Public Transport Fare hikes in October

[netuser]

http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_257696.html


<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class="padlrt8 blue verdana10" vAlign=center>July 15, 2008</TD><TD class="padlrt8 blue verdana10" vAlign=center align=right>

</TD></TR><TR><TD class=padlrt8 colSpan=2><!-- headline one : start -->Just one cent - that's the likely average fare hike <!-- headline one : end -->
</TD></TR><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 bold" colSpan=2>Transport Council chief gives assurance that increase will be kept well below 3% cap</TD></TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Christopher Tan, Senior Correspondent
</TD></TR><TR><TD class="georgia11 padcell8" colSpan=2><!-- more than 7 paragraphs --><TABLE class=padl8 width=154 align=right border=0 valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD><!-- AdSpace STI Free Article Tag --><SCRIPT language=JavaScript1.1 src="http://ads.asia1.com.sg/js.ng/site=tsti&sec=STI_Free&mcat1=lnews&cat2=STI_Free_art&size=300X250"> </SCRIPT><!-- Sniffer Code for Flash version=40 --><SCRIPT language=VBScript> on error resume next ShockMode = ( IsObject(CreateObject("ShockwaveFlash.ShockwaveFlash.4")))if ( ShockMode <= 0 ) then ShockMode = (IsObject(CreateObject("ShockwaveFlash.ShockwaveFlash.5")))if ( ShockMode <= 0 ) then ShockMode = (IsObject(CreateObject("ShockwaveFlash.ShockwaveFlash.6")))</SCRIPT><NOEMBED></NOEMBED><NOSCRIPT></NOSCRIPT><NOSCRIPT></NOSCRIPT><!-- /AdSpace STI Free Article Tag -->
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- story content : start -->BUS and train fares may rise by no more than 1 per cent even though this year's fare adjustment formula allows for a jump of up to 3 per cent.

That means fares on average could rise by one cent, the lowest in memory.

If fares had been allowed to go up by 3 per cent, the increase could have been between four and five cents.
Public Transport Council (PTC) chairman Gerard Ee said: 'The PTC would like to give the assurance that it will not turn a blind eye to a range of cost increases commuters have been facing.'

He added that the PTC was persuading public transport operators to shoulder part of the costs of removing the transfer penalty.

This 'penalty' is the extra amount paid by a commuter who transfers from bus to bus, bus to train or train to bus, compared to someone taking a direct service over the same distance.
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Four in 10 commuters now make transfers, each of which adds around 35 cents to the cost.
Mr Ee, calling this year a 'challenge' for the PTC, said that if it worked 'carefully', fare increases could be expected 'to be below last year's cap of 1.8 per cent'.
Last year's fare increase cap pushed bus fares up by two cents.

'And there's a possibility that we can keep it within 1 per cent,' he said.

He added that some commuters could even end up paying less for their overall transport expenses.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Intelligent Transport Systems Asia-Pacific Forum & Exhibition at Suntec City, Mr Ee said: 'Our aim is to make sure that the greater majority of commuters will gain from the adjustment.'
Transport operators in turn will enjoy an increase in ridership as public transport becomes more attractive, so 'they should have something to be happy about too', he said.

Even so, he reckoned that 'commuters will love us, and the
public transport operators will throw sticks at us'.
Mr Seah Kian Peng, who sits on the Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport, welcomed the news.

'Given the current environment, the lower the increase, the better. For the commuting public, the sums do add up because for them, what choice do they have?
'Whatever the quantum of increase, public transport operators must ensure that this translates to a better travel experience for commuters. If not, whether it is 1 or 3 per cent, commuters would be far from satisfied.'
National University of Singapore transport researcher Lee Der-Horng said raising the fares by the maximum allowable 3 per cent would send out a 'contradicting message, which is 'Please use public transport, but we'd like you to pay more''.

At the event, Transport Minister Raymond Lim defended the move to put up new electronic road-pricing gantries along the Singapore River.

