SBS Transit's Actions Contradicts Government Policy

eagle SG

sometimes decisions like these are not so simple lor. if i am a 50 yr old pot belly uncle that speaks only broken english, even if i want to work as a sale assistant in taka or isetan, no one will hire me! hehe. again, how come we can so easily empathise with why CEO's and companies need to make millions to survive. but so hard to empathise with the hardships of ordinary uncles and aunties...

that's why I also put the taxi driver job there mah, a job that is very similar to that of a bus driver.

333225520 SG

that's why I also put the taxi driver job there mah, a job that is very similar to that of a bus driver.

I think bus driver is worse then taxi driver as a taxi driver is his own boss. Bus driver has to rush themselves to keep up with the bus schedule.

maurizio13 SG

if they have will to think...they will never be a biz man liao...

take my in law for example, he's been working for translink (SBS) as a driver for 27 yrs. now driving bus 197 from Jurong east to Bedok ( abt 4 hrs through & flow ). need to wake up 3:45am & leave the hse by 4:30am in order to catch the company transport if he's in morning shift.

due to his age is catching up, physically no longer as good as those young driver. it is quite tough for him to drove for long hr & longer distance. Hence, he did approvch the management, ask for transfer to those shorter distance or those feeder bus. He even dont mind to have a pay cut. but was rejected by the management. ( no reason given ).

so...put him to no chioce, he's thinking of retire next yrs ( he kn himself cant coop with it anymore..). &....he's only 60 next year......if the coy allow his transfer, properly he will work for another 5 yrs. till the official retire age.

so...do u guy think, will the bus company ever think of these? they only kn complaining cant get driver, they never think y.

sometimes is nt only the pay, is the system, is the flexibility, is the welfare that dr ppl aways.....

In other developed countries there would be Unions to fight for the rights of these workers,

else working conditions will never change for the better. Singaporeans don't want to work,

fine, I will get even cheaper labour from China or India.

In Singapore you get a Union run by government sitting idly by collecting money,

if workers decide to take things into their hands and initiate a strike, they will

be put behind bars.

eagle SG

I think bus driver is worse then taxi driver as a taxi driver is his own boss. Bus driver has to rush themselves to keep up with the bus schedule.

yup, yet they earn almost the same amount and have some similarities, eg driving. Thus in that case, who will want to be a bus driver?

mancha SG

Mak Cik and Ah Cik and tourist must now know rudimentary Mandarin, otherwise how to ask for info.

333225520 SG

Perhaps SBS Transit, the gov, and the rest of the companies can just cut the crap about Singaporean, blah, blah, blah and just admit that they are looking for cheap labour.

HyperFocal SG

... the FAP & SBS have no sense of shame... insisting multimillion dollar salaries but always resorting to cheap easy solutions... while the people are left with difficult existence...

... FAP can start counting their days in power from here on...

Hiring bus drivers from China not the answer
Thu, Mar 13, 2008
The Straits Times

I REFER to Tuesday's report, 'China bus drivers hired as few Singaporeans keen on job'. Bus operators should consider the social implications of hiring bus drivers from China for low pay.
Bus commuters here belong to different races and speak different languages and dialects. Many are senior citizens who can manage only Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese or Malay.

And many foreigners here, including tourists and employees, speak only English.

But bus drivers from China speak only Mandarin.

How can they help commuters who ask simple, but important, questions like whether they are on the right bus, where to alight and what is the correct fare? Not everyone goes about with an ez-link card.
If bus operators want Singaporeans to take up the bus captain's job, they should offer more attractive working conditions, rather than resort to the cheap solution.

A 10- to 15-minute break is not sufficient rest time for drivers in between trips.

Having one rest day in a week is also not enough to recuperate, let alone enjoy a balanced life. Even that rest day is not fixed.

Bus captains provide a very important service to the people and deserve better treatment. As we pay our civil servants well, I don't see why bus captains do not deserve similar consideration.

Focus on service and not primarily on cost. It is not as if bus companies are operating at a loss.

Jackie Lau Wai Wan (Ms)

maurizio13 SG

... the FAP & SBS have no sense of shame... insisting multimillion dollar salaries but always resorting to cheap easy solutions... while the people are left with difficult existence...

... FAP can start counting their days in power from here on...

And many foreigners here, including tourists and employees, speak only English.

A 10- to 15-minute break is not sufficient rest time for drivers in between trips.

Having one rest day in a week is also not enough to recuperate, let alone enjoy a balanced life. Even that rest day is not fixed.

