WAKE  UP  the Idea ? ? ? ?

dIstance-based ? ? ? ?

tIme-based ? ? ? ?

make cLear  decIsIOn ? ? ? ?

fOr GOD and gOOdness sake ? ? ? ?

IntegrIty ? ? ? ?

Fare system misnomer

Letter from Stephen Tan Heng Chua

I READ with interest the story on fare anomalies on our public transport system “Circle Line fare anomalies?” (Aug 13).

Going by the Public Transport Council’s (PTC) explanation, the “distanced-based fare system” seems to have become a misnomer overnight, with the revelation that on the Circle Line, travelling time is also taken into account when charging commuters.

I cannot fathom the rationale behind such a policy, as common sense tells us the shortest route need not necessarily be the fastest and vice-versa.

Commuting utilises both tangible and intangible resources — fuel/electricity (for operating motor vehicles, and trains) and time (a resource managed and “owned” by the traveller).

Is it fair that commuters be penalised under this new charging system should they decide to take the shortest route, albeit not the fastest?

Shouldn’t commuters be charged purely according to the distance travelled, translated from the amount of resources utilised while being carried on the transport system?

After all, the PTC calls it a DiSTANCE-based fare system.

The TIME taken to complete a journey is irrelevant, belongs to the commuter, and is up to him/her to save or squander.

Circle Line fare anomalies?

Circle Line fare anomalies?

 

SINGAPORE: It is a fare conundrum [MAN-MADE] that has caused some train commuters to wonder if they are being overcharged [MAN-MADE]:

Why are Circle Line fares not based on distance travelled?

WaLK  the tAlk  ????    iNTEGRiTY  ????

For instance, the Circle Line fare from Bishan to Paya Lebar is $1.45, which is the cost of travelling via the longer North—South and East—West lines. Measured on Government website onemap.sg, the distance via the Circle Line is about 7.4km, which should cost $1.40.

Other commuters have noticed similar anomalies on the North East Line. The fare from Kembangan to Chinatown, for instance, is based on the 11.9km travelled from Kembangan to Outram Park on the East—West line, then onward to Chinatown. But commuter H J Tan, 38, said it should be based on the shorter 11—km Kembangan—City Hall—Dhoby Ghaut—Chinatown route.

Responding to MediaCorp’s queries, the Public Transport Council (PTC) revealed on Thursday that travelling time — and not just distance — is also used to charge train commuters under Singapore’s distance—based fares system.

"The general fare—setting principle for MRT lines is to charge for the distance travelled based on the fastest route," a council spokesman said. "This takes into account the walking and waiting time required if a switch to another rail line is involved."

So, the North East Line anomaly is because the fare is based on the "fastest travel route via a transfer at Outram Park", which requires a single transfer compared to the shorter route, which requires two transfers.

The Circle Line situation is more complex: Basing fares on North—South—East—West rates results in some commuters paying more, but "the majority of affected customers paying lower fare", said PTC.

Bishan and Paya Lebar stations are interchange stations, and how fares are set between these two stations affect any travel along this stretch.

When travelling from Ang Mo Kio to Aljunied, for instance, the fastest route is via a transfer at City Hall. In this case, the North—South—East—West fares are also cheaper. But PTC did not give the estimated proportion of commuters who benefit from lower fares.

Commuter Mr Tan wondered, though, if the current system is "rather arbitrary since transfer times fluctuate".

PTC said it would continue to "harmonise fares" as new rail lines are opened.

A first step could be to have uniform fares across all rail lines [whIchever is the LEAST  for GOD & GOODNESS SAKE ?], suggested Government Parliamentary Committee (Transport) chairman Lim Wee Kiak. Currently, North East Line and Circle Line fares are higher than for the North—South—East—West lines.

Dr Lim has filed a question for Parliament’s session on Monday on whether any study has been done to see if two—thirds of commuters benefit from distance—based fares, which kicked in July 3. "It seems there are a lot more people complaining about their fares going up," he said.

But he believes a distance—based system is equitable. "The issue is how you execute it," he said. —

TODAY

More than 300 train trips added for the Games

SINGAPORE

For the opening ceremony on Saturday, close to 200 train trips will be added along the North-South, East-West and Circle Lines after 10pm to shorten waiting time, SMRT said.

