The Public Transport Debacle
People are realizing that the promised fare-savings through distance-related fares never materialized. In fact, as I had predicted, the transport bill for most have gone up instead of down. Of course, there is little that can be said about the positive side of distance-related fares. The only one that I can think of is that you can swop buses along the same route without any penalty (which may help you if you are in a hurry, and that swopping buses gives you more options on services and therefore cutting travel time.
An example is that if I were taking Service 32 from opposite Peninsula Plaza to Valley Point, it would cost 71¢; the same if I took Service 195 from opposite Peninsula Plaza to UE Square and swopped for either Service 139 or 32 to get me to Valley Point. Since distance travelled is the same, I pay the same fare.
Nice in theory, but does not really bear out in practice. Most people are going to be wanting faster journey times during peak periods, when buses and MRT trains are filled to the brim. What is the point of getting on a bus that gets you half the way, if you are not able to board a bus to get you to your final destination? Alternatively, who would want to do more bus changes in the rain?
Which brings up the issue of over-crowding on the buses and MRT trains. Perhaps the transport ministers should travel incognito during the morning and evening rushes to experience the situation? No, may be not. They might instigate a riot!
By the way, I am not sure where they got the statistics that a third of passengers will pay more for journeys and the rest will save money. I would really like to take that consultant/analyst to task. The supposed cost increase (31¢ a week) is also too small to be believable. Even if I do not go anywhere but the gym, I incur an extra 26¢ to 48¢ for the return journey. How can the increase be only 31¢ a week? Perhaps they also use my mum and sister as statistics (creative statistics), since my sister never uses public transport, and my mum uses it probably a few times a year.
An example is that if I were taking Service 32 from opposite Peninsula Plaza to Valley Point, it would cost 71¢; the same if I took Service 195 from opposite Peninsula Plaza to UE Square and swopped for either Service 139 or 32 to get me to Valley Point. Since distance travelled is the same, I pay the same fare.
Nice in theory, but does not really bear out in practice. Most people are going to be wanting faster journey times during peak periods, when buses and MRT trains are filled to the brim. What is the point of getting on a bus that gets you half the way, if you are not able to board a bus to get you to your final destination? Alternatively, who would want to do more bus changes in the rain?
Which brings up the issue of over-crowding on the buses and MRT trains. Perhaps the transport ministers should travel incognito during the morning and evening rushes to experience the situation? No, may be not. They might instigate a riot!
By the way, I am not sure where they got the statistics that a third of passengers will pay more for journeys and the rest will save money. I would really like to take that consultant/analyst to task. The supposed cost increase (31¢ a week) is also too small to be believable. Even if I do not go anywhere but the gym, I incur an extra 26¢ to 48¢ for the return journey. How can the increase be only 31¢ a week? Perhaps they also use my mum and sister as statistics (creative statistics), since my sister never uses public transport, and my mum uses it probably a few times a year.