July 2010: It was a busy weekend for me and I had a back-to-back schedule packed. In order to make sure that I arrive at all my appointments on time and not be held up due to stupid traffic conditions, I made a date with MyTransport.SG.

Launched earlier this year on 16 March, MyTransport.SG is a mobile site by Land Transport Authority (LTA) that provides real-time public and private transport information for commuters and motorists from any Wi-Fi or GPRS-enabled mobile device.

Smartphones like iPhones, Blackberrys, Android- and Windows Mobile-based phones will be able to access MyTransport.SG via the Internet on their phones. This service is entirely free, but data charges from your telco apply.

Driving with MyTransport.sg

Before I moved off, I used my fully-charged Blackberry Bold 9700 and took the time to check the traffic situations along the journey that I was planning to take.

Nowadays the traffic conditions are so unpredictable that 3pm on a Tuesday afternoon in a heartland area can also have traffic build-ups.

I was headed to Green Fairways golf course from East Coast, so I intended to use the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) to get to Bukit Timah.

There were no incidents reported on Traffic News or Traffic Smart along the PIE route, but it was a late Saturday morning and I expected the PIE to have traffic delays so I used the Traffic Camera to double check the conditions.

True enough, there was congestion on the PIE (towards Tuas) from the Eunos exit all the way to the Central Expressway (CTE) exits.

So I changed my intended route and instead used an alternative route via the East Coast Parkway (ECP) expressway, which had clear traffic conditions.

Tip #1: Before heading out, spend a couple of minutes to use the following which will help you avoid traffic incidents and achieve a faster and smoother journey:

1. Check Traffic News and see if there are any incidents along the route that you are planning to take. Incidents such as road works, vehicle breakdowns, and other traffic conditions happening on the expressways and major roads are reported.

Tip #2: If it makes it easier for you to remember these four icons when you next drive, just remember they are the four yellow buttons down the middle of the MyTransport.sg menu homepage.

Commuting with MyTransport.SG

On Sunday I had a slightly less packed schedule so I decided to leave the car at home and take public transport instead.

Although I take the train to work every morning, it's been a long time since I took a bus.
I know a lot of buses stop outside my place, but I need to know which one(s) will take me to Botanical Gardens. There are no MRT stations nearby, which means a bus would be more appropriate.

Bus Service will tell you the nearest bus stops (from where you are at that moment) to the place that you are headed to, the bus service numbers that stop there, as well as the bus arrival times for selected bus stops. How cool is that!

My appointment at Botanical Gardens overran and taking a bus to my next appointment would be too late, so the fastest option would be to get a taxi.

For some reason I couldn't flag down a taxi that lovely Sunday afternoon so I had no choice but to call for one. I only have the number of Comfort and CityCab and I was put on hold for so long!

Then I remembered that MyTransport.SG has some taxi function! Taxi is a list of all the taxi booking lines and the LTA common taxi booking line as well. You can even check and compare the taxi fare charges before you decide which one to call.

So I got my cab and I arrived at my movie just in time! I watched it at The Cathay, where they were having their 75th anniversary celebrations. I wonder how many managed to last the 75-hour movie marathon!

Anyway, the nearest MRT was Dhoby Ghaut and the next place I needed to get to is VivoCity. Would it be faster to take the train or take a bus?

With Journey Planner, it was recommended that I hop on a train and take the North-East line to Harbourfront station.

I have the MRT system map printed on my wall at home and in the office but I can't remember the details, like how many stops between destinations.

MRT/LRT on MyTransport.SG not only shows you the map, it works the same way as Bus Service and tells you the nearest stations to you as well as how many stops to your destination.

Tip #3: If you are intending to take public transport and unsure if a bus or a train would be more convenient, use Journey Planner which will help you plan a route using public transport.

Other Uses

Besides these journey-planning helpers, there are also other forms of information available on MyTransport.SG.

A list of Park and Ride locations, the latest COE bidding results and premium bus services are also accessible via MyTransport.SG.

Essentially, what LTA has done is to combine existing transit and transport information and services on ONE.MOTORING and PublicTransport@SG with Google Maps to offer a comprehensive one-stop travel planner.

Traffic Smart, Traffic News, Bus Service, Parking Guide and MRT/LRT all have the Location-Based Service (LBS) technology which tracks the current geographical position of the mobile device, hence being able to provide information like the nearest bus stops or train stations.

Afterthoughts

The MyTransport.SG menu homepage fits the iPhone screen perfectly. On the smaller screen of my Blackberry, more scrolling has to be done but it's either that or get an iPhone.

MyTransport.SG is very useful because it encompasses the various individual convenience functions into a one-stop programme that you can access anywhere on the go.

Instead of surfing the Internet on your laptop or PC and accessing several websites at a time, MyTransport.SG offers all of it on one platform, allowing you to save time and be more efficient in your travel planning.

But to motorists, please utilise the service when you're not at the wheel as it is an offence to use the mobile phone when driving. Otherwise, it'd be good if your passenger can assist you.

The interface and layout of MyTransport.SG is fairly user-friendly and quite easy to navigate. Depending on your data plan, the charges will vary so it's best if you can log on to wireless internet connection.

It'd be ideal if MyTransport.SG can start to offer more information like road tax calculations or even Traffic Police information like bus lane operation hours, demerit points and traffic offences.

A more comprehensive parking lot availability system (to include more than just the popular haunts) as well as the arrival times for more bus service numbers would be useful too.

Then again, for something that is of no cost to use (don't talk about data charges), MyTransport.SG indeed makes a very good travel and transport companion.

I will continue to use it, you should start too!


This article was first published on Cheryl Tay's blog.

Here are some comments from her readers:

Although I don't drive, I thought this appication is for drivers only, but it is just as useful for commuters! It also good for those drivers that is not fimiliar with the road they are going. And able to plan their route in advance to avoid any inconvenice causes. -- Jingkai

Definitely a cool app with everything in one. I'm currently using diff apps on my iphone, but I guess will be switching to this since it's all in one. Much more convenient! -- vanq

I didn't know about MyTransport.SG until I read your article... thanks for the great recommendation! I tested with my iPhone. It's informative and easy to navigate...this is going into my bookmark...And the best part is - Now travelling gets easier! -- SJ