Rosina Howe-Teo, group director and chief innovation officer, innovation and infocomm technology, LTA
Ever wondered how government bodies keep track of the public infrastructure under their jurisdiction? Or how would the authorities know when a tree needs to be pruned, or a road to be resurfaced? Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA), charged with the regulation of the island nation’s land transport infrastructure, put a technology known as Geographic Information System (GIS) to use in an innovative fashion, to the advantage of a wide spectrum of users.
GIS technology refers to the integration of hardware, software and data to gather geographical information, which can be harnessed to reveal relationships, patterns and trends. Information presented is usually in the form of maps, charts and reports.
The role GIS technology plays within the LTA’s operations is vastly important, says Rosina Howe-Teo, group director and chief innovation officer, innovation and infocomm technology, LTA. “GIS technology appears in just about all areas of our business,” says Howe-Teo. “With just about every field of engineering operating within our organisation, and working out of more than 65 disparate locations, the volume of enquires, feedback and building plans we process is enormous.” Every month, the LTA gets 5,000 counts of public feedback and 30,000 telephone enquires. The same period sees 200,000 pages of building plans and 1.5 million pages of contract documents being processed by the authority.
Aspects of the LTA’s business which involve GIS technology include: policy planning, road and rail engineering, traffic management, public transport and mobile and internet services.
Informed decisions
The heart of the LTA’s GIS technology implementation lies in the Land Transport GIS Data Hub, a central repository of map data containing more than 70 layers of GIS information from various sources. Data in the repository includes road and rail infrastructure and information gathered from actual on-site surveys. The data hub follows a standard coordinate system, so all the maps are set to scale.
“Picture each layer as a transparency sheet. When we superimpose buildings and other structures on top of the maps, we won’t see roads cutting through buildings,” says Howe-Teo. “A standard coordinate system is required for information to be accurately exchanged between various government agencies. Data governance helps us ensure the quality and timeliness of the data coming through the repository.”
Information available through the repository, which includes tunnel reserves, road reserves, tunnel reserves and road safeguarding information, serves both the public and private sectors. “Developers and private investors alike need to know the government’s future plans for a piece of land they intend to buy. You don’t want to purchase a piece of real estate only to be told that the authorities are going to build a tunnel right across your garden.”
One of the downstream benefits of GIS technology at the LTA is the fact that stacks of road line plans, containing information on the government’s future plans for infrastructure development, are no longer sold over the counter in huge, bulky stacks. “In the past, developers, architects, engineering firms and contractors came to us to purchase hard copies of such plans. These same plans have since been converted to an electronic format using GIS, and we now sell them online,” says Howe-Teo.
On safe ground
Civil engineering in Singapore would be vastly different without the LTA’s use of GIS technology. Numerous analysis of an area’s geotechnical specifications need to be conducted and constantly monitored, to make for a safe construction project, and GIS technology plays a major role in ensuring a project stays out of potential structural danger.
“At the pre-construction stage, civil engineers need to understand the area’s soil conditions, to make sure what they’re tunnelling through is stable,” says Howe-Teo. “Some layers of soil are almost like cheese—soft alluvial soil, which is very dangerous ground from a construction and civil engineering point of view.”
GIS technology enables a scope through the ground to be done, so various segments and soil conditions can be determined. Soil analysis can then be performed to verify the ground is sound enough for structural changes to be made. GIS captures the location of each tube of soil during the excavation process, so engineers can analyse every strategic location before commencing construction.
Though such scopes through the ground are not the sole invention of the LTA, Howe-Teo explains the organisation keeps more records than most other government agencies, because there are several tunnelling projects undertaken below ground level, sometimes reaching sewage works and underneath water canals. Examples of such engineering challenges are the Dhoby Ghaut MRT station, which sits four storeys underground; and the island’s newest motorway, the Kallang-Paya Lebar expressway, which sits 10 storeys below.
Those who benefit from this aspect of GIS technology include private sector developers and engineering firms, who purchase the relevant information from the LTA. “This provision holds an advantage over having private firms perform their own soil analysis, as they may not have the equipment that probe to those depths.”
Various instruments are also employed to measure other geotechnical aspects of a designated area, such as ground movement and the water table. Each instrument’s reading is then recorded into a colour coded GIS map. The map is closely monitored, and if readings exceed a stipulated threshold, geotechnical engineers investigate on-site to ensure adverse effects do not happen to the surroundings. Such measures are crucial in ensuring a building’s structural framework is not affected during construction.
