And It Does NOT Cost Anyone A Single
Cent!
By MIKOspace
In the Year of the Goat, the best “ang pow” for
Singaporeans, especially for the millions who commute daily by public transport,
is the revocation of the 2015 public transport fare increase announced to take
effect from April 2015. And the most
innovative element of this “ang pow” is that not only would it not cost the
government a single cent, it puts money back into the commuters’ pockets AND also
saves public transport operators (PTO) the S$7.5 million needed to subsidise
the needy in order to make the “affordable” new fares truly “affordable”. This is nothing less than a win-win situation
for the government, the commuting public and the PTOs.
The Case for no public
transport fare increase is the strongest yet for 2015, the Year of The Benevolent
and Compassionate Goat (or Sheep).
Public Transport Companies are Highly
Profitable and Economically Viable
Both PTOs, SMRT and ComfortDelgro, are expecting bumper windfall
profits in their current closing financial year 2014-2015, and into the next
financial year 2015-2016, according to DBS Bank and OCBC Bank analysts.
Global oil prices have dropped by more than 50% in the
last 6 months and would fall further in 2015 and not expected to recover much
over the next few years. Gas prices have begun to follow the decline and the
costs of grid electricity generation by our gas-power power stations would
reduce even further. Public transports especially buses and taxis would have
their fuel bills greatly reduced. The fuel costs of MRT trains, mostly using
grid electricity, should also fall according.
In end-January 2015, SMRT in fact announces its financial
results for 3Q15 (Oct-Dec 2014), showing a 6.8% revenue increase to $313.2
million, and that all its business segments performed better than the previous
year. Accordingly, SMRT net
profit also increased by 58.4% $22.5 million, as staff costs, the largest
expense component, remained flat and electricity and diesel costs decreased.
The April 2015
transport fare increase would have added
another $27 million to SMRT revenue without any quid pro quo benefits to
commuters by way of significant
improvements in train punctuality, over-crowdedness, lesser breakdowns and
customer service. Of critical importance is the fact that even WITHOUT the
fare increase, SMRT would still enjoy unprecedented economic viability and
profitability.
The other PTO, ComfortDelgro, also enjoys similar
increases in ridership and oil price reductions, among other variables, to make
it one of the most profitable public transport company on the Singapore Stock
Exchange, never mind that two-third of its revenue come from its overseas
units.
2015 Inflation
Good News
According to a report by DBS, inflation forecast for 2015
has been cut sharply to 0.4% from a previous expectation of 1.7%. Public transportation is weighted at 3.66%
among the “basket of goods and services” considered by the inflation
computation formula. It means that
without the April 2015 public transport fare hike of 2.8%, the already low expected
inflation rate of 0.4% could be driven even lower to 0.38%! This is a further bonus to Singaporeans across
the board throughout the economy.
Would the Year of
the Goat usher Singaporeans into a new epoch of bliss and prosperity with a
win-win “ang pow” by revoking the 2015 public transport fare hike?
It would take the wisdom and courage in the great Servant
Leadership personality of the Goat (or Sheep) to give the people the enhanced
economic satisfaction in this revocation act without having to spent a single
cent of public fund while doing it.
See also:
5 comments:
Revoke 2015 Transport Fares Increases?
ROFL.
If you vote PAP, that means you support PAP policies including transport fare increases.
And 60% Singaporeans say they support.
I m a bus driver and my friend is a Smrt train driver. We are Singaporeans. I need to go bus station to cover a shift duty soon. What you said is very disapoointing, our salary depend on the fare increase. My company also spend a lot of money on training and equipments for safety. So that you all can travel safely. A bit you all complain send videos to newspaper but it is not easy. Everything needs money. Now we do checks on things no need check last time, change spare parts. Everything goes up but you want my salary to go down. You just sit down and complain everyday. You are a unfeeling idiot.
Lim
The English educated people are more poisoners than the Chinese educated. They never suffer hard life before. They see company make money, jealous, but not see tarsnport fare increase is so little only,after so many years stagnant. company also need to keep some money for repairs and pay salary.
Lim
Salaries increases are part and parcel of business costs. Not for the public to pay you. Afterall the company is making profits and not for shares holders dividends Public transportation should not be a commercial entity and should be an insitiutionalsed necessity for its citizens.
WHAT TRAINING YOU TALKING?? Present day bus drivers braked and start so hard that the old folks had to rock and roll in your buses daily.
Fearful many will end up in hospitals. What safety???
Because of their poor vision of allowing so many refugees into the island that had the poor
commuters gasping for breath in the buses during peak hours that now you have many buses overlapping each other trying to save the situation
Now bus fares Increases is to recover costs of getting these extra buses running.
Many of them now runs empty one after another in succession incurring loses.
THIS LIU IS USELESS. .
Everywhere, when the gov and their cronies are losing monies (e.g. fx losses), they will replenish these losses by screwing up their own sheepies.
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