Responding to feedback that they were hitting businesses, he said: 'The alternative of not doing this will actually be worse...If it's congested, people won't come into that area. The alternative does not make it any better.' The three-day regional forum is hosted by Singapore, which is hoping to host the international equivalent scheduled for 2013. [email protected]
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Hi Brudder! Thanks for your post about the recent news event.

Though I do agree with you that 1 cent is negligible, however, public transport is originated to provide a service to its nation and people rather than to make a big profit out of it. Please let me know if I am wrong.

 

[Boss_555]

It's reasoning like this that I no longer enjoy NDP

NDP ticket in the black market can cost $400 each ticket!:(

 

[55cents]

NDP ticket in the black market can cost $400 each ticket!:(

I am sure FT won't mind getting it at $400.

 

[Boss_555]

12 MRT stations for Bukit Timah by 2015

180,000 rides expected on the underground line

A DOZEN new MRT stations will come up in the Bukit Timah area as part of Stage 2 of the Downtown Line.

They will serve several schools such as Singapore Chinese Girls' School, National Junior College, Hwa Chong Institution, Nanyang Girls' High, Raffles Girls' Primary, and Assumption English School.

This phase, to be completed by 2015, will give Bukit Timah residents access to trains for the first time. They are now served only by buses.

The stations will also serve the Toh Yi and Bukit Panjang Housing Board estates, and take commuters to shopping malls such as Serene Centre, Beauty World and Ten Mile Junction.

The Downtown Line is being built in three stages and will have 40 stations, with trains running from the north-

western and eastern areas of Singapore to the Central Business District and Marina Bay.

RELATED LINKS WHERE THE STATIONS ARE DETAILED MAPS OF DOWNTOWN LINE STATIONS Stage 2 will intersect other MRT lines at Little India, Newton and the Botanic Gardens.

Details of this phase were announced yesterday. This section spans 16.6km, from Rochor in the south to Bukit Panjang in the north.

Taking the train is expected to shave travelling time from Bukit Panjang to Marina Bay by almost half an hour.

Major construction on the line is expected to start in the middle of next year, and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said very little land acquisition will be needed.

LTA deputy chief executive Lim Bok Ngam said builders will face new challenges.

For one thing, the area's rocky soil, unlike the marine clay encountered in most previous lines, is hard, so tunnel boring will be slower.

The all-underground line will also go under the Rochor Canal, which will have to be diverted during construction.

The line is expected to be well used, said LTA chief executive Yam Ah Mee. He expects it to account for 180,000 rides a day - more than a third of the $12billion Downtown Line's anticipated total ridership of 500,000.

Besides giving Bukit Timah residents quicker access to the city, the line will bring another benefit: The values of their properties are expected to rise.

Jones Lang LaSalle's head of research (South-east Asia) Chua Yang Liang said: 'Typically, properties within walking distance of MRT stations would see an enhancement in value.'

But Mr Nicholas Mak, director of research and consultancy at Knight Frank, said the completion date is a long way off. In that time, 'the economy and financial market will have a stronger effect on property prices'.

Stage 1 of the Downtown Line is a 4.3km stretch with six stations. It will be completed in 2013. Stage 3, spanning 19.1km with 15 stops, will be ready by 2016.

When the line is completed, a commuter can travel from Bukit Panjang to Tampines in 65 minutes.

 

[Lestat]

Any increment, should be seen with an increased service provided. I, for one, do not really approve on the fare hikes. But think of it this way.

The way to fight inflation is either through war or increased spending. What better way to increase spending, than to raise prices? :(

If fare increment = better quality service, I'm all for it.

 

[KHS05]

Any increment, should be seen with an increased service provided. I, for one, do not really approve on the fare hikes. But think of it this way.

The way to fight inflation is either through war or increased spending. What better way to increase spending, than to raise prices? :(

If fare increment = better quality service, I'm all for it.

There is only this few operators, so what if the service is bad.... Unless ur willing to walk of cycle to work.

 

[123456787654321]

There will always be fare hikes, it's just a matter of how much.

 

[ConyuConhee]

fare hikes long overdue
when will they announce the next hike???
shares prices of both companies damn depressing leh ...
buy? sell? hold?