Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Just Another Fare Hike Exercise

The arrant knave of a Transport Minister, Lui Tuck Yew, should have waited 2 to 3 weeks before opening his big mouth. On January 10, 2014 he boasted that rail commuters can expect trains to arrive more frequently as the number of delays across the network has come down. The number of delays lasting more than 10 minutes dropped from 51 in 2012 to 36 last year, but there were 8 disruptions lasting more than 30 minutes last year, the same as in 2012.

On the very next day, January 11, SMRT was given a galloping kick in the butt into the new year with a 1 1/2 hour disruption between the Kranji and Yew Tee MRT stations. Initially the blame for the 12.30 pm breakdown of the North-South Line (NSL) was a euphemistic "loss of traction", which could mean anything from a drive component failure or outright engine seizure. Turns out it was just another cable fault, not unlike the 4 1/2 disruption of the Circle Line on 18 December 2013. That power trip was due to a cable allegedly damaged by a Land Transport Authority (LTA) contractor during a scheduled power cable replacement exercise. SMRT did not say who the contractor was, the finger pointing was strictly one-way traffic. Then the new Downtown Line (DTL) was disrupted on Friday 27 Dec, the second time DTL service was down after its official opening on 21 December 2013 by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Operator SBS Transit fingered a little girl for activating the China made detrainment door device.

None of the above performance shortcomings seem to be factored in when Lui decided on a fare hike to be announced on Thursday. Instead, he actually helped create excuses for the operators' claims of higher operating costs, one example being the "revised penalty framework for train operators". And then there is the additional annual fee payable to the LTA, to "step up our regulatory oversight," something someone obviously overlooked during umpteen years of train operations. SMRT Corp, which bears the brunt of the fee rises, inadvertently let the cat out of the bag with this statement: "These regulatory costs are part of the higher costs that public transport operators have to bear."

Why wait 2 to 3 days for the big announcement on Thursday when the foul deed is already done? Perhaps they are testing the waters with the diversionary concession schemes for the low-income workers and persons with disabilities. If the electorate is as daft as the Old Man once said, they might, once again, get away by robbing Peter to pay Paul.

22 comments:

  1. Same old tactics. Decide first. Then wayang about consultation, deliberations by committees of proven uselessness, etc. Echoes of the PWP. Treat the citizens as morons at their peril come 2016.

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    Replies
    1. 60% of the citizens really r morons and assholes what. What can u do abt it?

      Delete
    2. They "recruit" new assholes by the shiploads every year. These A holes end up overwhelming and snuffing out the born-and-bred citizens at a faster rate than the awakening of sleeping yes-men.

      Great tight slaps are in order to waken these mindless fools.

      Delete
  2. In a casino the house wins all of the time..

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    Replies
    1. Does it matter when we are perceived to be the next iceland? AT least those poor citizens get to go back and be fishermen. What will Singaporeans do?

      http://www.forbes.com/sites/jessecolombo/2014/01/13/why-singapores-economy-is-heading-for-an-iceland-style-meltdown/

      Delete
    2. 60% of them can continue to earn their keeps being prostitutee for the PAP

      Delete
  3. Is it true?
    Fare hikes are salary increase for SMRT management?
    Fare hikes for this type of train service?

    Then our Medishield insurance premium increase is next.
    What's the higher premium for?
    It's not as if we will get a hospital bed if we fall sick anyway.

    VOTE THEM OUT GE 2016!

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  4. The problem is we continue to vote them in. Imagine we have 40% of MPs from Parliament, this will not happen. Fare hike? You must be kidding. But for now, PAP does not care. They know Sinkies forget very fast. No one will remember in the next GE. Throw them some sweets, lagi forgetful.

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  5. I understand Lui Tuck Yew reads all these "nice" reports from MRT, LTA etc...

    But are those reports actual factual and verifiable reports which can be re-vet or re-check with truely independent auditors?

    Or beause of the money to be made all around...just the usual wayang and BSING all the way again...

    And how much the people of Singapore are paying Lui Tuck Yew and the PAP gov't again by the way...?

    Nuts!

