Announcement

5 April 2024

1. Commuters with cognitive disabilities like dementia can now navigate SMRT’s public transport nodes in Woodlands with more ease and confidence, thanks to new wayfinding mural cues that will guide people between Woodlands Integrated Transport Hub (WITH), Woodlands Temporary Bus Interchange (WTBI) and Woodlands MRT station that serves the North-South and Thomson-East Coast Lines.

2. Already a familiar sight on the walls and floors of WITH and WTBI since 2022, these wayfinding cues have now been introduced at strategic locations within Woodlands MRT station, serving as directional guides towards WITH, WTBI and essential amenities nearby like toilets, pick-up and drop-off points and taxi stands, and commercial establishments. Work is also underway to expand the wayfinding cues within WITH and WTBI to lead towards Woodlands MRT station by June 2024.

3. The new wayfinding cues will also bear similarly-colourful fruit themes – like the existing cues in WITH and WTBI – to avoid confusing commuters and provide a seamless transition between the two SMRT-operated public transport nodes.

4. This initiative enhances the accessibility between WITH, WTBI and Woodlands MRT station, and makes public transport in the area more inclusive. For this initiative, SMRT collaborated with Dementia Singapore to identify suitable locations for these wayfinding cues by embarking on walkthroughs of different route options. In the course of this process, SMRT also consulted with the Land Transport Authority, Agency for Integrated Care and social service agencies like, APSN, MINDS and Rainbow Centre to better understand the requirements of commuters with various disabilities and needs, and to provide input on the locations of the new wayfinding cues.

5. Mr Lam Sheau Kai, President, SMRT Trains, said: “Aligned with our vision of Moving People, Enhancing Lifestyles, we are proud to continue taking steps forward in making our public transport network more inclusive and accessible to commuters of different needs. We have expanded the wayfinding murals outside of WITH and WTBI towards Woodlands MRT station, enhancing the accessibility between our train and bus network and serving our commuters better.”

6. Over two years, wayfinding mural cues would also be expanded to other SMRT complex integrated transport hubs and interchanges such as Bishan, Dhoby Ghaut, Jurong East and Paya Lebar.

7. Providing inclusive travel solutions and inclusive service delivery is aligned with SMRT’s service ethos Go-To SMRT – We Love To Help. As far back as 2017, SMRT introduced the Inclusive Service Delivery Programme to provide hands-on training to SMRT Trains and Buses staff so that they can recognise priority commuters with different needs, and be confident in providing assistance to them.

8. Since then, SMRT also launched Go-To SMRT to enhance their commuter services and facilities to better serve the Singapore community. Go-To SMRT aims to encourage everyone to embrace SMRT-operated transport nodes as the first place they turn to for common needs. As of end-2022, the Go-To SMRT initiative has been fully rolled out across all SMRT-operated MRT stations and bus interchanges.

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