Tweaks made to roads, bus routes to T4: Changi Airport
Amid months of trials and familiarisation exercises, tweaks have been made to make driving and public bus routes to the new Terminal 4 as intuitive and confusion-free as possible, Changi Airport said on Tuesday (Oct 24).
This comes ahead of the terminal’s first day of operations next Tuesday.
Trials, which began as early as February, have involved airport staff, car clubs, taxi drivers, public transport operators and members of the public.
Their feedback has also resulted in several changes being made along the way, the airport management said.
"For example, at some difficult or more challenging bends, we have added more safety measures to remind motorists to slow down. At some turning points for public buses, for example, we have hacked away part of the kerb to make it easier for bus captains to drive out, to make a turn at those areas,” said Mr Kelvin Tan, general manager of Changi Airport Group's development operations at Terminal 4.
Based on the feedback from trial participants, more lit road signs have been added to guide passengers in and out of the terminal, he said.
For drivers, Terminal 4 is accessible via the Pan Island Expressway (PIE), through a slip road at Exit 1. The alternative is through the East Coast Parkway (ECP), turning left onto the Airport Flyover.
Besides permanent signs and road markings, other temporary signs have also been put up and will remain in place until operations at the new terminal stabilise.
There are also four public bus services - 24, 34, 36 and 110 - that allow passengers to alight directly at T4.
NEW T4 SHUTTLE BUS SERVICE
However, T4 will be the only airport terminal that is not served by the existing Skytrain, which links Terminal 1, 2 and 3.
Those who plan to take the MRT will have to take a new free 24-hour shuttle bus service from the T2 arrival hall to reach the new terminal.
"(T2) is the closest terminal to T4 among the other three terminals. It's also well-connected to the train station and bus terminals in T2,” said Mr Tan.
“We also took feedback from our airport partners, many of them have their headquarters based in T2, so to facilitate staff who may need to shuttle between the terminals … T2 is a natural pick-up and drop-off point."
The wait time for a shuttle bus goes up to 10 minutes during regular hours, between 5.30am and midnight, and up to 20 minutes from midnight till 5.30am.
Each shuttle can take about 80 people and has been specially designed to cater for luggage and passengers with reduced mobility.
For example, a wheelchair ramp can be lowered automatically by the bus driver at the push of a button and the vehicle can tilt to lower itself for easy access.
Passengers with connecting flights at Terminal 4 and have to transfer between terminals will also be ferried by shuttle buses.
The average waiting time for these buses is expected to be up to 10 minutes between 8am and 2am, and up to 25 minutes between 2am and 8am.
A total of nine shuttle buses and 21 drivers will ferry passengers at the public and air-side areas.
The two-storey Terminal 4 is expected to handle about 16 million passengers per year, boosting Changi Airport’s annual capacity to 82 million passengers.
Source: Channel News Asia
Amid months of trials and familiarisation exercises, tweaks have been made to make driving and public bus routes to the new Terminal 4 as intuitive and confusion-free as possible, Changi Airport said on Tuesday (Oct 24).
This comes ahead of the terminal’s first day of operations next Tuesday.
Trials, which began as early as February, have involved airport staff, car clubs, taxi drivers, public transport operators and members of the public.
Their feedback has also resulted in several changes being made along the way, the airport management said.
"For example, at some difficult or more challenging bends, we have added more safety measures to remind motorists to slow down. At some turning points for public buses, for example, we have hacked away part of the kerb to make it easier for bus captains to drive out, to make a turn at those areas,” said Mr Kelvin Tan, general manager of Changi Airport Group's development operations at Terminal 4.
Based on the feedback from trial participants, more lit road signs have been added to guide passengers in and out of the terminal, he said.
For drivers, Terminal 4 is accessible via the Pan Island Expressway (PIE), through a slip road at Exit 1. The alternative is through the East Coast Parkway (ECP), turning left onto the Airport Flyover.
Besides permanent signs and road markings, other temporary signs have also been put up and will remain in place until operations at the new terminal stabilise.
There are also four public bus services - 24, 34, 36 and 110 - that allow passengers to alight directly at T4.
NEW T4 SHUTTLE BUS SERVICE
However, T4 will be the only airport terminal that is not served by the existing Skytrain, which links Terminal 1, 2 and 3.
Those who plan to take the MRT will have to take a new free 24-hour shuttle bus service from the T2 arrival hall to reach the new terminal.
"(T2) is the closest terminal to T4 among the other three terminals. It's also well-connected to the train station and bus terminals in T2,” said Mr Tan.
“We also took feedback from our airport partners, many of them have their headquarters based in T2, so to facilitate staff who may need to shuttle between the terminals … T2 is a natural pick-up and drop-off point."
The wait time for a shuttle bus goes up to 10 minutes during regular hours, between 5.30am and midnight, and up to 20 minutes from midnight till 5.30am.
Each shuttle can take about 80 people and has been specially designed to cater for luggage and passengers with reduced mobility.
For example, a wheelchair ramp can be lowered automatically by the bus driver at the push of a button and the vehicle can tilt to lower itself for easy access.
Passengers with connecting flights at Terminal 4 and have to transfer between terminals will also be ferried by shuttle buses.
The average waiting time for these buses is expected to be up to 10 minutes between 8am and 2am, and up to 25 minutes between 2am and 8am.
A total of nine shuttle buses and 21 drivers will ferry passengers at the public and air-side areas.
The two-storey Terminal 4 is expected to handle about 16 million passengers per year, boosting Changi Airport’s annual capacity to 82 million passengers.
Source: Channel News Asia
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