Singapore to house regional transport hub

Singapore will be home to a centre that will provide support to land transport administrators in the region.

The facility, called Centre for Transport Excellence for the Asia-Pacific Region, will be set up by the middle of next year.

A memorandum of understanding was signed by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the International Association of Public Transport (UITP) on Tuesday.

The centre aims to be a one-stop hub where transport knowledge and research will be shared via conferences, training programs and study visits.

With growing populations, cities will have to find new ways to meet the travel needs of their residents to enhance mobility and livability.

Based at the LTA Academy in Hampshire Road, near Little India, the centre will focus on issues of public transport and sustainable mobility.

A joint news release on Tuesday stated that UITP chose Singapore to base its research and activities because the country had demonstrated excellent public transport development and continued innovation.

UITP is an international network of players in the public transport industry, including authorities and operators as well as policymakers and scientific institutes.

It has 3,400 members from 92 countries.

One initiative by the centre will be to organize the first Singapore International Transport Congress in October 2013.

The biennial event will gather international speakers to share insights on urban transport issues and solutions.

Participants will include policymakers and industry players.

At the signing on Tuesday, UITP's secretary-general Hans Rat said: 'Ever-evolving societies, changing commuters' behavior and escalating expectations make managing transportation in a city a work in progress.'

LTA's chief executive Chew Hock Yong said the collaboration would help Singapore acquire new knowledge to build a people-centered land transport system that would meet diverse needs and provide for a livable environment.