Why are trains faster in Paris, Tokyo, HK?

[R4g3]

http://www.asiaone.com/Travel/News/Story/A1Story20090425-137450.html

I WAS fortunate enough to travel with my wife to Paris, Tokyo and Hong Kong in the past three months. The public transport systems in these cities seem far more impressive than Singapore's.

Subway trains in Paris arrive at intervals of between 90 and 105 seconds. Those in Tokyo and Hong Kong arrive at two- to 21/2-minute intervals. In Singapore, the peak period train interval is four minutes. Most of the time, it is six minutes.

The Paris and Tokyo train systems are much bigger and older than Singapore's, yet they have a higher frequency of arrivals.

Our taxi price structure is confusing. I live in Potong Pasir and work in Raffles Place. I occasionally travel to work by taxi, boarding at 5.45am to 6am, either calling for one or hailing one in the street. The fare for the same 15-minute journey ranges from $8.50 to $16.50.

The list of surcharges and midnight charges is mind-boggling. I do not even bother trying to take a taxi home from my office because the fare would include Electronic Road Pricing charges and other confusing surcharges.

In Hong Kong, you can get a taxi anywhere, and the fee is based on the meter regardless of the time. If you call for a cab, you get a 20 per cent discount. So you know approximately how much it would take to travel from point A to point B at any time.

The authorities should study how our public transport system compares against those in these three cities.

Just because we have been living with our current transport system does not mean it is acceptable. If I had not travelled to these cities, I would have thought our public transport system acceptable if not good.

Nicholas Joshua Law

That's the result of a monopoly market?

 

[JinGanKor]

dont think i need to go oversea to know the problems we have.

 

[Leongsam]

That's the result of a monopoly market?

It has nothing to do with a monopoly market. It's because Sinkies aren't as good as their foreign counterparts when it comes to things that matter.

Sinkies are only good at talking cock!

 

[borom]

That's the result of a monopoly market?

Agree, and also lack of accountability and transparency.
If not how can our Ministers give themselves the highest salary in the world without the performance to match.

 

[desperateuk]

Our MRT tracks are made of cheap cement and cheap metals, can not withstand the weight of two trains at a distance of 100 metres apart on the same track especially for those elevated stations, so longer waiting time even during peak is expected, does that answer ur q??hehe

 

[johnny333]

It has nothing to do with a monopoly market. It's because Sinkies aren't as good as their foreign counterparts when it comes to things that matter.

Sinkies are only good at talking cock!

With the PAP its ALWAYS about dollars & cents. Spore Inc come first & not Spore the country

Why run more frequent trains when they can pack more sardines into fewer trains.

 

[singveld]

With the PAP its ALWAYS about dollars & cents. Spore Inc come first & not Spore the country

Why run more frequent trains when they can pack more sardines into fewer trains.

exactly, it cost less therfore more profitable. they are running it as a business.
coe and road tax, car tax take and give nothing.

 

[Cestbon]

HK train and TAXI are cheaper and more efficient that useless SMRT/SBS and TAXI which are more expensive and slower. No surcharge for TAXI in HK anytime of the day. And fare are more tranparency not like TAXI in Singapore so many charges and confusing.

 

[SamuelStalin]

That's the result of a monopoly market?

Yeah the local transport system leaves much to be desired. Just learnt of the 35% afternoon taxi surcharge recently last year that shocked me as well, that I thought was ridiculous. Gotta thank the driver for patiently explaining the payment system to me.

 

[SamuelStalin]

If all these like you people say goes on then the Spornland might turn out to be like 90s socialist China where people largely used bicycles in lieu of cars

I'm sure they'd do something about the prices and efficiency to prevent such a thing from ever happening.

That's the result of a monopoly market?

HK train and TAXI are cheaper and more efficient that useless SMRT/SBS and TAXI which are more expensive and slower. No surcharge for TAXI in HK anytime of the day. And fare are more tranparency not like TAXI in Singapore so many charges and confusing.