extracted from ST forum.
I REFER to the article, 'School bus fares going up by $5 to $10
next month' (ST, Dec 2
.
Being a secondary school student, I get to enjoy the convenience of
taking a school bus every day only because an affiliated primary
school shares my school's premises.
However, the bus pick-up time is set according to the dismissal
time of the primary school, and I have to take public transport
home because my school day ends much later.
Nonetheless, I still pay a hefty $80 a month for just the one-way
trip to school. This is the same as what the primary school pupils
pay for a two-way trip.
I see no valid reason to raise bus fares for secondary school
students like myself, who have been paying twice as much all this
while.
I understand that as an industry body, the School Transport
Association is concerned about rising operational costs. However,
raising fares serves only to shift the problem to the families of
affected students.
Perhaps $5 may not seem like a substantial amount, but it adds to
the financial burden of average income earners.
I would also like to highlight the poor condition of some school
buses.
While the majority I see on the roads are new and spacious, some,
like the one I take every day, are old and in need of constant
repair. In this case, I do not think it is fair to charge students
taking these buses the same fare as those taking the new
ones.
The School Transport Association should first focus on providing
good service, and that includes charging reasonable fares, before
thinking about raising them.
Gloria Cheng Hui Min (Miss)
