URA launches website to help shoppers out to buy essentials check crowd levels at malls

SINGAPORE - Those heading out to buy essentials can check how crowded shopping malls are online before leaving the house.

A new website, Space Out, colour codes shopping malls according to current crowd levels, in hopes that people will make better decisions about where to go amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Launched by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) with 50 malls across the island, the website provides regular updates to users based on data from retail malls on shopper traffic.

Each mall is represented on the map by a coloured circle - green for not crowded, yellow for some crowd, orange for crowded, and red for maximum.

URA said shoppers can help to ease the pressure on retail mall operators in terms of crowd management by changing their plans to go to less crowded malls.

Malls with no crowd-level information currently appears in grey on the website.

The URA is working to get more mall operators on board so that shoppers can make more informed decisions.

Some of the more popular malls with available information include Bugis Junction, Westgate and Raffles City Shopping Centre.

Jem, 313@Somerset, Clarke Quay Central and others have also joined the programme and will have their crowd data up on the website shortly.

Last Friday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong urged all Singaporeans to stay at home. People should no longer meet those outside their immediate families, he said, and should leave home only for essential things like buying food. 

“If we do not go out, if we avoid contact with others, then the virus will not be able to spread. It is as simple as that,” he said.   

For the latest updates on the coronavirus, visit here.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.