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Land Transport Authority

Land Transport Authority (LTA), a statutory board under the Ministry of Communications, was established on 1 September 1995. It plans, develops, implements and manages all public and private transport infrastructure and policies. In doing so, it supports a quality environment while making optimal use of transport resources and safeguarding the well-being of the travelling public.

History
LTA was formed through a merger of four government organisations involved in the planning, development and management of land transport policies and infrastructures:

• Registry of Vehicles (ROV)
• Mass Rapid Transit Corporation (MRTC)
• Roads & Transportation Division of the Public Works Department
• Land Transport Division of the Ministry of Communications

Organisational structure
LTA is headed by the Chairman and assisted by the Chief Executive Officer. LTA is organised into the Planning & Projects Division; Engineering & Traffic Management Division; Vehicle & Transit Licensing Division; Policy Division and Corporate Services Division.

Roles and responsibilities
Policy making
The Policy Division sets out and reviews the general principles which will guide the direction of the Authority's work. The founding policies of the LTA have been set out in the White Paper - A World Class Land Transport System.

Land transport planning
The LTA's planners work closely with town and land use planners from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and the Housing and Development Board (HDB) to ensure that roads and other transport systems, such as new MRT and LRT lines, are well-planned and properly integrated with urban developments.

Regulatory functions
The LTA is responsible for a number of regulatory functions in the area of land transport. These are designed to ensure that the transport system meets appropriate environmental and safety standards and service levels.  Some of the areas in which the LTA has regulatory power include vehicle noise and exhaust emission standard, development and building Control and public transport pperators.

Services
The LTA served in the following areas; road development, rapid transit systems, parking and motor vehicle registration and licensing.

Challenges and strategies
The provision of efficient land transport is a major challenge to the city-state of Singapore. The LTA spearheads a number of strategies to overcome the constraints of limited land supply, growing transport demand, burgeoning vehicle population, inefficient transport modes by travelling in private cars and increasing urbanisation resulting in peak hour traffic congestion.



Author
Tan Lay Yuen, 2002



References
Singapore Land Transport Authority. (1996). Annual Report / Land Transport Authority. Singapore: Author.
(Call no.: RCLOS 354. 595700878 SLTAAR)

Authority will have to take integrated strategy: Mah. (1995, September 16). The Straits Times, Home, p. 28. 

Ibrahim, Zuraidah. (1995, August 8). Land Transport board to start work on Sept 1. The Straits Times, p. 1.

Land Transport Authority. (2003). Land Transport Authority. Retrieved October 30, 2003, from www.lta.gov.sg/


Further Readings
Singapore Parliament. (1996). A world class land transport system: White paper. Singapore: Land Transport Authority.
(Call no.: RSING 388.4095957 SIN)

Govt spells out its vision of top transport system. (1996, January 3). The Straits Times, p. 1.

The Next stage in public transport. (1996, January 9). The Business Times, p. 10.

White paper charts $20b world-class land transport plan for Singapore. (1996, January 3). The Business Times, p. 1.



The information in this article is valid as at 2002 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.

Subject
Politics and Government>>Public Utilities
Commerce and Industry>>Transportation
Transportation agencies--Singapore
Law and government>>Safety administration>>Land transportation



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