gov.sg/apps/news/page.aspx?c=2&id=1d9e540d-3cda-44f5-a26f-
fbb0986fdd62
Anonymous. (2015, 3 6). Dubai metro: Dh 100 fine. Retrieved 10 25, 2017, from gulfnews:
http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/transport/dubai-metro-dh100-fine-slapped-on-male-riders-found-
in-women-and-kids-only-cabins-1.1467528
Anonymous. (2017, N.D N.D). Dubai Population . Retrieved 10 25, 2017, from
worldpopulationreview: http://worldpopulationreview.com/world-cities/dubai-population/
Anonymous. (2017, 4 23). Living with noise pollution. Retrieved 10 24, 2017, from straitstimes:
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/sounds-awful-cant-sleep-cant-talk-because-of-
noise
Anonymous. (N.D, N.D N.D). About Dubai. Retrieved 10 25, 2017, from Dubai City Guide:
http://www.dubaicityguide.com/site/tourists/About-Dubai.asp
Anonymous. (N.D, N.D N.D). CITY CLIMATE LEADERSHIP AWARDS. Retrieved 10 24, 2017, from
Siemens: https://www.siemens.com/press/pool/de/events/2014/infrastructure-cities/2014-06-
CCLA/singapore-climate-close-up.pdf
Anonymous. (N.D, N.D N.D). Dubai Geography. Retrieved 10 25, 2017, from international-travel-
tours: http://www.international-travel-tours.com/dubai/geography.html
Anonymous. (N.D, N.D N.D). Living with noise pollution. Retrieved 10 25, 2017, from straitstimes:
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/sounds-awful-cant-sleep-cant-talk-because-of-
noise
Briney, A. (2017, 2 28). Geography of Dubai. Retrieved 10 25, 2017, from thoughtco:
https://www.thoughtco.com/geography-of-dubai-1435700
Department of Statistics, Ministry of Trade. (2016, N.D N.D). POPULATION TRENDS. Retrieved 10
25, 2017, from Statistics Singapore: http://www.singstat.gov.sg/docs/default-source/default-
document-
library/publications/publications_and_papers/population_and_population_structure/population2
016.pdf
Dubai Statistics Center. (2016, N.D N.D). Population by Gender - Emirate of Duba. Retrieved 10 25,
2017, from Government of Dubai:
https://www.dsc.gov.ae/Report/Copy%20of%20DSC_SYB_2016_01%20_%2001.pdf
Gokulan, D. (2012, 8 16). Women complain of harassment on Metro. Retrieved 10 25, 2017, from
khaleejtimes: https://www.khaleejtimes.com/nation/transport/women-complain-of-harassment-
on-metro
Ita. (2013, N.D N.D). Land transport master plan. Retrieved 10 24, 2017, from Ita:
https://www.lta.gov.sg/content/dam/ltaweb/corp/PublicationsResearch/files/ReportNewsletter/L
TMP2013Report.pdf
Leijen, M. v. (2015, 2 24). More space on Dubai Metro for women, kids. Retrieved 10 25, 2017, from
emirates247: http://www.emirates247.com/news/emirates/more-space-on-dubai-metro-for-
women-kids-2015-02-24-1.582027
lta. (2013, N.D N.D). Land transport master plan. Retrieved 10 25, 2017, from lta:
https://www.lta.gov.sg/content/dam/ltaweb/corp/PublicationsResearch/files/ReportNewsletter/L
TMP2013Report.pdf

