• Happenings

    Singapore Transport

    September 14, 2008

    Am I the only one who thinks the costs of transport in Singapore is too complicated for anyone to understand?

    Take for example the recently approved hike in bus and train fares, here is from the Public Transport Council website:

    0.7% Fare Adjustment For 2008 With New Transfer Rebate of 40 cents

    7-Cent Fare Reduction To 4-Cent Increase For Most Bus & Train Journeys

    Firstly, how much increase is 0.7%? Secondly, is it a 7cent reduction or is it a 4cent increase? Now to go into the details of the fare increase from here :

  • Fares up by four cents per ride on buses and trains for adult EZ-link and senior citizen concession EZ-link card holders
  • Transfer rebate increased from 25 cents to 40 cents per transfer Fares down by seven cents for a journey with one transfer; greater reduction for journeys with more transfers
  • Fares on long-haul rides (beyond 28km on bus and 32km on train) up by 9 per cents per ride
  • The maximum adult EZ-link fare on an aircon trunk bus service will go up to $1.67 from $1.58, while the maximum fare on a SMRT train will go up to $1.84 from $1.75
  • Cash fares up by 10 cents per ride on buses and trains

    • Does anyone even understand this? I do not, and I will not be able to calculate exactly how much is my train fare just to go to work.

    As for the taxi fares, it gets worst. Taking the taxi fares from Comfort website, the rates and charges page is like pages long!

    And if we are not taking public transport but driving instead, how many of us can keep track of all the ERP gantries? How many of us know what are the charges for each gantry at each time of the day?

    Why can’t they keep things simple and easy to understand?

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  • Ramblings

    We, the Citizens of Singapore

    August 21, 2008

    I may complain a lot about the Government. I may complain a lot about Singaporeans. But that comes naturally as a Singaporean.

    True, the Singapore Government is not perfect. It has a lot of faults. But if you look at the other countries in the world, how many Governments out there are better than the Singapore Government? I can count with one hand. At the end of the day, I am born in Singapore. I may not work or live in Singapore in the future, that I am not sure, but no matter where I am, Singapore is always my home.

    Which is why I could never understand what is this big fuss about all Chinese should be proud that China is hosting the Olympics. True, I am a Chinese, but I am a Singaporean Chinese, not a China Chinese. I am glad that they can spend so much money to host the Olympics, the opening ceremony was stunning, and they are excellent hosts and so on, but please understand that because I always consider myself as a Singaporean Chinese, I can never relate myself to whatever is happening in China.

    You can use the Olympics to showcase yourself as a new superpower. You may have all the tallest and shiniest buildings, but if you continue to have no moral values, continue to have corruption rampant throughout the country, continue to behave like hooligans outside your country, no amount of money spent, no number of tall buildings built, no number of bullet trains owned will earn you any respect.

    I ain’t afraid to tell this to anyone,

    I am Singaporean. And I am proud to be one.

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