Train services will also be extended that day, with the last north-bound, eastbound and west-bound trains leaving City Hall MRT Station at 1.30am.

The last trains towards Dhoby Ghaut and Marymount on the Circle Line will be adjusted accordingly, to allow commuters to make their transfers at Bishan interchange station.

Likewise, the last Bukit Panjang LRT trains will be adjusted to allow commuters to make their transfers from Choa Chu Kang MRT Station.

For the closing ceremony on Aug 26, more than 100 train trips will be added on the North-South, East-West and Circle Lines after 9.30pm.— More than 300 train trips will be added on Aug 14 and Aug 26 — the opening and closing ceremonies of the Youth Olympic Games — for spectators and participants to get home after the events.

Disruptions for NTU students, staff

Students and staff at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) are seeing disruptions to their daily routine, as their campus houses the Youth Olympic Village.

Security is tight — only vehicles with labels are allowed in, and the entrance along Jalan Bahar and the nearby round-about have been cordoned off. Bus services have also been affected.

But staff and students have taken this in their stride. With some car parks closed, they now park off-campus, and use shuttle buses to reach NTU. Staff also start work later at about 10.30am or work from home.

As it is still vacation time, NTU expects disruptions to be minimal.

Chairman of the NTU-YOG steering committee Anthony Teo said: “This is not a custom built facility, we are running a university. Although it is a privilege for us to have the Village, it is within the constraints of existing facilities.”

The next academic year has also been pushed back by a week and will start on Aug 30.

Hetty Musfirah

# # # #

Circle Line fare anomalies?

Rates set to benefit most commuters: Public Transport Council

Neo Chai Chin and Leong Wee Keat

chaichin@mediacorp.com.sg

SINGAPORE

For instance, the Circle Line fare from Bishan to Paya Lebar is $1.45, which is the cost of travelling via the longer North-South and East-West lines. Measured on Government website

Other commuters have noticed similar anomalies on the North East Line. The fare from Kembangan to Chinatown, for instance, is based on the 11.9km travelled from Kembangan to Outram Park on the East-West line, then onward to Chinatown. But commuter H J Tan, 38, said it should be based on the shorter 11-km Kembangan-City Hall-Dhoby Ghaut-Chinatown route.

Responding to MediaCorp’s queries, the Public Transport Council (PTC) revealed yesterday that travelling time — and not just distance — is also used to charge train commuters under Singapore’s distance-based fares system.

“The general fare-setting principle for MRT lines is to charge for the distance travelled based on the fastest route,” a council spokesman said. “This takes into account the walking and waiting time required if a switch to another rail line is involved.”

So, the North East Line anomaly is because the fare is based on the “fastest travel route via a transfer at Outram Park”, which requires a single transfer compared to the shorter route, which requires two transfers.

The Circle Line situation is more complex: Basing fares on North-South-East-West rates results in some commuters paying more, but “the majority of affected customers paying lower fare”, said PTC.

Bishan and Paya Lebar stations are interchange stations, and how fares are set between these two stations affect any travel along this stretch.

When travelling from Ang Mo Kio to Aljunied, for instance, the fastest route is via a transfer at City Hall.

In this case, the North-South-East-West fares are also cheaper. But PTC did not give the estimated proportion of commuters who benefit from lower fares.

Commuter Mr Tan wondered, though, if the current system is “rather arbitrary since transfer times fluctuate”.

PTC said it would continue to “harmonise fares” as new rail lines are opened.

A first step could be to have uniform fares across all rail lines, suggested Government Parliamentary Committee (Transport) chairman Lim Wee Kiak. Currently, North East Line and Circle Line fares are higher than for the North-South-East-West lines.

Dr Lim has filed a question for Parliament’s session on Monday on whether any study has been done to see if two-thirds of commuters benefit from distancebased fares, which kicked in July 3. “It seems there are a lot more people complaining about their fares going up,” he said.

But he believes a distance-based system is equitable.

