http://www.macaubusiness.com/news/confusion-as-singapore-regulator-axes-casino-shuttles/5215/
Confusion as Singapore regulator axes casino
shuttles
Shuttle services offered by Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) and
Marina Bay Sands – which take thousands of customers every day to
the resorts – were halted after a directive from regulators.
The resorts, which introduced the buses three months ago to
ferry residents and visitors to the resorts to boost business,
called the move a “knee-jerk reaction.”
RWS vice-president of resort operations Noel Hawkes said: “We
thought we’d have a bit more time to inform our guests. What we’re
really concerned about is our guests…to cut it off just like that
is a bit blunt.
“The deterrent of a $100 casino levy is onerous. I think a free
bus ticket is not going to make any difference.”
A Marina Bay spokeswoman said the resort had “voluntarily
suspended its licensed paid bus routes.”
She added that its free shuttles to various hotels had also been
stopped but that an airport shuttle service, for its own hotel
guests, remained in operation.
The spokeswoman added: “The goal of Marina Bay Sands’ bus
services has been to service international tourists.”
The suspension caused confusion over the weekend, with many
residents and visitors waiting at stops unaware that the service
had finished.
Last week the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and
Sports said it was investigating the resorts’ free shuttle services
– saying that the integrated resorts operators “will not be allowed
to target the local market or provide incentives in any form for
Singaporeans to patronise the casinos.”
The move prompted RWS and Marina Sands to announce they were
suspending some of their services, including downtown and to the
heartlands district.
Then on Friday a spokesman for the Casino Regulatory Authority
(CRA) said it had “directed RWS and Marina Bay Sands to cease all
their shuttle bus services with immediate effect.”
The directive instructed both resorts to cease all services with
the only exceptions being for buses to the airport and hotels.
One of the reasons for the ban on the buses is understood to be
that the Casino Control (Advertising) Regulations 2010 only allows
advertising in specified destinations such as the airport or
hotels.
It is believed that the shuttle services will not be allowed in
the future even if the resorts agree to charge passengers.
MP Liang Eng Hwa, who had filed a Parliamentary question on the
issue of free shuttle buses, said: “When I initially raised this, I
had asked the resorts to voluntarily withdraw the services, which
they did. I think it’s good because they have listened to the
concerns on the ground.”
The suspension of the services also raised concerns from bus
operators, some of who have invested in new vehicles and staff.
Neo Tiam Beng, managing director of Transit Network Consortium
which runs 18 buses for RWS, said he may have to lay off workers if
the services were not resumed.
“We bring the guests to the resort, not to the casino,” he said.
“There is other entertainment here like the theme park and
restaurants.”
The Resorts World shuttle service had been in operation since
June, serving 19 locations across the island 15 to 33 times a day.
Some services operated past 2am on Fridays, Saturdays and the eve
of public holidays.
It had been ferrying an average of 2,500 passengers daily –
although the company estimate 60 per cent of them were not going to
the casino, but to Universal Studios or other attractions.
RWS spokesman Robin Goh said the services were put on because of
“the age-old perception that Sentosa was too far and
inaccessible.”
A spokesman for the National Council on Problem Gambling said it
viewed the free shuttles with “great concern.”
The suspension is the latest example of the stringent control
the Singaporean authorities are trying to impose on the resorts.
Tough rules have already been imposed on junket operators.
