Cyclists in Punggol have something to look forward to.

Public transport operator SBS Transit is looking to set up a "bike village" of sorts under the viaduct at Punggol MRT Station by the end of 2024.

Picture something like Simpang Bedok, with food trucks, as well as shops that offer cycling-centric goods and services, such as bicycle equipment or repair services.

SBS Transit's chief executive, Jeffrey Sim, told The Straits Times that there is a park connector network near Punggol MRT station that regularly attracts a large number of cyclists.

The operator, which runs the North East Line, Downtown Line, and Sengkang-Punggol LRT in addition to bus services, decided to set up this bike village to cater to cycling enthusiasts and provide more amenities for the local community.

In addition, the operator hopes that once this bike village is up and running, it will encourage more people to use public transport.

The company is currently working with the authorities to get the necessary approvals for the project.

Other first- and last-mile connectivity intiatives

SBS Transit has also been working on two initiatives that improve first- and last-mile connectivity from the MRT network.

The idea is that with more convenient options to get to and from the MRT network, commuters will be encouraged to rely less on private cars for their journeys.

One of them is a partnership with bicycle-sharing service Anywheel to show the real-time availablity of Anywheel bicycles at bus stops on SBS Transit's app. This feature has been available since April 2023.

By early 2024, commuters can go one step further and reserve an Anywheel bicycle on the SBS Transit app.

For the second initiative, SBS Transit is partnering a yet unnamed car-sharing service to have shared cars parked on the premises of companies.

The goal is to encourage employees to use the shared cars to carpool to MRT stations instead of using private cars for the whole journey.

This partnership has been going on for six months and SBS Transit plans to announce it officially in January 2024.

Top photo credit: Wikipedia.