On 16 May 2024, I received a wonderful surprise. Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) got back to me on last year's "Car-Lite Challenge 2023" project submission.
As Ms Sho was away during this time, she empowered me to liaise with LTA directly. After a few email exchanges, I negotiated for my team to meet LTA at the Singapore Mobility Gallery (SMG) for a face-to-face meeting to collect our award certificates. This way, my team also gets a sneak peek at the Cross Island Line (CRL) mock-up train!
My team members consisting of William, Ying Da, & Izekkious were ecstatic when they found out. In our initial plan, we hoped to present our findings to LTA, however that did not pan out. Fast forward 8 months, and we now have an opportunity to meet with our real-life “clients”. We wanted a meaningful conversation with LTA, so we did some secondary research on the SMG and the CRL.
Building a more inclusive Singapore
On the day of the meeting, the LTA representative, Mr. Faisal, welcomed my team warmly and brought us on a fascinating tour of the SMG. We witnessed firsthand how LTA prioritizes efficiency, livability, and inclusivity in its plans to enhance Singapore's land transport system. Nothing is left to chance.
The gallery offered a glimpse into the future with a booth showcasing the interior design options for the CRL trains. Visitors are encouraged to vote on their preferred design, highlighting LTA's commitment to incorporating public opinion.
The SMG also showcased some cool immersive technology, like Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality to bring some of LTA's initiatives to life. However, the example that caught my eye did not require cutting-edge technology. It was a redesigned traffic light system catering to the Pioneer Generation (PG). In a nutshell, when an elderly taps their PG card at the traffic light, this new system automatically adds a five-second extension making it safer for elderlies to cross the road. I felt very proud to see LTA's walk-the-talk in creating a more inclusive society.
It's not how you start, but how you finish
After the tour was over, Mr Faisal led us to a room where each of us received a certificate. We commemorated the occasion with a group photo. As we proudly looked at our certificates, I realized that my team was the sole representative from Singapore Polytechnic (SP). I was proud and relieved that my team managed to see through the whole project, as this meant that SP as an organization was still able to obtain the "Transport Ambassador Programme certificate" certificate. Double-win!
About 8 months ago when I first pitched this project with my teammates, there were so many other interesting ideas (e.g. steps challenge, smoke room, etc.) pitched by the other 10+ teams, that ours paled in comparison. However, I knew that even the best ideas are useless if not followed up properly. Hence, I took up the role of taskmaster to assign roles, tasks, set deadlines and deliverables to my teammates. Sure, there were challenges and arguments along the way, but upon reflecting… it's all worth it. The plan was simple. By committing monthly updates to our mentor, Ms Sho, it ensured that we were making slow but steady progress. Sure enough, by maintaining this approach, we met the deadline. I am quite proud of my team’s commitment and how we delivered our final presentation.
In hindsight, our initial concept may not have been the most groundbreaking, but our persistence allowed us to overcome the challenges and complete the project before the deadline. It made me think of Jim George’s famous quote:
Ask and you shall receive
The day before we met LTA, I shared an outlandish idea with my teammates. i.e. I wanted LTA to showcase our Carlite infographic submissions on the walls inside some MRT stations. I reasoned that even if LTA declines, it's still worth a shot. My teammates gave me a thumbs up.
The idea occurred to me quite a long while back when I noticed that many vacant wall spaces at Maxwell MRT. It made me wonder, why not have our infographic posters line up as giant posters on these walls?
“What’s the worst that could happen? LTA can reject us, but at least we tried.”
Fast forward to the present, while we were discussing with Mr Faisal how LTA could expand its outreach efforts via social media channels, I took the opportunity to segue into my idea. I remarked that traditional approaches like posters in MRT stations are still very impactful, then looked at Mr Faisal and asked, “Why not feature our infographic posters onto the walls of some MRT stations?”
To everyone’s surprise, Mr. Faisal smiled and nodded. He even counter-proposed showcasing these designs in a more strategic location – right outside Dover MRT station! This way, students who participated in this challenge can feel proud of their submissions, while showing that both SP & LTA are serious about the Carlite initiative.
What’s that saying again? :)
“Ask and you shall receive”
I do not know if this idea will truly pan out, but the fact that LTA is even considering is already a win IMO. Thank you Mr Jia Jiang for inspiring me with your burger refill story from so many years ago! It still inspires me to this day.
A rewarding experience
One of the reasons I chose polytechnic is the chance to work on real-world projects. This LTA Carlite challenge is a good example of something that was not assigned to students but is available to any student who wishes to take a stab at it. Of course, SP’s supportive environment helped a lot. In addition, having good teammates and a supportive mentor like Ms Sho made the learning process even more enjoyable.
It's about 2 years since I joined SP, and I have no regrets. What a wonderful day!
Howie CHIA
05 June 2024 TLDR Followed up on Car-lite Challenge 2023. Met up LTA rep at SMG for a sneak peek at CRL & received our certificates and shared future plans.
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