New public transport fare adjustment formula
recommended
SINGAPORE : Putting the brakes on untimely public transport fares
hikes.
This is one of the thrusts of the recommendations tabled by the
Committee on the Fare Review Mechanism.
The Tang family gave up their car more than a year ago after Mr
Tang Kjin Keon was retrenched.
The couple now spends some $300 a month on bus and MRT trips.
With the new recommendations, such expenditure by families who rely
on public transport will be monitored annually.
Instead of using findings from the Household Expenditure Survey
which are only available every five years.
Wing Teng, a commuter, said: "We actually thought taking public
transport is not too expensive but we realised that it is not that
cheap either. We hope the government can do something to revise the
fares downwards so that we can save."
And that could be possible with the new proposed fares adjustment
formula.
The committee said the new proposed fare adjustment formula would
mirror the changes in the cost of living and wages more
accurately.
Ong Kian Min, Chairman of the Committee on the Fare Review
Mechanism, said: "If this formula had been in operation since 1998,
you can see that in some years in applying this formular, it will
produce a negative maximum adjustment value which means that in
those years conditions were such that the fares should be reduced
or rebates should be given by the PTC."
While the Public Transport Council says it has been strict in
approving fare adjustments, balancing commuters' interest with the
viability of public transport operators.
Mr Tang feels more can be done.
"All the while we are not sure how they compute and review the
fares and there is no transparency at all," he said.
Besides being more transparent, the recommendations also include
checks against excessive profits, sharing gains with commuters and
provisions for the Public Transport Council to vary or reject fare
changes.
The report will be presented in Parliament next month.
The committee also said that the formula should be reviewed every
three years to ensure that it remains relevant and reflects the
changes to economic performance and wage movements.
The SBS Transit said the new formula better reflects cost structure
and is likely to be more responsive to changes in business
environment. - CNA