Bus captains provide a very important service to the people and deserve better treatment. As we pay our civil servants well, I don't see why bus captains do not deserve similar consideration.

Focus on service and not primarily on cost. It is not as if bus companies are operating at a loss.

Jackie Lau Wai Wan (Ms)

What's FAP?

Farking Action Party?

HyperFocal SG

What's FAP?

Farking Action Party?

.. Foreigners Action Party

googoomuck SG

The organization that I worked for provides private bus service. Fifty dollars a month. Everyone has a seat. Air-con is cool. Arrival time at pick-up point punctual. Journey is a comfortable 40-minute ride.

sbst275 SG

Nationalising... Simply make profit, profit goes to govt? lose money increase tax rate to keep up the bus service? at the same time, ads revenue make up at least 50% of their revenue.

Inefficient? most of the times just ppl refuse to move in, making the bus to be delayed and lengthening travelling time... at the same time, the behind bus catches up. Everything blame blame blame, even yourself dun move in causing delays never thought of it. Dun wanna believe? I ever saw buses stucked at 1 bus stop for 5 mins, creating the buses behind unable to move.. Why? cos after the exit there's lots of standing spaces yet no one wants to move in until so long later... waste everyone's time (I can dare to say 6 man hours of time)

as for welfare... if there's cases like Loyang Ave accident, buses are delayed, passengers saying not 'efficient'... end up driver gotta forgo break to please everyone?

increase wages? fares then got to go up, when diesel prices have alrdy gone up more than 100%. Dun come and say abt wages, if you want ppl to provide you a service, they've to remain afloat before anything can happens... If you can accept fuel surcharge for SIA, why not here? Dun tell me public tpt, but who's going to bear the cost? taxpayers w/ additional taxes?

At the same time, if you are not willing to work on shift, dun come and criticise abt getting foreign drivers who are more willing than locals to work shift.

I dunno.. do this kpkb, do tat as solution kpkb... wat you want? I think carry on like tis, you live a miserable life... everything also unhappy

sbst275 SG

There's still locals willing... yes 60

But there's older drivers retiring, demand from passengers for more buses and bus route... is it enough?

There are bus svs like Sv 170 tat ends up using abt 40 buses alone or Sv 143 using 30 buses

eagle SG

Nationalising... Simply make profit, profit goes to govt? lose money increase tax rate to keep up the bus service? at the same time, ads revenue make up at least 50% of their revenue.

as for welfare... if there's cases like Loyang Ave accident, buses are delayed, passengers saying not 'efficient'... end up driver gotta forgo break to please everyone?

At the same time, if you are not willing to work on shift, dun come and criticise abt getting foreign drivers who are more willing than locals to work shift.

I dunno.. do this kpkb, do tat as solution kpkb... wat you want? I think carry on like tis, you live a miserable life... everything also unhappy

Of the whole post, I can only agree with this one:

At the same time, if you are not willing to work on shift, dun come and criticise abt getting foreign drivers who are more willing than locals to work shift. => But sure got pple disagree.

For the rest of the post, your concerns have already been answered earlier.

sbst275 SG

Next thing aft nationalising

if govt is forced to raise bus fares, ppl go for opposition... mirror image of Malaysia's election

anyway... ppl like the iron lady Margaret Thatcher were the ones to get rid of nationalised industries and making it to privatised like the buses in London.... ironically, ppl here wants to do the opposite... hoping to tie the govt to as many burden as many as possible

maurizio13 SG

Nationalising... Simply make profit, profit goes to govt? lose money increase tax rate to keep up the bus service? at the same time, ads revenue make up at least 50% of their revenue.

as for welfare... if there's cases like Loyang Ave accident, buses are delayed, passengers saying not 'efficient'... end up driver gotta forgo break to please everyone?

At the same time, if you are not willing to work on shift, dun come and criticise abt getting foreign drivers who are more willing than locals to work shift.

I dunno.. do this kpkb, do tat as solution kpkb... wat you want? I think carry on like tis, you live a miserable life... everything also unhappy

You can look at it this way, if bus services (public) loses money, the money used to offset the loses goes into the cost of providing the service.

If it is privatised, the profits is the excess of the cost of providing the service.

If you consider packing up the buses like sardines as efficient, at the expense of commuters risking servere injury during traffic accidents.

They could have also increase frequency of buses so that commuters won't be squeezed like sardines, instead of taking a profit maximising approach.

If buses were nationalised, there won't be this rent for premises and corporate taxes, both of these items account for nearly $40 million which goes

indirectly into the government's coffers.

Cost recovery (public) or profit motive (private)?

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