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http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC11...rney-experience S'pore 18th in that journey experience Survey shows nearly 8 in 10 public transport commuters dissatisfied by Neo Chai Chin 04:46 AM May 16, 2011 SINGAPORE - When it comes to getting around the island, Singaporeans apparently have a worse journey experience than do commuters in New Delhi or Kuala Lumpur. The Republic ranked 18th in a survey of 23 cities on public and private transport journey experiences. Copenhagen, Seattle and Sydney had the most satisfied commuters, according to the inaugural Journey Experience Index by business research and consulting firm Frost and Sullivan. Singapore scored 54.5 points, below the global benchmark of 61. Those travelling on public transport indicated a higher level of discontent: Out of 740 public transport commuters and 674 private transport commuters polled here, 77.5 per cent and 57 per cent respectively were dissatisfied with their journey experience. A comparative breakdown for the other cities was not immediately available. However, one reason Singapore did not do better in the index could be the relatively high percentage of journeys made on public transport, as cities with higher car usage tended to record greater satisfaction in the overall journey experience, said Mr Vivek Vaidya, Frost's Asia-Pacific vice-president of its automotive and transportation practice. The index gave equal weightage to four areas: Timeliness in reaching one's destination, value-for-money, convenience and overall journey experience. Mr Vaidya said the main frustrations of public transport commuters were overcrowding, switching between different modes of transport as well as getting to and from their homes and train stations. Car owners said their journey times were predictable, but groused about the lack of value-for-money, with charges such as Electronic Road Pricing, he said. Transport analyst Lee Der Horng of the National University of Singapore was surprised that Singapore ranked below cities such as Beijing and Kuala Lumpur. But the findings suggest room for improvement in bus services here, he said. A significant percentage of commuters get to train stations by bus, and "now that we have more MRT lines, transfer between (different) modes becomes more and more common", he said. Train services are relatively predictable, but buses, which are subject to road and traffic conditions, are less so, he said. "So, how to eliminate those uncertainties in bus services - that's what the operators and regulator should pay extra attention to," he said. Frost's findings vary from a customer satisfaction survey commissioned by the Land Transport Authority, the results of which were released earlier this year. Of 3,100 public transport commuters polled last October, 92.2 per cent were satisfied with service, according to the latter. Respondents gave an average service rating of 7.3 out of 10. Commuters were asked to rate satisfaction levels in eight areas including comfort, waiting time and reliability. Associate Professor Lee noted that the two surveys' methodologies were different and should not be compared. In reply to queries, the LTA told MediaCorp it was doing its best to increase transport system capacity and will spend S$60 billion over the next 10 years to expand the rail network. Since last June, when LTA began quarterly reviews to improve heavily utilised bus services, 51 services have been improved through higher frequency and deployment of higher-capacity buses. "The LTA will also continue to build new road infrastructure to cater to travel demands," a spokesperson said.