Monday was also the first school day of 2016, and for some students in the Bukit Timah area, this was the first time they could make DTL2 a part of their morning commute.
SINGAPORE: More than 1.2 million commuters rode the new Downtown Line (DTL) 2 in the first six days of operations. Some also began making it a part of their daily commute on Monday (Jan 4), the first work day of 2016.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said more than half a million commuters are expected to ride the DTL daily when it is fully completed in 2017.
PhD student Calvin Chua, who used to drive to the office, chose to leave his car at home on Monday. "This will be my very first time taking the train to work,” he said. “I'm actually looking forward to it. I've stayed here for almost 10 years, so with the MRT up now, I think it will be very exciting.”
At about 9am, Mr Chua boarded the train from King Albert Park station. He alighted at Chinatown station, before transferring to the North East Line for Serangoon station. Mr Chua later got off at Bartley station after changing from the Circle Line.
He said it is cheaper to take the train, than having to pay for parking, ERP charges and petrol. It also "takes away the stress" of driving in Singapore, he added.
Said Mr Chua: “When you drive on the road all the time, there are traffic jams, a lot of disruption, and along the way, maybe accidents happen, so there is a lot of time delay. The MRT is the most efficient way right now. I just hope there won't be any breakdowns. So, other than that I think it's a good experience."
However, there was a small bump in the road. "I thought the most efficient route was to go to Chinatown and to change up to Serangoon and down to Bartley. But I think after looking at the map again, it might be easier to go via Botanic Gardens and take the Circle Line up," he said.
While the route he chose is longer, Mr Chua said he does not mind. The journey is smooth and ends in about 45 minutes - just in time for work.
The trains were also not as crowded as Mr Chua had imagined. "I didn't see such a big crowd and I think the peak-hour crowd has been quite light. Still plenty of empty seats around,” he said.
Mr Chua added: "But, there was a bit of confusion for me, because it is my first day taking the MRT all the way to work, so it's a bit of an adventure. I took a little bit of detour in terms of time, but overall it's a good experience. Now, I'm going to do this regularly."
Monday was also the first school day of 2016, and for some students in the Bukit Timah area, it was the first time they could make DTL2 a part of their morning commute.
Tan Kah Kee station - which is near several schools - was not crowded with students on Monday morning, mainly because majority of Hwa Chong Institution students only need to turn up for school next week.
For Raffles Girls' Primary, Primary 1 students will only start school on Tuesday. The station is also close to other schools like Nanyang Primary and Nanyang Girls' High School.
