Transport Gaps — Singapore
Validated Report · Where Transport Demand Goes Unmet
332 subzones · 234 with residents · Recomputed against raw LTA / SingStat data
⚠ Methodology — this report corrects the original
The original
transport_gaps contained several headline numbers that did not reconcile with the source data. This version recomputes figures against LTA Mar 2026 station/bus-stop registers, LTA Jan 2026 MRT ridership, LTA Dec 2025 bus ridership, SingStat 2025 subzone population, and URA Master Plan subzone boundaries.
- Rail definition: Singapore has 160 heavy-rail (MRT) + 44 LRT unique station points. The original "231 MRT stations" silently conflated both. Here MRT+LRT and MRT-only are reported separately.
- Distance: subzone-centroid → nearest station, Euclidean. Network walk distance would be longer — figures here are a floor on the gap, not a ceiling.
- Taps: LTA reports tap-in and tap-out separately. "Taps/day" = (in + out) divided by 22 weekdays (Jan 2026).
- Ridehail: no raw file present in the data repo; those tiles from the original are omitted.
1.0M
>800m from Rail VERIFIED
24.9% of 4.2M · MRT-only: 1.5M (36%)
5.9M
MRT taps/weekday CORRECTED
Jan 2026 (in+out). Original "4.1M" — no interpretation matches.
5,177
Bus stops CORRECTED
Mar 2026 actual. Original "9K" — off by 75%.
160+44
Rail station points CORRECTED
160 MRT + 44 LRT. Original "231 MRT" conflated both.
Headline numbers from the original report, compared against the raw source files in the data repo.
| Claim | Original | Actual | Verdict |
|---|
| Residential population | 4.2M | 4,172,350 | ✓ Matches |
| Total subzones | 332 | 332 | ✓ Matches |
| Residential zones analyzed | 215 | 234 (any pop) / 195 (≥2K) | ⚠ Unexplained threshold |
| "MRT stations" | 231 | 160 MRT + 44 LRT | ⚠ Conflates rail types |
| Bus stops | 9K | 5,177 | ✗ Off by 75% |
| Residents >800m (rail) | 1.0M / 25.1% | 1.0M / 24.9% | ✓ Matches (if LRT counted) |
| Residents >800m (MRT-only) | — | 1.5M / 36.4% | ⚠ Gap 40% larger excluding LRT |
| MRT taps/day | 4.1M | 5.9M (in+out weekday) | ✗ No interpretation matches |
| Worst regions | East 37%, West 35% | West 27%, North 28% | ✗ Ranking wrong |
📏How Far Do Residents Walk to Rail?
The 800m line separates comfortable from stressful walks. 24.9% of residents are past this threshold when rail (MRT+LRT) is counted. If only MRT counts, the gap rises to 36%.
🗺By Region — % Residents Beyond 800m
Computed from subzone centroid to nearest rail station (MRT+LRT). West and North are the worst regions — the original's "East 37%, West 35%" is not reproducible from centroid distance.
Central
960K pop
20%
>800m · med 492m
East
705K pop
22%
>800m · med 571m
North
597K pop
28%
>800m · med 621m
N-East
969K pop
27%
>800m · med 402m
West
941K pop
27%
>800m · med 633m
Residential subzones with >800m to nearest rail and ≥2K population. Top 8 by pop.
Yishun East
Yishun
1025m to YISHUN
Pop: 74K · Bus: 35
Pasir Ris Drive
Pasir Ris
1011m to PASIR RIS
Pop: 51K · Bus: 40
Trafalgar
Hougang
1048m to SENGKANG LRT DEPOT
Pop: 46K · Bus: 44
Hougang West
Hougang
849m to HOUGANG
Pop: 42K · Bus: 31
Taman Jurong
Jurong West
1022m to LAKESIDE
Pop: 39K · Bus: 38
Serangoon Garden
Serangoon
1380m to LORONG CHUAN
Pop: 37K · Bus: 41
Tampines North
Tampines
972m to PASIR RIS
Pop: 36K · Bus: 26
Kangkar
Hougang
924m to HOUGANG
Pop: 35K · Bus: 19
Proxy caveat: pop/station is a weak crowding signal. Real crowding depends on tap volume, peak-hour load, and station capacity. These are the subzones with ≥10K residents and highest residents-per-in-zone-station.
Woodlands East
Woodlands
Pop/station: 98K
Pop: 98K · Stations: 1
Tampines West
Tampines
Pop/station: 87K
Pop: 87K · Stations: 1
Bedok North
Bedok
Pop/station: 80K
Pop: 80K · Stations: 1
Tampines East
Tampines
Pop/station: 63K
Pop: 126K · Stations: 2
Matilda
Punggol
Pop/station: 52K
Pop: 52K · Stations: 1
Yishun West
Yishun
Pop/station: 50K
Pop: 50K · Stations: 1
Bedok South
Bedok
Pop/station: 48K
Pop: 48K · Stations: 1
Woodlands South
Woodlands
Pop/station: 42K
Pop: 42K · Stations: 1
🚌Bus-Sparse Residential Zones
Subzones with ≥2K population and ≤6 bus stops in-polygon (Mar 2026). Low counts in landed estates or nature-reserve-adjacent zones reflect design, not neglect. Each row needs contextual review.