Road safety
Traffic accidents, the bane of drivers, and commonly seen as stumbling blocks to a country’s transport infrastructure. The LTA constantly seeks to reduce the number of road accidents and GIS technology plays a key role in this quest. Some accidents can be caused by seemingly mundane factors, such as the lack of speed stripes on the road, or an overgrown bit of foliage.
With the help of GIS technology, the LTA is able to execute a process known as black spot analysis, which keeps track of the island’s accident-prone areas. Each area will be zoomed in upon, and factors such as collusion patterns are analysed, before deciding on the best way to reduce the number of accidents in a particular area. A process known as ‘treatment’ is then administered on the site – this could encompass a variety of actions such as tree pruning, road resurfacing or the addition of speed stripes. The site is then further monitored to see if the methods succeeded in reducing the number of accidents. Such a process has resulted in a vast reduction in the number of accidents in various spots around the island.
GIS technology is also used in the area of road management, where a road’s degree of roughness is monitored so timely resurfacing can be done, to prevent potential vehicle skidding. Data is measured and collected through the road’s surface using special equipment, taking into account traffic volume and road works.
Harnessing GIS in order to improve on road safety is a relatively new use of the technology, says Howe-Teo, recalling a gathering of GIS practitioners in San Diego which she attended. “This particular area of improvement has attracted a lot of interest from other government agencies and transport authorities around the world. The other delegates said they never thought of using GIS to improve on road safety.”
Mapping points
In a day and age where location-based services are the rage among Singaporeans keen to explore their surroundings with the help of IT, the LTA has also done its part in facilitating the development of such facilities. GIS maps in the data hub contain information regarding the location of the island’s bus stops, taxi stands, parking lots, traffic signs and traffic lights. This information is shared with business units from both the public and private sector that are keen to develop location-based services.
One example would be the development of a transport portal, set up with the aim of helping citizens map out the best way to get from one point to another via the island’s public transport system, or private vehicle. “You’ve got to start mapping out the routes for buses, or the journey by car,” says Howe-Teo. “What you need to take into account isn’t restricted to the absolute route; but various other factors, like accident sites or road closures. Some closures exist for a long period of time and are captured in the system.”
GIS technology also played a part in the formation of the LTA’s online portal, dubbed One.Motoring. Via this portal, members of the public access a wide variety of facilities, including the planning of transport routes and pinpointing congested areas.
Stepping into the future
Howe-Teo has more plans in store for GIS within the LTA. Chief among these is facilitating the Singapore government’s vision to turn the island into a central public transport hub. Stressing the importance location-based services will play toward this vision, Howe-Teo says, “GIS in the LTA has evolved, from a being focused primarily on operational efficiency, to a mobility-centric solution. We have started to expand on the use of these internal systems for external consumption, and the big question now is how we can make some of this information available to the public in a useful way.”
Top of the agenda is getting the island’s real-time bus arrival information service up to speed. Currently, Singapore’s bus arrival information service is separately provided by the two main public transport operators, mainly SBS Transit and SMRT. “The public transport arena will see more players, and our role is to act in the interest of the commuter, because you can’t have the public going to specific portals to find the arrival information for the various bus services.”
Howe adds that it can be costly for the individual bus companies to invest in the predictive algorithms required for real-time arrival information. “We’ve got to look at the maps real-time, to determine the travelling time for buses, their locations, their scheduling and movements.”
Transport companies currently invest in their own predictive algorithms, but the LTA is looking into letting the transport providers utilise its set of traffic algorithms to help predict bus arrivals. “SBS Transit and SMRT currently do not have information on traffic conditions, and that’s why their predictions are not so accurate. You need input from the traffic side,” says Howe-Teo.
“We are now looking at integrating the information available out there, be it bus, rail and even taxi services, to deliver an integrated public transport infomap that can tell you where you want to go. The system will map out for you the alternatives if you take the bus, bus and rail, taxi or car,” says Howe-Teo.
Reflecting on the journey GIS has taken in the organisation, Howe says, “GIS started out typically as a support function. But we realised that the technology can do more than just capture maps. Had we not put in all that effort, members of the public would not have benefitted.”
