If SMRT is trying to achieve a 40% WAB fleet while trying to
avoid a fleet expansion at all costs, then I can forsee a real
disaster for everyone later on. And when I said everyone, I really
mean everyone: SMRT's management will have to explain why they
squandered away so much money on buying new buses to replace old
buses that still have a considerable number of years within their
statuory lifespan and could probably be fixed more cheaply, and why
- if they were running out of depot space, were they not planning
to get a new bus depot; commuters will continue having to put up
with unaceptably- and unbearably-long waiting times for SMRT buses,
and bus fans will grieve over the loss of several bus models and
the further "Stalinisation" of the local bus fleet.
Trust me, while I'm not sure where Saw Phaik Hwa is taking SMRT
buses to, I'm pretty sure she only thought about herself and her
bank account when she made the decisions, and no-one and nothing
else.
When this disaster happens, I bet she will have a lot of
explaining to do, if she hasn't ran off with the money and left the
carnage for someone else to take over, that is.
there are many factors to consider when laying up
buses/deregistering buses such as Costs etc etc. and i dun see
why SMRT have to maintain so many bus types in their fleet, just to
keep bus fan happy? They need to keep spare parts for each bus
type. Need to have maintaintence personels familiar with each bus
type as well.
As for the new bus depot and additional new WAB buses, i believe
SMRT might not want to do anything now (beside the 66 new buses+
another 66 on tender), as LTA is going to revamp the bus system. i
Believe that SMRT might slowly reduce its fleet and maybe giving up
some of current bus routes through the tendering system since their
bus division is losing money.. The marriage between SMRT and TIBS
is arrange by government, and now government have admit that it is
better for one operator to operate MRT instead. I believe SMRT
would rather focus their resources on MRT instead.
