Questions to ask your PAP MP

[True Believer]

Ask your MP who is a minister:

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Forum: New options for booking ride-hailing services do not serve parents well​

Dec 09, 2024

I refer to the article “Ride-hailing passengers can now request child seats, extra boot space for wheelchairs” (Dec 4).

As my wife and I are safety-conscious, we take pains to install car seats for our children (a two-year-old and a three-month-old) as much as possible in taxis and private-hire vehicles (PHVs).

This normally takes about five to 10 minutes before each trip, but we have decided to do this even at the risk of being charged the waiting time.

I do not intend to use any of the so-called new services because they do not serve parents at all. There are numerous reasons.

First, they are all more expensive. It beggars belief that the ride-hailing options have chosen to charge more for providing a booster seat for a child. Only toddlers and older children are catered for and infants are not. For a simple 10km ride, one can expect to pay $2 more.

Second, they are not always available. One has to endure longer booking times.

We have sought to travel with our own car seats because the booking time is a big issue.


Third, safety. Research has shown that rear-facing seats are far safer for toddlers. A simple booster seat is not the way to go.

The law is also complicated. Taxis are allowed to ferry children without a car seat but PHVs are not allowed to.

It is legally possible for a taxi to take six children. Yet there are no taxis with six seat belts. One wonders how this legal option can play out in reality.

PHV drivers have long complained about this imbalance. With more PHVs than taxis now, it is time to relook this.

Overall, since I became a parent, I have found the public transport experience for those with children disappointing.

I sympathise with those who argue that there should be a separate certificate of entitlement category for people with young children or family members with a disability.

Tan Yee Kiat

 

[True Believer]

Please ask Malaysian-born PAP MP, Janil Arusha Puthucheary why he has not served full-time NS.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Forum: How is public transport access determined for older estates?​

Mar 13, 2025, 05:00 AM

I live in the Seletar Hills estate, which is over 60 years old, with many residents in their 70s or 80s. I relocated here 15 years ago and recall it took over three years for a service 50 bus route (Ang Mo Kio and Bishan) to be started for us.

When I read the article “5 new bus services to ply Kent Ridge, Hougang, Boon Lay, Ang Mo Kio, Bishan, Mayflower areas” (March 10), I wondered how providing public transportation access to Singapore estates is determined, in particular for older estates comprising ageing communities.

The authorities have said demand for new bus services has to be monitored before a decision is made. Meanwhile, to get to Buangkok MRT station, the nearest one to our estate, residents have to take two buses.

David Wong Yeng Kin

 

[True Believer]

Forum: How is public transport access determined for older estates?
I live in the Seletar Hills estate, which is over 60 years old, with many residents in their 70s or 80s. I relocated here 15 years ago and recall it took over three years for a service 50 bus route (Ang Mo Kio and Bishan) to be started for us. When I read the article “5 new bus services to ply Kent Ridge, Hougang, Boon Lay, Ang Mo Kio, Bishan, Mayflower areas” (March 10), I wondered how providing public transportation access to Singapore estates is determined, in particular for older estates comprising ageing communities. The authorities have said demand for new bus services has to be monitored before a decision is made. Meanwhile, to get to Buangkok MRT station, the nearest one to our estate, residents have to take two buses.
David Wong Yeng Kin

The PAP does not care about seniors who are no longer taxpayers.