Is there a need to increase public transport fares?

It was announced that MRT fares will be unchanged but bus fares will go up by one to two cents on Oct 1. Youth give their views.

Published

Nationalise public transport sector

THE current economic structure of our public transport industry results in private operators focusing on pursuing profit.

These operators should be commissioned as statutory boards.

As autonomous government agencies, they will continue to enjoy flexibility in their operations. The upside to nationalisation is that operators will now be directly accountable – for both their performance and revenue – to the public through Parliament.

In the spirit of public service, they would be encouraged to leverage other revenue streams such as advertising to defray their cost of operations.

Furthermore, they will not be subjected to regular shareholder pressure of meeting profit targets or issuing dividend payouts.

These merits translate into sustained affordability, as fares will be administered by responsible providers, and any increase will be made only when it’s fair and necessary.

Sanjiv Nanwani, 20, will be reading government and economics at the London School of Economics

Most dependent are hardest hit

BUS fare hikes have been justified to cover rising fuel and manpower costs.

However, according to SBS Transit’s annual reports, after-tax profits have remained fairly consistent – averaging $50 million a year for the past six years. In fact, profits increased by $4.6 million between 2005 and last year.

Public Transport Council statistics show that public transport fares have been increased every year since 2000 – with the sole exception of 2004.

However, the 2007 Budget Statement indicates that the per capita income of the lowest 20 per cent of households has risen only slightly since 2000.

Ironically, what seems to be a fair formula for determining fare revisions has resulted in this: Those who are most dependent on public transport are the hardest hit by fare increases.

Relief packages do not appear to be a viable long-term solution if public transport fares follow the current trend and continue to rise.

Chew Zhi Wen, 20, has a place to read law and economics at the National University of Singapore

Smooth operation justifies hike

PUBLIC transport can make or break a city and in my opinion, Singapore’s has made it.

One great aspect of our transport system is its reliability. Have Singaporeans experienced transport strikes that shut down the system for days or even weeks?

In December 2005, the three-day New York transit strike left millions of commuters without subway or bus services. London and Paris too have experienced numerous strikes by public transport workers.

Such chaos is enough to make agitated city-slickers seethe, and a Singaporean caught in such situations can only reminisce wistfully of clean and dependable MRT trains.

The recent fare increases will not be universally welcomed but at least we get what we pay for.

Melissa Khong, 20, is a third-year music student at the Manhattan School of Music

Promote cycling as an alternative

WHILE we increase our use of public transport and seek to have fewer cars on the road, let us not neglect cycling as an alternative means of commuting.

Cycling is pollution-free, requires less maintenance, reduces traffic congestion and contributes to a healthy lifestyle, among other benefits.

Countries such as Holland and Denmark already have pro-cycling policies in place. For instance, they have separate lanes for cycling on main roads.

In Singapore, cyclists are barred from cycling on pedestrian pavements and expressways. Yet on main roads, they are vulnerable, and reportedly accounted for the 510 cyclist accidents last year – 20 were fatal.

Perhaps the Land Transport Authority should review its current policy on cyclists and take steps to promote cycling in Singapore.

Kenny Tan, 22, is a second-year economics student at the Singapore Management University

Try a dose of perspective

THE statistics provided by the Public Transport Council show that only half of all bus trips will be affected by the rise in fares. The increase will be – hold your breath – one to two cents.

My solution? Don’t buy Toto for the week. The $1 a person saves (I’m very conservatively assuming you buy two boards of 50 cents each) will offset the increase for at least 50 rides.

If you took six bus rides a day, that’s still only 42 rides in a week – a savings of 16 cents.

As for those who insist on complaining that prices are ‘sneakily” being raised in small amounts by operators, I recommend they experience the public transport of our South-east Asian neighbours.

It gives a fresh dose of that miracle drug called ‘perspective’.

Edward Choy, 27, is a postgraduate Theatre Studies student at the National University of Singapore

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Tags: Chew Zhi Wen, Edward Choy, Kenny Tan, Melissa Khong, Sanjiv Nanwani

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