Minister explains why bus fares cannot remain
unchanged
"Transport Minister Raymond Lim commented on the bus fare hike
during his visit to Thomson division of Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC on
Sunday, 7 Oct 07. He urged Singaporeans not to politicise the
issue.
If fares were to be frozen, the bus service standards will suffer,
according to Mr Lim. He cited other countries experiences and when
governments give in to such pressures, the service standards would
deteriorate.
The reason: bus companies, unable to afford new buses, will have a
shrinking fleet, resulting in overcrowding. As the situation
worsens, people will complain to the government, which will feel
compelled to raise fares.
Freezing fares will be a popular move, but it would not be a
responsible thing to do, he added.
Responding to a residents comment that the two public-listed
companies, SBS and SMRT, look out for their shareholders and not
the commuters, Mr Lim said even if the government takes over the
running of the public transport companies, fares will still rise,
and either the user or taxpayer pays for the increase."
I wonder why the $56.1 million in net profit for FY06 is not enough
for new buses? Are new busses that expensive? Maybe they are built
with carbon-fiber bodies, with cutting-edge F1 technology in the
engines?
It's not as if every single bus in Singapore is air-conditioned
with comfy leather seats. It's not as if the bus-captains are
earning ever increasing salaries. I believe the public would accept
it more willingly if the reason for the raise was to better
compensate the bus-captains. They aren't earning much and work long
hours even on public holidays. Surely the raises should go to
helping them out? Why is it ending up in retained earnings
then?
Seriously, with replies like this, they are really inviting
criticism. The only believable line there is that either way, the
citizens pay.