“The issue is how you execute it,” he said.— It is a fare conundrum that has caused some train commuters to wonder if they are being overcharged: Why are Circle Line fares not based on distance travelled?onemap.sg, the distance via the Circle Line is about 7.4km, which should cost $1.40.

Making sense of the numbers Actual train fares versus how much they would cost via the Circle Line.

ORIGIN DESTINATION ADULT FARE VIA CITY HALL

Bishan Paya Lebar $1.45 ($1.40 via CCL )

Bishan Aljunied $1.37 ($1.46 via CCL )

Source: PTC

How are bus, train delays reported?

Letter from Bryan Ong

LAST Monday, at about 7.15pm, I was among the many commuters at Raffles Place who had to shove our way on board the train in the direction of Yishun. I realised that it was so crowded as trains were arriving at a frequency of about four minutes, although it was still peak hour.

The train continued to pack in more commuters gathered at City Hall, Dhoby Ghaut and Somerset. There was barely enough standing space anywhere inside the cabin, contrary to SMRT’s claims that commuters like to crowd the area around the doors. At Orchard Station, many commuters were left stranded, unable to board.

The above episode comes after several recently reported disruptions, including an incident last month in which all 800 passengers on a train were asked to disembarked after sparks were seen coming from its undercarriage.

Apart from these woes with MRT trains, I would also like to add that the Friday before, at around 5.40pm, I had to wait at Suntec for 40 minutes for bus service No 36.

The Public Transport Council’s yearly review of SMRT and SBS Transit service levels seem to paint a glowing picture of their compliance with the PTC’s standards, although anecdotal evidence suggests there are numerous SBS services that perpetually see overcrowding and delays during peak hours, among them Services 14, 16, 21, 60 and 66.

SBS Transit and SMRT continue to emphasise that service disruption rates are still below the threshold set by the Land Transport Authority, and that the delays are a result of traffic congestion. Yet here I faced service disruptions during both the morning and evening peak hours, on consecutive working days.

In this regard, I would like to ask the LTA and the PTC:

Are all train and bus service disruptions reported to the authorities?

What qualifies as a service disruption warranting a report to the authorities?

A train delay of five minutes may appear inconsequential, but given the massive overcrowding thatalways arises from these disruptions, it is a veritable nightmare for commuters.

How do the LTA and PTC independently ensure the public transport operators report all service disruptions?

How do they monitor the daily bus delays?

Finally, the PTC stated in its Press Release on Public Transport Customer Satisfaction Survey 2009 Results that the introduction of the Circle Line (CCL) would alleviate overcrowding on the existing train lines.

What do the figures so far show?

Based on my experience since the CCL started operation, I have seen little evidence of the new line having the desired results.

they must use differnet  colour  card.   So one tap, they pay double.  SMRT will issue cards according to height and weight.   hahahah!

So, where will all the cars go?

With many HD B households owning more than one car, better planning is needed

T

The doubling of the charges from $2 a night to $4 will affect 1,308 car parks islandwide, or more than 65 per cent of the 1,810 HDB car parks and about 9 per cent of the 784 URA car parks.

Obviously, car owners are parking at these lots because they have few other places to go to. Many have applied for season parking but due to the limited lots available, have not been successful. (By the way, although I am an HDB dweller, I do not contribute to any car park congestion as I do not even hold a driving licence.)

The night parking scheme (NPS) was introduced in 1976 to cater to short-term visitors of HDB flats, and allows for cars to be parked in these lots from 10.30pm to 7am. “The scheme was implemented in car parks where there were adequate parking spaces to meet season parking needs,” a joint statement said.

The obvious solution to the problem is, of course, to build more car parks to meet the increased demand from car owners.

But a look at the HDB’s annual report for  2008-2009 showed that the number of car lots at its car parks fell from 557,855 to 557,799 units.

Although the decrease was by a mere 56 lots, the question is, at a time when one should be providing even more lots, why was this allowed to happen?

Poor planning appears to be the main culprit. Situations like this, like the need to keep up with increased demand for HDB flats, are eroding Singapore’s reputation for good planning and efficiency.he decision by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) and the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) to increase night parking charges appears to be another attempt to close the stable door after the horse has bolted — or in this, case after the cars have come in.

Conrad Raj