Cairnhill
Newton
Bus stops: 0
Pop: 4K · MRT: 630m
Mount Emily
Rochor
Bus stops: 0
Pop: 2K · MRT: 379m
Sentosa
Southern Islands
Bus stops: 1
Pop: 3K · MRT: 1651m
Orange Grove
Newton
Bus stops: 1
Pop: 2K · MRT: 663m
Little India
Rochor
Bus stops: 1
Pop: 3K · MRT: 228m
Garden
Tengah
Bus stops: 1
Pop: 7K · MRT: 1774m
Institution Hill
River Valley
Bus stops: 2
Pop: 4K · MRT: 520m
Mandai Estate
Mandai
Bus stops: 2
Pop: 2K · MRT: 1148m
🏙CBD / Low-Residential High-Transit Zones
Subzones with <500 residents but rail access and ≥10 bus stops — commercial/tourist zones where daytime demand dominates. Per-resident metrics are meaningless here; use daytime population or absolute taps.
Tuas North
Tuas
MRT: 2 · Bus: 57
Residents: 0
Tuas Promenade
Tuas
MRT: 2 · Bus: 27
Residents: 0
City Hall
Downtown Core
MRT: 2 · Bus: 20
Residents: 40
Tuas Bay
Tuas
MRT: 1 · Bus: 48
Residents: 0
Defu Industrial Park
Hougang
MRT: 2 · Bus: 16
Residents: 0
Joo Koon
Pioneer
MRT: 1 · Bus: 43
Residents: 0
Changi Airport
Changi
MRT: 1 · Bus: 38
Residents: 0
National University Of S'Pore
Queenstown
MRT: 1 · Bus: 25
Residents: 0
Gali Batu
Sungei Kadut
MRT: 1 · Bus: 25
Residents: 0
Yio Chu Kang
Ang Mo Kio
MRT: 1 · Bus: 20
Residents: 0
🏭Low-Residential Zones Without Rail
Subzones with <500 residents, no in-zone rail, but ≥5 bus stops — bus-only employment/industrial zones.
Murai
Western Water Catchment
Bus stops: 87 · MRT: 8048m
Residents: 0
Gul Circle
Pioneer
Bus stops: 35 · MRT: 815m
Residents: 0
Kian Teck
Jurong West
Bus stops: 34 · MRT: 653m
Residents: 0
Tuas View
Tuas
Bus stops: 34 · MRT: 2739m
Residents: 0
Changi West
Changi
Bus stops: 33 · MRT: 1975m
Residents: 270
Lim Chu Kang
Lim Chu Kang
Bus stops: 29 · MRT: 4734m
Residents: 0
Kranji
Sungei Kadut
Bus stops: 23 · MRT: 1179m
Residents: 0
Senoko North
Sembawang
Bus stops: 22 · MRT: 2653m
Residents: 0
✅Subzones With MRT + Dense Bus
Residential zones with ≥1 station and ≥20 bus stops in-polygon — combined-network zones. Whether this "works" for residents requires mode-share data, not just infrastructure counts.
Punggol Town Centre
Punggol
MRT: 5 · Bus: 21
Pop: 25K
Fernvale
Sengkang
MRT: 4 · Bus: 36
Pop: 71K
Tampines East
Tampines
MRT: 2 · Bus: 85
Pop: 126K
Aljunied
Geylang
MRT: 3 · Bus: 45
Pop: 43K
Sengkang Town Centre
Sengkang
MRT: 3 · Bus: 35
Pop: 60K
Anchorvale
Sengkang
MRT: 3 · Bus: 35
Pop: 52K
Rivervale
Sengkang
MRT: 3 · Bus: 34
Pop: 63K
Jelebu
Bukit Panjang
MRT: 3 · Bus: 23
Pop: 30K
- 24.9% of residents are >800m from rail (MRT+LRT, centroid-based). Rises to 36% if LRT excluded — material for accessibility and elderly mobility planning.
- West and North are the worst regions (27% and 28%). The original's "East 37%, West 35%" does not reconcile with centroid distance; its methodology was not described.
- Coverage and capacity are distinct axes. Woodlands East (98K residents, 1 station) is a capacity issue; a rail-less zone with similar population is a coverage issue. Treating them interchangeably misallocates investment.
- Bus stops ≠ bus service. Route frequency, directness, and coverage area matter more than stop count. The stop count is a first-pass proxy only.
- Do not normalize by resident population in non-residential zones. CBD and tourist zones require daytime population as the denominator. Infrastructure counts are fine; per-capita ratios for these zones are not.
- Original ridership and bus-stop totals do not reconcile with LTA raw data. The 9K bus-stop figure is off by 75%; no interpretation of "4.1M MRT taps/day" matches Jan 2026 data. These should be restated before further use.