where got TIBS it is out for so many years its now SMRT
It's really a pity that TIBS gets swallowed by SMRT. Every business
they created got destroyed by SMRT.
But sadly, public transport
market here isn't open and free
This is what i am saying all along
....
Bus means bus company runs it .
MRT means solely MRT company runs it .
If u are specialised in buses , leave MRT alone . Maximised ur
resources . Make it into 2nd , if not the best .
But what to do ?
PAP Government scared non-transport base company cannot substain
, that's why gave all tenders to bigger company .
Like how i wish , Keppel Corporation ( Engineering ) , can
tender the next MRT operation line .
Most likely I feel that the market in Singapore is too small,
very hard to make money sustain with that market share. That
is especially relevant to bus and rail operations. Multimodal
companies proved to be a failure.
Look at SMRT, they are good in rail operations but becomes worse
after taking over TIBS bus and taxi operations. Their resources are
all scattered over different operations, but still focusing most on
their rail business. Thus taxi and especially bus operations are
negelected, resulting on poorer and pooer service standards. They
should give up their bus operations and divert their resources to
provide a better rail service. Likewise for ComfortDelgro, SBS
Transit. Venturing into NEL only give commuters less choices on bus
services, since they want to cut down duplications to save
resources.
That's why I prefer a one company operating rail only, that is
SMRT and one company operating bus only, which is SBS Transit. In
this way, there is no conflict of interests in operations and two
modes of transport (bus and rail) can compete with each other for
better services. Therefore, on top of a network of rail system, it
can also stress SBS Transit to provide better bus services with a
better bus network than rail, faster and more flexible bus
trips for commutes and provide a better alternative for commuters.
It also helps the bus operator to make a decent profit with the
sustainable market share in this small country. Since the bus
operations share market is so small, it would be better to have one
operator which can at least make money and sustain for long term,
rather than the influx of many players which in the end, do not
make profits and leave the market promptly.
However looking into the cab market share here, there is no
problem for more players, since the market share is so big, even it
is controlled. However it is up to the individual taxi companies to
operated their taxi business. If they can't manage this business
well, especially those with many kinds of other operations, it is
best that they sell away their "dogs" and divert their resources to
improve the business or just sell them away.
I would prefer a foreign player to bid for the future lines
instead. The chances of government intervention and take over will
be very less likely. Keppel Corp, isn't it another GLC linked
company? In no time, it will be either under ComfortDelgro wing or
SMRT wing, since all are under the same entity. Anyway, I don't see
the need for so many MRT lines, they are expensive to build,
operate and maintain, and inflexible and likely to cause more
ground and buildings structural problems if there are too many
tunnels. MRT lines going through the city and very populated areas
with a few stations with buses complementing and serving the rest
of the areas is good enough. Our MRT is too slow because there are
too many stations in one line.
All these chaos are created by this govt. Not enough
infrastructral supports and yet still want to increase the
population, and so rapidly these few years. I really envious the
Singaporeans living in the 70s and the 80s, less crowded and less
stressful.
Looking at TransCab, they are
doing well and expanding. Maybe they should take over half of SMRT
taxis and take over SMRT Buses operations and form back
TRANS ISLAND bus
services, under TRANS CAB.
Sadly , this TransCab trying to get Bus Operating license
.
Dunno what's so big deal about Bus Service ?
If i do my math correctly , i dun think their revenue can
match those from taxi rentals .
I think most likely they want to expand other than just into cab
operations. Afterall the issuing of taxi licenses is limited and
controlled every year. I don't think they just want to expand year
after year with that miserable amount of new taxis on the road. And
looking at the COE supplies recently.
But I would like to caution their venture into bus operations
here because it is not a money making business because operations
are demanding and overheads are high. I don't think they might
have the right capital to stomach all that. And even if they start
out, their market share is very small and it might be very hard for
them to sustain for long term. Probably taking over SMRT buses
will give them a right stepping stone as the market
share is sizable and yet not too big for them to be unmanageable,
and those areas served under SMRT buses seriously need a major
bus services overhaul. Replacement for a new player might
be good.
Else I think it is better for them to venture more into premium
bus services. Or investing more into CNG refuelling stations and
looking into other green energy sources, like electricity fuelling
stations for future electric cars, or hydrogen, bio-gas, etc type
of infrastructural possibilities to support green energy for the
future.