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Ministry of transport. (N.D, N.D N.D). How your bus rides are better under the BSEP. Retrieved 10
25, 2017, from Ministry of transport: https://www.mot.gov.sg/Transport-Matters/Public-
Transport/How-your-bus-rides-are-better-under-the-BSEP/
Ng, J. (2015, N.D N.D). Achieving inclusion in transport. Retrieved 10 24, 2017, from DPA:
http://www.dpa.org.sg/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Achieving-Inclusion-in-Transport.pdf
Nisha. (2014, 9 24). Women-only Dubai Metro cabins 'used by men'. Retrieved 10 25, 2017, from
gulfnews: http://gulfnews.com/your-say/your-reports/women-only-dubai-metro-cabins-used-by-
men-1.1389540
Shahbandari, S. (2016, 11 17). Dubai charts plan to boost public transport. Retrieved 10 25, 2017,
from gulfnews: http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/transport/dubai-charts-plan-to-boost-public-
transport-1.1931026
Sim, R. (2011, 7 19). The problem with urban noise. Retrieved 10 25, 2017, from stcars:
http://www.stcars.sg/guides-articles/the-problem-with-urban-noise-16442
Tayer, M. A. (2015, N.D N.D). RTA Sustainability Report. Retrieved 10 25, 2017, from rta:
https://www.rta.ae/wps/wcm/connect/rta/ca723973-88ee-407c-935c-
43a2e7dd1d51/RTA_Sustainability_report2015_Uploading.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=
ca723973-88ee-407c-935c-43a2e7dd1d51
worldatlas. (N.D, N.D N.D). Singapore Geography. Retrieved 10 25, 2017, from worldatlas:
http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/asia/singapore/sgland.htm
Yue, J. (N.D, N.D N.D). Issues face in using public transport in Singapore. Retrieved 10 24, 2017,
from Academia:
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e_of_Contents?auto=download

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 TL7303 2016-17 Semester 1, Assignment 1 Marking rubric for Urban Public Transport

Met criteria to an Met criteria to a very Met criteria to a Did not meet
excellent standard good standard satisfactory standard Criteria
Report Mark
Writing
A B C F
25 Marks (21.25 -25) 25 marks (17.5 - 21) 25 Marks (15- 17.25) 25 Marks (0 – 14.75)
15 Marks (12.75 – 15) 15 Marks (10.5 – 12.5) 15 Marks (9 – 10.25) 15 marks (0 – 8.75)
10 Marks (8.5 – 10) 10 Marks (7 – 8.5) 10 marks (6 – 6.75) 10 Marks (0-5.75)

Two large cities Two cities and their Two cities and their Two cities and their Little or no
identified from three location, key location, key location, key description of the
different continents demographic statistics demographic statistics demographic statistics two cities, their
and geographical and geographical and geographical location, key
15 Marks elements elements well elements somewhat demographic
comprehensively described described statistics and
described geographical
elements
Barriers overcome to Main barriers for each Main barriers for each Main barriers for each You have provided
achieving high quality city comprehensively city mostly identified. city somewhat little or no
modern urban public identified. identified. identification of the
main barriers for
transport
each city.

30 Marks
Has explained the You have You have mostly You have somewhat You have provided
changes made in the comprehensively explained the changes explained the changes little or no
public transport explained the changes that have occurred in that have occurred in explanation of the
the public transport the public transport changes that have
system and why those that have occurred in
system and why these system and why these occurred in the
options were taken the public transport options were taken and options were taken and public transport
and benefits of new system and why these the benefits of the new the benefits of the new system and why
systems. options were taken systems). systems. these options were
and the benefits of the taken with little or no
30 Marks new systems). discussion of the
benefits of the new
systems.
Has explained which Comprehensively Mostly explained which Adequately explained Provided little or no
city was most explained which city city was most which city was most explanation on
successful in achieving was most successful in successful in achieving successful in achieving which city was most
its aims and why its aims and why successful in
its aims. achieving its aims and
achieving its aims
why. and why
15 marks
Article clearly laid out Article fully complies Article complies well Article adequately Little or no APA
and follows APA with APA reference with APA reference complies with APA referencing.
reference guidelines guidelines. Information guidelines. Information reference guidelines. Information is not
is well presented, flows Information is well presented, does
is clearly presented,
appropriately and can somewhat well not flow
10 marks flows appropriately be mostly understood. presented, flows appropriately and/or
and can be clearly appropriately and can not easily
understood. be mostly understood. understood.
Total

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