like what littlespeck said, for Singaporeans who think theirs
is the best in Asia outside Japan, think again.
http://www.theedgesingapore.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1254%3Awhy-taipeis-mrt-trumps-singapores&catid=979%3Asunita-sue-leng&Itemid=54&showall=1
Why Taipei’s MRT trumps Singapore’s
Written by Sunita Sue Leng
Dec 30, 2008
TAIPEI’S CITY Hall is so proud of its mass rapid transit (MRT)
system that it runs a competition every year, asking people to send
in poems about the MRT. I can see why.
The MRT is clean and comfortable (in addition to
chewing gum, the nasty habit of betel chewing nut has been
banned).
People queue up in a civilised fashion before
boarding trains. And, when the doors open, they don’t barge in
before passengers can exit.
Signs and announcements are in Chinese and
English and all carriages have electronic displays showing which
station is coming up next.
Every carriage has special seats for old folks,
pregnant women or people with disabilities. I’ve never seen fit,
young people pretending to be asleep in these seats.
However, the best part about Taipei’s MRT is its
frequency.
According to Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC),
the company that runs the system, trains arrive at two to
four-minute intervals at peak hours. Off-peak, it is four to seven
minutes.
In reality, it is much more frequent. I know
because I’ve timed it. At peak hours, trains come as often as every
minute.
As for off-peak hours? Well, I’ve never had to
wait more than three or four minutes. As a result, even during the
morning rush hour, the trains are never as packed as they are in
Singapore.
TRTC has won praise not just locally but
internationally. It has been ranked No 1 for reliability for four
straight years (2004 to 2007), according to the Nova/CoMET
International Railway Benchmarking Group (of which Singapore’s SMRT
Corp is also part).
All this got me wondering just how TRTC is able
to deliver such a world-class MRT service.
Perhaps, it doesn’t have to transport as many
people as in the crowded Lion City? Perhaps, it’s government-owned
and isn’t under pressure to make as much money as possible and can
run more trains?
So, I pulled up some numbers (see table below).
And the broad conclusion is that Taipei proves it is possible to
offer a high-quality, high-frequency and affordable MRT service
without losing money.
Tracking the MRTs
Singapore population: 4.6m
Length of MRT: 109.4km
No. of MRT stations: 66
No of MRT lines: five
Average daily ridership: 1.56m
Average ticket price: S$1.00
Average trip distance: 11.2km
Total passenger-trip distance
(passengers times km traveled) annually:
5,714.5km
Average daily train runs: Just over 1,000
Taipei population: 5.5m
Length of MRT: 74.7km
No. of MRT stations: 69
No of MRT lines: eight
Average daily ridership: 1.14m
Average ticket price: NT21.9 (S$1.00)
Average trip distance: 7.9km
Total passenger-trip distance
(passengers times km traveled) annually:
3,298.9km
Average daily train runs: 2,171
It also suggests that certain services, such as
public transport, tend to function optimally as natural monopolies
and ought not to be owned by companies that seek to maximise
profits.
Let’s look first at the one common element
between the two: the cost of taking a train.
Average ticket prices in Singapore and Taipei
are about $1. This is pretty low by international
standards, as anyone who has had the misfortune
to take the London Underground knows.
Singapore and Taipei are also pretty dense
cities, but the latter packs more folks (5.5m of them) into a
smaller area (272 sq km). In comparison, Singapore is home to 4.6m
residents spread over some 692 sq km.
As such, in terms of coverage, Singapore’s
network of five MRT lines is more extensive, totalling 109.4km,
versus TRTC’s 74.4km network.
However, TRTC has more stations on its smaller
network, which means less distance between stations and greater
convenience for commuters.
More trains in Taipei
Just how many people take the MRT each day? In
2007, Singapore’s MRT moved an average of 1.56 million people a
day. That’s just over a third more than what TRTC transported last
year. So yes, TRTC’s network is smaller and it moves fewer people,
which is one reason it feels les crowded.
However, what is illuminating is the difference
in frequency. Last year, TRTC made an average of 2,171 train runs a
day.
SMRT clocked in at just over 1,000 a day for its
fiscal year ended March 2008. This is not strictly an
apples-with-apples comparison.
SMRT’s system is older, has heavier loads and
travels further than TRTC’s — factors which play role in how often
trains can be run.
The comparison also doesn’t include data from
SBS Transit, which runs the North- East Line. But, as SMRT accounts
for more than four fifths of total MRT ridership, it is fairly
representative of the whole picture.
Since February this year, SMRT has added about
900 extra train trips each week.
According to the company, on average, its train
frequency during peak hours is between two and five minutes.
During off-peak hours, it is now between 3.5 and
seven minutes. Given the existing signalling system and
infrastructure, its average peak-hour frequency puts it among the
top 20% of the world’s major metro operators, SMRT adds.
SMRT more profitable
Still, it’s safe to assume that its bumped-up
frequency continues to lag TRTC’s. And this, to an extent, is
reflected in SMRT’s bottom-line, which is much heftier than
TRTC’s.
In FY2008, SMRT’s rail operations saw revenue of
$436.9m. Earnings before interest and tax was $129.3m.
In comparison, TRTC saw approximately $415
million in fare revenue in 2007 and just $41.3m in pre-tax
profit.
TRTC is 73.75% owned by the Taipei City
Government. The Ministry of Transportation and Communications owns
a further 17.14% while the Taipei County Government owns
8.75%.
Clearly, public-listed SMRT’s returns on its
rail operations are far better for its shareholders than
TRTC’s.
However, TRTC — which has been profitable every
year except its first two — is better for its
commuters, who have been inspired to pen a poem
or two in praise of their well-regarded metro.
(Sunita Sue Leng, previously an associate editor
at The Edge Singapore, is now based in Taipei and writes on Greater
China issues).