Raise bus fares? No way, say
most
Transport operators must bear cost of
drivers' pay increase, say those polled
A Straits Times
street and online poll of 325 commuters yesterday found that 92 per
cent of respondents are opposed to the idea of raising fares to
help cover the cost of increasing bus drivers' wages. --
ST PHOTO: STEPHANIE YEOW
By MARIA ALMENOAR
TRANSPORT
CORRESPONDENT
COMMUTERS have overwhelmingly rejected the notion of increasing
public transport fares to help improve the pay of bus drivers.
A Straits Times street and online poll of 325
commuters yesterday found that 92 per cent of respondents are
opposed to the idea that Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew strongly
hinted at on Thursday.
The response of Mr Lau Yong Fong, an IT support
engineer, was typical of the majority.
Said the 34-year-old: "It is good to increase
salaries of bus drivers, but you can't just push it to commuters.
The Government has to think of other alternatives before increasing
fares."
Among the suggestions they made: Cut the bonus of
top executives of the two public transport operators, require the
operators SMRT and SBS Transit to use profits to pay the drivers
more, or have the Government subsidise the increase in wages.
Mr Lui had hinted at the possibility of bus fares
being raised when he commented on last week's illegal strike by 180
SMRT bus drivers from China over living conditions and pay.
He said fares might go up in future to help cover
the cost of raising the wages of bus drivers. He also expressed
hope that an ongoing fare review would allow the operators to
increase drivers' pay.
Commuters acknowledged Mr Lui's point that the bus
drivers deserve to be paid more, but were adamant that the cost be
borne by SMRT and SBS Transit.
Undergraduate Frank Poh, 24, said the operators
needed to play their part and bear the costs.
"It is ridiculous that the Government pays
partially for infrastructure, the public pays for the pay rise -
bearing in mind the operational profit is in the hundreds of
millions of dollars - then what about the company?" he asked.
Commuters argued that the operators were making
healthy profits and could well afford the additional cost. "If the
companies are not making pro-fits, then it is fine to increase bus
fares, but they make so much money," said restaurant manager Kamal
Bashyal, 35.
Similarly, supermarket cashier Jenny Wong, 34, said
in Mandarin: "This is unreasonable. When they make profits, do they
pass them on to commuters as discounts in fares? Why don't they use
the profits to increase the salaries of drivers?"
SMRT's last full-year net profit was $119.9 million
while that of ComfortDelGro, which runs SBS Transit, was $235.6
million. Both listed companies have rail and taxi operations in
addition to buses.
National University of Singapore transport
researcher Lee Der-Horng said that as public transport services
were a public good, the operators should look for ways internally
to increase their efficiency. "They should consider all other
alternatives and cut their costs before approaching the commuters,
as a last resort," he said.
He pointed out that the goal in privatising public
transport was for the companies to run the service efficiently and
profitably. "When they claim that fare revenue is not enough to
cover their costs, I would have to disagree with that," he
said.
For the small group of commuters in favour of a
fare rise to help bus drivers, they were agreeable if the increase
was between two and five cents.
But they said such an increase would be fair only
if there was a corresponding improvement in bus services. Said
hotel cleaner Pari Natasina, 50: "Bus drivers are very
hard-working, and if the raise is only a bit, it's okay. It's
understandable."
Top Of The News, The Straits Times, December 8 2012, Pg A8