[h=2]Poll shows commuters overwhelmingly reject Lui’s idea to raise fares[/h]
December 8th, 2012 |
Author: Editorial
Minister Lui
In a media poll of 325 commuters yesterday (7 Dec), 92% of respondents are opposed to the idea thrown up by Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew (‘Lui: Fare increases next year will factor in pay increases of bus drivers‘) who suggested to raise public transport fares so as to help increase bus drivers’ pay.
Lui said, “Any fare adjustment will allow the two operators to have more resources in time to come to make further salary adjustments. We recognise that the drivers need to be paid more.”
He then asked, “Question is where is that money coming from?”
Lui’s remarks came in the wake of last week’s SMRT PRC bus driver strike, a first in 26 years of strike-free environment in Singapore.
The media interviewed several people. Most were adamant that the cost be borne by the transport operators themselves.
Undergraduate Frank Poh, said, “It is ridiculous that the Government pays partially for infrastructure, the public pays for the pay rise – bearing in mind the operational profit is in the hundreds of millions of dollars – then what about the company?”
Agreeing, restaurant manager Kamal Bashyal said, “If the companies are not making profits, then it is fine to increase bus fares, but they make so much money.”
Supermarket cashier Jenny Wong also echoed, “This is unreasonable. When they make profits, do they pass them on to commuters as discounts in fares? Why don’t they use the profits to increase the salaries of drivers?”
Among the suggestions respondents have made:
Ex-SMRT CEO Saw Phaik Hwa was reported to have earned $1.7 million a year in salary, 70-80 times the salary of a typical bus driver in SMRT. And the 2 top shareholders controlling our 2 transport companies are none other than Temasek Holdings and Singapore Labour Foundation (i.e, NTUC).
Operating profits of Singapore transport operators in the last 10 years:
Looking at the ever-increasing obscene profits made by the transport companies, and Lui still dared to suggest squeezing more money from the man in the street by increasing transport fares?
Even academics like NUS transport researcher Lee Der-Horng can’t agree with Lui’s suggestion too. He pointed out that the goal in privatising public transport was for the companies to run the service efficiently and profitably. “When they claim that fare revenue is not enough to cover their costs, I would have to disagree with that,” he said.
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In a media poll of 325 commuters yesterday (7 Dec), 92% of respondents are opposed to the idea thrown up by Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew (‘Lui: Fare increases next year will factor in pay increases of bus drivers‘) who suggested to raise public transport fares so as to help increase bus drivers’ pay.
Lui said, “Any fare adjustment will allow the two operators to have more resources in time to come to make further salary adjustments. We recognise that the drivers need to be paid more.”
He then asked, “Question is where is that money coming from?”
Lui’s remarks came in the wake of last week’s SMRT PRC bus driver strike, a first in 26 years of strike-free environment in Singapore.
The media interviewed several people. Most were adamant that the cost be borne by the transport operators themselves.
Undergraduate Frank Poh, said, “It is ridiculous that the Government pays partially for infrastructure, the public pays for the pay rise – bearing in mind the operational profit is in the hundreds of millions of dollars – then what about the company?”
Agreeing, restaurant manager Kamal Bashyal said, “If the companies are not making profits, then it is fine to increase bus fares, but they make so much money.”
Supermarket cashier Jenny Wong also echoed, “This is unreasonable. When they make profits, do they pass them on to commuters as discounts in fares? Why don’t they use the profits to increase the salaries of drivers?”
Among the suggestions respondents have made:
- cut the bonus of top executives of the two public transport operators
- require the operators SMRT and SBS Transit to use profits to pay the drivers more
- have the Government subsidise the increase in wages
Ex-SMRT CEO Saw Phaik Hwa was reported to have earned $1.7 million a year in salary, 70-80 times the salary of a typical bus driver in SMRT. And the 2 top shareholders controlling our 2 transport companies are none other than Temasek Holdings and Singapore Labour Foundation (i.e, NTUC).
Operating profits of Singapore transport operators in the last 10 years:
Looking at the ever-increasing obscene profits made by the transport companies, and Lui still dared to suggest squeezing more money from the man in the street by increasing transport fares?
Even academics like NUS transport researcher Lee Der-Horng can’t agree with Lui’s suggestion too. He pointed out that the goal in privatising public transport was for the companies to run the service efficiently and profitably. “When they claim that fare revenue is not enough to cover their costs, I would have to disagree with that,” he said.
.
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