Minister for Transport S Iswaran launched the Land Transport Industry Transformation Map (ITM) 2025 today. Developed by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in close collaboration with industry and union partners, the refreshed Land Transport ITM aims to build a sustainable and resilient land transport sector, a future-ready workforce and a vibrant ecosystem. Please refer to the Annex for the Land Transport ITM 2025 infographic.
2 The Land Transport ITM 2025 will help the sector navigate through immediate challenges of manpower constraints and decarbonisation. It aims to achieve three strategic outcomes:
a. A Future-Ready Workforce
b. A Sustainable and Resilient Land Transport Sector
c. A Reliable and Cost-effective Transport System through Innovation & Technology
3 “Talent development and skills upgrading for workers remain key to the land transport sector’s transformation and resilience. LTA is partnering the public transport operators and unions to equip workers with the skills to meet new challenges, so that our workforce remains productive and future-ready,” said Mr Chee Hong Tat, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Transport and Co-Chair of the Future Economy Council (FEC) Connectivity Cluster.
4 "Co-innovation between the public and private sector can accelerate the development of a safer, more efficient, and future-ready land transport network. We encourage industry players to collaborate with LTA on platforms like the Land Transport Innovation Portal, and ideate and test-bed solutions for Singapore’s land transport challenges,” said Mr Alex Hungate, Chief Operating Officer, Grab and Co-Chair of the Future Economy Council (FEC) Connectivity Cluster.
Ensure Future-Ready Workforce
5 The land transport industry, a key pillar in enabling connectivity that supports our economy, is only able to achieve this through the efforts of its workers. With more than 100,000 workers, the workers undertake various roles including bus captains, bus mechanics, customer service officers, railway engineers, station managers, as well as point-to-point (P2P) drivers. In particular, public transport is a growth segment in the industry. Since 2018, about 1,000 new jobs have been created in the rail sector. Around another 800 more new jobs will be created as our rail network expands, and even more with the development of the Jurong Region Line and Cross Island Line. Overall, the workforce in the public transport sector is expected to grow by around 4% by 2025, from 22,000 workers currently.
6 The nature of work will also change with advancement in technology and digitalisation. Under the refreshed ITM, LTA will work with National Transport Workers’ Union (NTWU) and public transport operators to upskill rail workers to use new and emerging technologies such as data and statistical analytics, as well as condition monitoring, to increase efficiency and productivity. So far, more than 2,900 workers have enhanced their skills since 2020 under the Rail Manpower Development Incentive. For example, through the use of video monitoring and image analysis, faults can be detected and physical checks reduced. We are also upskilling our bus captains and technicians progressively to handle electric buses. In this regard, the Singapore Bus Academy (SGBA) has been working with the relevant stakeholders including bus suppliers, Institutes of Higher Learning, NTWU and bus operators to curate relevant training programmes on cleaner energy buses for the bus workforce.
Towards a Sustainable and Resilient Land Transport Sector
7 In the area of private transport, we will also continue to work closely with partners such as tertiary institutions to help gear the workforce to support Singapore’s push for vehicle electrification.
8 Besides vehicle electrification, Walk Cycle Ride is the other key thrust in our efforts to reduce land transport emissions. Under Walk Cycle Ride, LTA will continue to encourage commuters to take public transport or active mobility options.
9 LTA is also supporting increased adoption of electric vehicles by building up our EV charging infrastructure and strengthening EV regulatory framework. By 2030, half of our public bus and taxi fleets will be electric. Electrification will provide exciting new growth opportunities for industry and workers.
Build a Reliable and Cost-effective Transport System through Innovation & Technology
10 In a fast-changing world, LTA is keenly aware of the importance of collaborating with the private sector to find new solutions to build a reliable and cost-effective transport system. An open innovation approach with our industry and academia partners will help tap on external ideas to enhance the efficiency of our land transport system. This includes democratising data and co-creating innovative solutions to enhance operational processes as well as for environmental sustainability.
11 In September 2022, LTA launched the Land Transport Innovation Portal as a one-stop platform for all innovation matters to streamline outreach to industry partners. The portal shares operational problem statements from LTA and information on upcoming innovation events to help partners better understand LTA’s needs and discover opportunities for co-innovation and collaboration. It also directs potential innovators to LTA’s data resources on the LTA DataMall, which includes over 130 static and dynamic datasets as well as a newly expanded catalogue of ‘On-Request Datasets’ to encourage more ground-up innovations that can serve land transport needs.