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  6. Shouldn't the pay of the senior executives of SMRT be docked to pay for fines or penalties, or at least the dividends paid out slashed, instead of using it as an excuse to raise fares by citing these as extra operating costs? So commuters are penalised for SMRT management lapses and incompetency. Heads I win, tails you lose? I guess Temasek Holdings and it's CEO must get it's pound of flesh.

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  7. http://readtherightthing.wordpress.com/2014/01/14/straits-times-whitewashes-criticisms-of-minister-expected-fare-hike/

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  8. Classic good news, bad news ploy. A PR ruse.

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  9. In China, after the local private police lock up the village girl turned prostitutes in re-education jails without trial, the girls are made to work for free for factories set up by CPC cronies for at least 6 months. And before the grils are released, their families have to pay RMB600 for the "full boarding" in the jails.

    Similarly in the red dot, the more breakdowns by any the GLC oligopolies like SMRT, SBS, LTA, telcos etc, the more fines the garmen collects, which are pre-paid upfront by the commuters thru higher fares!

    Reduced to its simplest form, the CPC and PAP are really mobsters practising racketeering - whatever cock-ups, the sheeple will end up getting it shaft up their backside.

    At least in China the sheeple have the excuse that they don't get to vote. Says a lot about the masochistic tendencies of the majority, or the majority have all become brainless scarecrows.

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  10. Well, our honourable MPs supported this increase of fares mah....So did you vote for them...well..this is what we deserved for voting for them...

    So vote wisely...comes GE2016.

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  11. My bet is, the next GE will be in 2015, not long after the 50th year celebration, thus, expect more Pay & Pay this year... fast & furious if you will!

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  12. SMRT got fined. SBS got fined. These are majority owned by GLCs but those fines go direct to the Govt while the minority shareholders like you & me bears the cost through less dividends. Meanwhile these companies increase their fares because of increased costs. Then the Govt approve the fare increases. Commuters are screwed left, right & centre everytime there is a cock-up.

    Meanwhile, the Govt & the public transport companies are both happy with the fines as someone else is definitely paying for them, not the Ministers or the CEOs. The vicious cycle continues, PAP guaranteed.

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    Replies
    1. Is this true?
      One big happy famiLee?
      Is this our finest hour in Crony capitalism ?

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    2. Cock-ups? In the real corporate world, heads will roll. Without any accountability, how do you expect service quality to improve? The irony is that this Government is all out to ensure that the public transport companies are profitable, by fare hikes, subsidies and monopolies; and the management and shareholders, especially Temasek Holdings (and it's CEO), are laughing all the way to the bank, while the commuters bear with the costs and poor service.

      This is called privatising profits and socialising the costs. Meritocracy PAP style. We call this nepotism and cronyism if practised by our neighbours. Better load up on SMRT shares as it is proof against bad performance and recession.

      Delete
  13. The CEO of Temasek is picked by a panel based on her merits, according to the PM. We are supposed to believe that the panel is too dumb to play I-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine? Or that they appoint each other among themselves to lucrative sinecures such that many prefer not to be ministers as it is less lucrative?

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  14. Regarding the fare discounts, announced by Lui Tuck Yew, for low income workers (LIW) and persons with disabilities (PWD): "These two concession schemes will be fully funded by the Government."

    In other words these come from taxpayers, not from the public transport operators (PTO). So why the fare hike? So the public is double screwed - pay for these concessions AND whacked with a fare increase. Uniquely PAP Singapore.

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    Replies
    1. Exactly how many will qualify as the LWI earners and PWD to be beneficiaries of these schemes ?

      In the event of surplus taxes collected than disbursements, where will these be chsnnelled?

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  15. Face it the PTOs are owned by the government and the CEOs and directors are appointed by PAP.

    PAP had been feeding their incompetent cronies with public money and it is for the people to wake up. Those who voted for PAP in GE2011 had to see for themselves if this kind of policies is what they want for their old age and their children.

    Don't be such a daft idiot because of a paper 'assets enhancement' or a promise of an upgrade to you ward. They will take back ten times from you after ward.

    ReplyDelete