Are we being taken for a 'ride'? (bus fare woes)

[hifi_killer]

I think the cost issue is secondary here, The primary issue is the lack of transparency, honesty within SMRT/SBS/PTC in the fare readjustment.

Cambodia's tuk tuk taxi takes you anywhere you wanna go for $0.50, but the average Cambodian earns only US$1-2 a day - Theres no point comparing between different countries with different spending habits, different purchasing power.

on another note, i believe things will get better, wages will rise eventually... GST credits will fall from the sky...
Theres no need pessimism.

 

[boyl]

yeap. a holistic approach should be taken. a rather one-sided opinion is, hmm, one-sided

 

[van_halen]

Hello guys,

I'd just like to give my 2 cents if you folks don't mind. I know everyone thinks that the public transport fees in Singapore are ridiculous now. But let me put things into perspective here.

I've been living outside of Singapore for about 4 years now and I've learnt quite a bit from my experience. So I'm currently in the UK (Scotland to be exact) and I've been frequently using the public transport here. Let me crunch some numbers for everyone:

The minimum fare in a bus (there's no public train system here) is £1.25. That mean even if you want to go somewhere 1 bus-stop away that's how much you pay. Given the current exchange rate, that's equivalent to SGD 2.64981711. The price for a day pass which allows you to go on any number of bus rides for any number of times in a 24hour window is £3.00 which is equivalent to SGD 6.35956107. Moreover, the buses are mostly dirty and unmaintained. Bottomline is, the UK bus system pales in comparision in terms of passenger economic and social comfort.

Now, moving on to Toronto, Canada where I'm studying right now. They have a system of using a token which entitles you to go from anywhere to anywhere on the TTC (Toronto Transit Commission, SBS and SMRT equivalent). So, this allows you to make transfers from bus to train or vice-versa from anywhere within the Greater Toronto Area for CAD 3.00. So, the MINIMUM and MAXIMUM you have to pay is CAD 3.00 regardless of where you want to go. That is an equivalent SGD 3.94954484 . Now, that's pretty expensive if you ask me when compared to the SBS or SMRT. No? Moreover the TTC is probably the filthiest public transport system I've ever used. The trains and buses are absolutely filthy with litter in seats and spilt soft drinks on the floor. Escalators in stations rarely work and are always "under maintainence" and the attitude of the TTC employees is absolutely horrendous.

Also not to forget, people in these 2 countries have a tax rate of >40% and a shitty pension plan after retirement (although free healthcare is okay).

My point being, we Singaporeans have to broaden our outlook and see how people in other countries are living. Having been in Singapore all my life previously, I failed to appreciate how good it's public transport system was. Once you start living outside you'll start appreciating how good the system really is (This might only be my sentiment though). So, in conclusion we have to learn to live with it because it's not that bad!

Cheers,
Anirudh

in uk you are paid in pounds, in canada you are paid in canadian dollars, not sgd, so what's the point of converting to sgd?

 

[van_halen]

I think the cost issue is secondary here, The primary issue is the lack of transparency, honesty within SMRT/SBS/PTC in the fare readjustment.

Cambodia's tuk tuk taxi takes you anywhere you wanna go for $0.50, but the average Cambodian earns only US$1-2 a day - Theres no point comparing between different countries with different spending habits, different purchasing power.

on another note, i believe things will get better, wages will rise eventually... GST credits will fall from the sky...
Theres no need pessimism.

much as i'll like to think that wages will go up, due to market forces which you mentioned in an earlier post, i think that the market forces (cheap foreign labour) will actually continue to press wages down instead of pulling wages up.

 

[loldude333]

I honestly don't see the point of arguing this. Sure, people are unhappy with the lack of transparency and respect shown by the PTC, but we have to remember that ultimately, they are the ones in charge. Can we do something about it? Hell yes, but most Singaporeans are more than happy to live with it. The stats may not show the entire truth, but for many of my friends, it does represent a drop in transport cost for them.

As for the figures anirudh quoted, even if they were in SGD, would you be happy? Of course not! I for one wouldn't be. $1.25 flat rate for a ride regardless of distance is probably more ex than here, considering the number of rides we take that cost less than that. Perhaps the day pass is a much better option, but who here wants to use the bus exclusively, especially given the conditions he described? Sure, many people will begin to say 'oh i can live with it what'. Sureeee, you just keep telling yourselves that. Can you stand standing in a hot, smelly bus for an hour packed like sardines just to get to work? Can you stand having to wait up to an hour for a bus? (I believe the frequencies are like that) Call me a pussy, but i'd take hiked distance fares anyday to stand in an aircon bus, even if it may be packed like sardines too. In any case, buses in the UK are almost always crowded, believe me i've been there. I also want to add another comparison, unfair as it may seem to some. The New York city subway costs USD2.25 per ride, regardless of distance, 1 entry 1 exit only. SGD225 for a ride on the MRT? Hell no! The subway is dirty, the trains often are packed and don't come on time, the damn system is so confusing and the service sucks on weekends. Certain trains don't run on certain days at certain times, and this info is poorly communicated. Also, some stations don't have crossover platforms, where if you enter on the wrong side of the track, you can simply walk over. No, you've to exit, waste $2.25 and cross over to the other platform via the streets above. Season tickets for a week cost USD27.

You can call me a brainwashed PAP dipshit for saying all this, but i still maintain that the MRT and public bus services in Singapore are world-class and pretty cheap compared to the services in other more developed countries. I've travelled to all the countries i've mentioned here, i've even been to Toronto, but i didn't take the public transport system. Singapore isn't perfect by any means, and we shouldn't expect it to be so.

 

[van_halen]

 

[loldude333]

Thanks bro

 

[DeathCubeK]

I LOL'ed ...

 

[Anirudh]

You forgot to mention how good the UK public medical care system is... Their tax did go into some areas to benefit their pple.
.

Oh the National Health Service, or NHS as it's better known here is no doubt good but it's also VERY VERY inefficient. If you don't have an emergency medical condition waiting times to see a GP can go up to 3 weeks. Yes. And you can forget about dental care here. Even if you're willing to go to a private dentist, the waiting list to JUST GET REGISTERED with the dental clinic is 2 years. Yup. But we're drifting off topic here.

n uk you are paid in pounds, in canada you are paid in canadian dollars, not sgd, so what's the point of converting to sgd?

Yes, but the living expenses in those countries are proportional to the salary they earn right? So it's still expensive for them.

 

[ymmak]

Besides ranting about the transportation fares, I will like to rant about the concession pass. As a student, bus concession is about $50, while MRT concession is $43. When I enquired about the bus/MRT hybrid concession, they quote me $93. I was just wondering why would the hybrid concession be the summation of the individual concessions, and not the mean of both concessions? I am intending to buy bus/MRT concession, but they are charging me bus+MRT, wth.

Oh, my total bus fare from home to sch was about $1.64, now it cost about $1.79 or something. That is an increase of $0.15. I cannot remember any public transport (besides taxi) that has increased its fares by as much as $0.15, can you?

 

[ymmak]

Now.....is the welfare of the SBS/SMRT employees more of concerned? Or the welfare of the commuters we should be (seriously) more concerned about?

I am not an expert, but I just have this gut feeling that SBS/SMRT are neither concern about the welfare of the employees nor that of commuters. The top management are probably more concern abour their own welfare, the company's bottomline, and the support of the shareholders.