Good read:
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/top/story/0,4136,50223,00.html?
TNP 4th Feb 2003
2 buses, 1 route, but different fares
By Annabella Ng
SBS buses 51 and 186 ply the same roads part of the way. To get
from Queenstown MRT station to Concorde Hotel, you can take either
bus. For commuters travelling down this stretch, one bus is just as
good as the other.
Perfect substitutes?
That's what hotline caller Mr James Dass thought, until he
discovered otherwise.
The 35-year-old copywriter has been taking the buses for two years,
thinking them no different, only to realise last Monday he's been
shortchanged all this time.
Of 20 cents, to be precise.
The same journey costs 83 cents on bus Service 51 but only 63 cents
on Service 186.
Said Mr Dass: 'I discovered it only by accident. I've been taking
the buses to work for more than two years, but that day, I was on
51 when I happened to glance at the electronic reader. That was
when I realised that (taking) 51 costs 83 cents and not 63 cents
like I always thought it did.'
Even the bus operator, SBS Transit, seemed to be unaware of the
difference.
Mr Dass said his colleagues - who, like him, take the buses to work
at King's Centre - were astonished when he told them of his
discovery.
The New Paper spoke to 10 other commuters who use that route
regularly, and all were unaware of the fare difference.
Madam Quek, a 50-year-old housewife who takes either bus when she
goes to a temple to pray, said: 'I tap my card when I get off the
bus but I don't note the value.'
The New Paper went down to take both buses. At Queenstown station,
the fare stages were 20 for bus number 51, and 14 for number
186.
Where we alighted (the bus stop opposite the Concorde Hotel), the
fare stage was 24.5 for Service 51, and 18 for Service 186.
So for the same distance, the number of fare stages travelled by
number 51 is 4.5, while that for number 186 is 4.
Why this difference?
Some commuters are peeved. Sales executive Francis Lee, 34, said:
'I have been taking these two buses every day for more than five
years. Paying 20 cents more each time adds up to a lot over the
years.'
SBS LOWERS BUS 51 FARE
THE fare for Service 51 will be lowered to 63 cents to bring it in
line with Service 186, said SBS Transit executive vice-president
Woon Chio Chong.
He said SBS Transit was not aware of the fare discrepancy until The
New Paper contacted them.
He cited historical reasons for the fare discrepancy.
'Service 51 is a very old route and the fare stages were calculated
a long time ago. Service 186 was introduced in 1993 and the
calculations were done by another officer who could have decided to
peg the distance at stage 4.'
The journey from Queenstown station to Concorde Hotel is pegged at
different fare stages because it is what Mr Woon calls a
'borderline case'.
Fare stages are pegged at about 0.8km, using bus stops as reference
points. So for stage 4, the distance covered would be 3.2km. The
next stage will be 4km. Anything between forms a half-stage.
With our route, the distance is 3.4km.
Mr Woon says a 'difference in judgment call' could have resulted in
one officer pegging the journey at stage 4, and another at stage
4.5.
Service 51 also has another section that has the same "problem".
That is between Joo Chiat Complex and Bras Basah Complex. 51's trip
is 7.5 stages, but 7's and 2's trips are only 7 stages.
