Lower bus & train fares ?


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zcf

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Apr 10, 2005
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It's a welcome news :), but when and how much??? Oil price seem to drop a lot also since then.

Is it really election time soon? It really make me wonder. It would be good if it's really not election time soon.

http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking+News/Singapore/Story/STIStory_329880.html

http://www.straitstimes.com said:
Jan 23, 2009
Lower bus & train fares
By Christopher Tan
BUS and train fares will be lowered soon, the Public Transport Council (PTC) announced on Friday.

The council said the two public transport operators - SBS Transit and SMRT Corp - will not be applying for their annual fare adjustment.
The unusual move came a day after the Government unveiled a $20.5 billion Budget to help Singaporeans weather the financial storm sweeping the world.
In the package were several tax reliefs handed out to businesses, including lower corporate and property taxes, CPF contribution relief in the form of the so-called Jobs Credit and assistance plans targetted at the transport sector.
PTC chairman Gerard Ee said he was glad to learn that the operators were holding back on their customary application.
'I am heartened to hear that the public transport operators will not apply for any fare adjustment this year and that they are ready to work with us to reduce bus and train fares for 2009,' Mr Ee said.
Singapore's public transport fares are adjusted annually, based on a fixed formula that takes into account the previous year's inflation rate and wage increase rate. The formula also has a component to share productivity gains of the operators with commuters.
If the formula had been followed, this year's bus and train fares could go up by over 5 per cent - the biggest jump in decades.
The formula however has clauses that could negate the hard mathematical formula. For instance, before approving a fare change, the council must consider the prevailing economic situation, the profitability of the operators and the job situation in Singapore.
The PTC said it will work speedily with the transport operators on how much fares can be cut by. A decision will be out before the end of next month (feb).
Cedric Foo, head of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport, welcomed the news.
'Hopefully, the removal of the remaining transfer penalty will also be addressed without increasing fares,' Mr Foo said. 'I am very pleased that the fare adjustment formula has not been blindly applied.
'These are exceptional times which call for exceptional measures and if a fare reduction can be achieved, the goodwill shown by the transport operators will not be easily forgotten.''
Commuters cheered the news. Merchandiser Ivy Ong, 42, said: 'I think it will help. But it also depends on how big a cut, because the economic situation is getting worse, and inflation is still rather high.'
University student Yeo Jun Han, 24, said: 'I am happy of course. But I think they shouldn't have increased fares in the first place.'
Fares were last raised - by an average four cents per ride - in October, two weeks after Lehman Brothers collapsed. SBS Transit said the firm did not apply for fare rises in 2003 and 2004, too. 2003 was the SARS period and Iraq War; and in 2004, Singapore had not recovered yet.
 

Please keep your discussion to bus and train fare and refrain yourself from discussing politics and election. Thank you for your kind understanding. :bsmilie:
 

I hope to see a reduction in fare that translates into a bigger sum than the rebate they have gained.
 

just cross your fingers.

Hope to get some good news.
 

wah, the timing hor... :flush:
 

fuel prices have reduced. when's the 30¢ fuel surcharge for cabs going to be taken off?

Haha..this thread only for buses and trains.

Anyway..its not only the 30cents surcharge..taxi fare was raise when oil price was around $100~...they should cut the taxi fare too.
 

fuel prices have reduced. when's the 30¢ fuel surcharge for cabs going to be taken off?

There is NO more S$0.30 fuel surcharge currently which was eliminated more than 2 months ago.
 

Is this the first time that bus fares are reduced? cause can't remember of any previous instances..........:think:
 

A complete waste of time.
We are not sloving problem at its root.
Cut here,, take from there.
If not fat cats eat what???


Road tax comes down..
Insurance went up.
LPPL.
 

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from the quote, can anyone explain wad is "customary application"? :dunno:
 

will they also cut down the transit discount at $0.40 now to ..?
 

Oklah, reduce here increase somewhere else, this is Singapore.

hahahahaa ;)

And when things head up, it will hard to head down again.

If u were promoted to Manager, will you volunteer to be demoted to normal office post? :sweat:
 

SMRT's net earnings grow 7.6% to $41m

only in three months hor...
The only recession proof industry beside HDB.
 

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To make it simple and easy for the layman we would like to know how much reduction per MRT ride or bus ride.

But i can tell you its only a few cents - i will be damned if they annouce a reduction of 30cents or more!

Its just a gesture in these tough times. They will only translate to how much losses or less the service operators will be making or earn per annum. To the evarage commuters like us the reduction may not be be much of a significant annually.

:confused:
 

The Public Transport Operators will also not apply for any fare adjustment this year.


Gerad Ee thanks the Transport Operators for doing so.

I would like to share with the clueless public.
The word adjustment = hike when used in Singapore context.
 

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Increased when the the fuel prices were up... now prices is so much lower, they have much hugh profits as a result... every quarter they made hugh profits...

its time they do some adjustment...

but i still dun understand why they mention the transport fare is not directly related to fuel prices... any tom dick and harry knows that, if fuel prices cost USD1000 per barrel, will the fares goes up ?

now when will they adjust the electricity tariffs...
 

Increased when the the fuel prices were up... now prices is so much lower, they have much hugh profits as a result... every quarter they made hugh profits...

its time they do some adjustment...

but i still dun understand why they mention the transport fare is not directly related to fuel prices... any tom dick and harry knows that, if fuel prices cost USD1000 per barrel, will the fares goes up ?

now when will they adjust the electricity tariffs...

yup, electricity tariff shld be down soon.. hurray :cheergal:

Electricity rates to fall by Jan
By Sue-Ann Chia , POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT

ELECTRICITY prices are set to come down by January due to sliding fuel prices in recent months.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong gave this good news at the People's Action Party (***) conference on Sunday, saying: 'I asked the Ministry of Trade and Industry, they said yes, by January, electricity prices should come down. If we are lucky, it will be where we were before October.'

Electricity prices shot up by an unprecedented 21 per cent in the last quarter this year.

Lower electricity prices will be welcomed not just by households but businesses too as utility charges make up a large chunk of their business costs, said Mr Lee.
 

Increased when the the fuel prices were up... now prices is so much lower, they have much hugh profits as a result... every quarter they made hugh profits...

its time they do some adjustment...

but i still dun understand why they mention the transport fare is not directly related to fuel prices... any tom dick and harry knows that, if fuel prices cost USD1000 per barrel, will the fares goes up ?

now when will they adjust the electricity tariffs...

They were right in saying not directly related..
but it is indirectly related.
 

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