Public Transportation fare!! PLZ come down!!

[sORe-EyEz]

do major book stores have a book on 'Price Increases for Dummies' + another book on 'English: As We (dun) Know it'... :sweatsm:

 

[ArchRival]

I think this is not plain stupid but rather, how little u understand about energy prices.

Falling oil prices are jus future contracts. They do not represent in actual, how much oil is being sold OTC. And in the process of refinery, other costs have to be factored in. Else, according to your assumption, petrol shld be retailing below $1, as compared to over $2, since oil has dropped 2/3.

Also, both SMRT & SBS Transit do not operate on diesel alone. In fact, their main bulk of energy is electricity. And of cos they being customers of electricity companies like we do, are at the mercy of such companies too. One last thing to take note.. electricity in SG is produced by gas, which is not much affected by prices of crude oil.

Dude, i know what buses and trains run on. I also know where sg gets energy from, and what is used to generate electricity here.

Lets be reasonable. I'm not looking at something like 2/3 reduction in transport fares. If fuel prices rise by x% and the govt use it to justify a fare increase of y%, then a decrease of x% should reasonably translate to a reduction of fares by about y%.

If not, then the govt shouldnt go around telling the public fuel prices are mainly to blame for fare hikes. Look at the channelnewsasia link. It didn't quote any other reasons for the fare hike except fuel prices. Is it not reasonable for the public to conclude increase in fuel prices is the main cause for increase in fares? And the converse is true as well?

 

[contaxable]

If not, then the govt shouldnt go around telling the public fuel prices are mainly to blame for fare hikes. Look at the channelnewsasia link. It didn't quote any other reasons for the fare hike except fuel prices. Is it not reasonable for the public to conclude increase in fuel prices is the main cause for increase in fares? And the converse is true as well?

court official has two mouth 官

They say what they mean, they mean what they say. What you say will have no meaning to them, no matter how mean you say.

Let's all cuddle up and face the coming depression.

 

[azul123]

Let's all cuddle up and face the coming depression.

I think this is the first time depression is used instead of recession, it is certainly going to be tough coming.

../azul123

 

[sORe-EyEz]

... the govt shouldnt go around telling the public fuel prices are mainly to blame for fare hikes. Look at the channelnewsasia link. It didn't quote any other reasons for the fare hike except fuel prices. Is it not reasonable for the public to conclude increase in fuel prices is the main cause for increase in fares? And the converse is true as well?

maybe the public is seen as always unreasonable? *:complain:complain complain:complain:

 

[zcf]

http://www.straitstimes.com/ST+Forum/Story/STIStory_320945.html

PUBLIC TRANSPORT FARES
No direct link to fuel prices
I REFER to the report, 'Government will try to keep transport costs down' (Dec 22).

Some members of the public have written in to the ministry seeking clarification on the Transport Minister's remarks that public transport fares are pegged to national inflation and wage levels, and not oil prices. As they pointed out that this contradicts the reasons public transport operators gave when they applied for fare increases, we would like to explain how the public transport fare review process works.
Adjustments to public transport fares each year are based on a formula that is pegged to changes in two overall economic indicators, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Wage Index (WI, which measures national average monthly earnings) over the preceding year.
We explicitly decided not to allow operators to pass on their direct costs, such as fuel and wage costs, or to base their fares on these costs. This is to give operators every incentive to operate efficiently, and keep their costs as low as possible. Thus, even though the operators have sought to justify fare increases based on rising fuel prices, the Public Transport Council (PTC) will adjust fares only according to this prescribed formula.
This is why last year, despite a 40 per cent increase in diesel prices, the increase in CPI and WI was only 2.1 per cent and 6.9 per cent respectively, leading to an allowable fare adjustment of 3 per cent. As the PTC also made the operators absorb a large part of the increase in transfer rebate, fares went up by only 0.7 per cent in October last year.
In assessing the fare applications, the PTC takes into consideration extenuating circumstances, such as adverse economic conditions and significant deterioration in the affordability of fares. Furthermore, as a reality check on the fares, the PTC compares the operator's return-on-total-assets values against those of other industries with similar risk.
The PTC has used these powers before. In 2001, it rejected applications to raise fares, in view of the economic climate then. In 2007, the PTC turned down the application to raise train fares after assessing that the rail industry had done very well the year before.
We understand commuters' concerns about the affordability of public transport. Early last year, the Land Transport Authority announced the plan to introduce distance-based through fares this year.
As we have seen in last year's fare revision exercise, this initiative has helped to reduce fares for most commuters, particularly those who make frequent transfers. When the PTC next deliberates the fare adjustment for this year, we can expect it to move further towards distance-based through fares.
The fare review process is detailed at www.ptc.gov.sg/publi&papers.asp. Phua Hooi Boon
Director (Land Transport Division)
Ministry of Transport

 

[zcf]

