Transporting Singapore—The Air‐Conditioned Nation

Abstract

The role of a metaphor of centrally controlled air conditioning in governing Singaporean transport planning is examined, and its consequences evaluated. A modern transportation system has been put in place to link a hierarchy of central places. Tight government control has made change possible. A reliance on technical expertise at the expense of public involvement has, however, failed to develop public transport to effectively serve a range of dispersed‐destination travel needs. Regulatory approaches, furthermore, have discouraged service innovation. Policies making car purchase expensive have restricted car ownership. Effective change would be facilitated by involving a highly educated public more in decision‐making.

Acknowledgements

I acknowledge with many thanks the assistance given to me by the many Singapore agency officials, service operators and politicians who kindly gave their time to help with this enquiry. Special thanks to Seet Ser Ying of the Land Transport Authority. She was tireless in making arrangements for my visits and in obtaining data.

One of my two official visits to Singapore was for teaching purposes: I brought 14 masters students from Thailand to interact with Singaporean planners and managers as an educational exercise. I learned from the questions they asked and the views they expressed in papers and presentations they later produced, and I acknowledge their stimulating contributions. The Government of Singapore through the Singapore International Foundation funded the educational visit and they merit great thanks for this forward‐looking generosity. The Harvard University Libraries helped me track down many hard‐to‐find documents and special thanks are due to Desiree Goodwin for her assistance.

Drafts of this article were circulated widely, and I am grateful for comments and criticisms, essential for correcting and improving my work, from Alan Altshuler, Bill Garrison, Chan Heng Wing, Cherian George, Gopinath Menon, Phang Sock Yong, Daniel Roos, Tien Sio Low, Rex Toh, Christopher Willoughby, Yii Der Lew and Sam Zimmerman. The work of the anonymous referees as well as of the journal editor, David Bannister, is also much appreciated.

H. E. Chan Heng Wing took a special interest in my work and taught me a great deal about what it means to be Singaporean. His wisdom and friendship is much appreciated.