Why Taipei’s MRT trumps Singapore’s

Written by Sunita Sue Leng Monday, 22 December 2008 10:13
Why Taipei trumps Singapore
For Singaporeans who think theirs is the best in Asia outside Japan, think again, article in The Edge Singapore.
Dec 30, 2008
......
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]However, the best part about Taipei’s MRT is its frequency. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]According to Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company that runs the system, trains arrive at two to four-minute intervals at peak hours. Off-peak, it is four to seven minutes.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]In reality, it is much more frequent. I know because I’ve timed it. At peak hours, trains come as often as every minute. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]As for off-peak hours? Well, I’ve never had to wait more than three or four minutes. As a result, even during the morning rush hour, the trains are never as packed as they are in Singapore.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]TRTC has won praise not just locally but internationally. It has been ranked No 1 for reliability for four straight years (2004 to 2007), according to the Nova/CoMET International Railway Benchmarking Group (of which Singapore’s SMRT Corp is also part).[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]All this got me wondering just how TRTC is able to deliver such a world-class MRT service. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Perhaps, it doesn’t have to transport as many people as in the crowded Lion City? Perhaps, it’s government-owned and isn’t under pressure to make as much money as possible and can run more trains?[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]So, I pulled up some numbers (see table below). And the broad conclusion is that Taipei proves it is possible to offer a high-quality, high-frequency and affordable MRT service without losing money. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Tracking the MRTs[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Singapore population: 4.6m[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Length of MRT: [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]109.4km[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]No. of MRT stations: [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]66[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]No of MRT lines:[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] five[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Average daily ridership: [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]1.56m[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Average ticket price: [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]S$1.00[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Average trip distance: [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]11.2km[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Total passenger-trip distance[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif](passengers times km traveled) annually: [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]5,714.5km[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Average daily train runs[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]: Just over 1,000[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Taipei population: 5.5m[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Length of MRT: [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]74.7km[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]No. of MRT stations: [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]69[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]No of MRT lines: [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]eight[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Average daily ridership:[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] 1.14m[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Average ticket price: NT21.9 [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif](S$1.00)[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Average trip distance: [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]7.9km[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Total passenger-trip distance[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif](passengers times km traveled) annually: [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]3,298.9km[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Average daily train runs[/FONT]: 2,171
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]It also suggests that certain services, such as public transport, tend to function optimally as natural monopolies and ought not to be owned by companies that seek to maximise profits.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Let’s look first at the one common element between the two: the cost of taking a train. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Average ticket prices in Singapore and Taipei are about $1. This is pretty low by international[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]standards, as anyone who has had the misfortune to take the London Underground knows.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Singapore and Taipei are also pretty dense cities, but the latter packs more folks (5.5m of them) into a smaller area (272 sq km). In comparison, Singapore is home to 4.6m residents spread over some 692 sq km.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]As such, in terms of coverage, Singapore’s network of five MRT lines is more extensive, totalling 109.4km, versus TRTC’s 74.4km network. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]However, TRTC has more stations on its smaller network, which means less distance between stations and greater convenience for commuters.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]More trains in Taipei[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Just how many people take the MRT each day? In 2007, Singapore’s MRT moved an average of 1.56 million people a day. That’s just over a third more than what TRTC transported last year. [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]So yes, TRTC’s network is smaller and it moves fewer people, which is one reason it feels les crowded.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]However, what is illuminating is the difference in frequency. Last year, TRTC made an average of 2,171 train runs a day. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]SMRT clocked in at just over 1,000 a day for its fiscal year ended March 2008. This is not strictly an apples-with-apples comparison. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]SMRT’s system is older, has heavier loads and travels further than TRTC’s — factors which play role in how often trains can be run. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The comparison also doesn’t include data from SBS Transit, which runs the North- East Line. But, as SMRT accounts for more than four fifths of total MRT ridership, it is fairly representative of the whole picture.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif].......[/FONT]


[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]SMRT more profitable[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Still, it’s safe to assume that its bumped-up frequency continues to lag TRTC’s. And this, to an extent, is reflected in SMRT’s bottom-line, which is much heftier than TRTC’s. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]In FY2008, SMRT’s rail operations saw revenue of $436.9m. Earnings before interest and tax was $129.3m. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]In comparison, TRTC saw approximately $415 million in fare revenue in 2007 and just $41.3m in pre-tax profit.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]TRTC is 73.75% owned by the Taipei City Government. The Ministry of Transportation and Communications owns a further 17.14% while the Taipei County Government owns 8.75%. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Clearly, public-listed SMRT’s returns on its rail operations are far better for its shareholders than TRTC’s. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]However, TRTC — which has been profitable every year except its first two — is better for its[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]commuters, who have been inspired to pen a poem or two in praise of their well-regarded metro.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif](Sunita Sue Leng, previously an associate editor at The Edge Singapore, is now based in Taipei and writes on Greater China issues).[/FONT]