Nov 02 2009
Low Kay Hwa wants LTA to stop asking us to take the bus
I was walking along a bus interchange when a banner caught my eyes (apparently, that was the only banner there). It says something like “Take Public Transport, Go Green, Save the Earth”.
So, one morning when you woke up at eight and you are supposed to be in the office by eight-thirty, we should still heed the advice and go green? I mean, who will care about the environment, when the main concern is about making sure that you don’t get a pay cut from being late for work? But seriously, the thought that comes to you should be: The bus is surely going to be too crowded. I won’t be able to get in. I’ll better take the cab.
To be frank, LTA is setting a large goal by aiming to increase the public transport usage to 70% by 2020. Didn’t Brian Tracy, Zig Ziglar and Adam Khoo mention about setting challenging but realistic goal? Oh, they drive.
If I can wait for less than twenty minutes for a bus, and still manage to squeeze into the crowded bus, and reach my destination in one piece, then yes, 70% of the population is willing to sell off their cars and take the bus. But every day, we hear complaints about buses that take forever to come, buses that are too crowded and buses that brake like they are training for the next Formula One race.
So this is just like getting a baby to drink from an empty baby bottle.
From my understanding, if you want me to take the bus, you must at least provide me with a bus that brings me to my destination in time. But is the Government doing enough? Newspapers report that the Public Transport Council fined the two main bus companies for $200 and $500 respectively for being late or overcrowding. I think the bosses in the bus companies should be thinking, “We are fined? That is fine… ”
I have always expected high-ranking executives to be solutions-oriented. Apparently, all the complaints I have seen made to them were slapped with excuses of “unpredictable traffic”. So, what happened to those complaints made in the bus interchange? The buses were unable to move out from the parking lots? And how about the overcrowding issue? COE is too high and bus companies are waiting for COE to drop?
So, stop asking us to take the bus, when you cannot even provide one that works for us. And stop comparing us with other countries. There, the cost of a car is so much lower. If LTA wants to achieve their goal, stop giving us excuses and start planning solutions.
Low Kay Hwa, a twenty-four-year-old novelist who just completed his NS about a month ago, has written seven novels. About 27,000 copies of his books have been sold, with readers from Singapore, Malaysia and Australia. Check out his company’s website at www.goodybooks.com
4 responses so far
I agreed with comments by Low K.H. on LTA. I think ‘graciousness’ is one of the contributing factor – at least in my case. Recently I decided to ‘go green’ on weekends. I dumped my car and headed on foot to Sembawang MRT station. However to my surprise, my ezlink card was invalid. It was years ago since I took public transport so I thought that must be the reason. I went to the information counter for help. I was appalled by the crude response from the SMRT staff. I merely asked for help, not to beg her for a free ride or to be treated like an idiot. I felt like crying then but well, I swear that was the first and the last time I would ever take public transport. I’m hanging on to my wheels now – driving makes me feel secure, at least away from direct contact with rude people. Advice to SMRT staff: Do not assume your riders are familiar with the procedure. There may be some ‘idiots’ (like me) who have lost touch of the public transport system but want to go green for a meaningful cause.
if we were to sit bus all the time and yet the transport fee goes up silently and yet we do not know , what is the difference if we drive or ride a bike or even own a car.
by the way let me ask you all a question how many hours do we drive a day?
and mostly what time.
when is it pack at the bus time and jams are mostly every express way on peak hour.
seen if we increase the frequency if the bus service but if the road and buss are slow due to both people and traffic.
I strongly agree with what Low Kay Hwa was trying to hint.
I want to say that LTA and the government can never and will never improve the bus and train services. They are just building castles in the air. Why? Simple. During peak hours at the bus interchanges and bus stops along the routes – just look at the big crowd of people waiting. You are lucky if you manage to squeeze through. Chances are, you will normally wait for half an hour or so to board the bus service you want. Each bus comes, FULL so you are late for work. The same thing goes with the MRT. I simply find it sickening to wait for public transport. Don’t blame the people for driving cars.
I would like LTA to allow taxis to use the bus lanes without any offences committed. Afterall, they are also called public transport, right? Then LTA should also look at how to make taxis more affordable to the people who want to take them. They have all the brainy people up there so get them to solve the problems.
I agree with LKH about high ranking executives. These executives are normally hired to tell the public “NO” in a nice PR way. They are well paid. They have cars. They take public transport for fun or only when convienient or when they want to do their “research”. Ordinary citizens do not have that luxury. We have to take public transport rain, shine, weekdays, week ends, sick, late, etc.
The main reason why people avoid public transport is the lack of comfort. I am a senior citizen. I wish I can afford a car. But I cannot. So, I have to fight with youngsters and foreigner workers every sunday for a seat on the MRT. I always lose.
SMRT is more concern with its bottom line profit than the comfort of its customers. This is shorted sighted. This ultimately translates to people not using public transport if they can afford not to. Officially, SMRT seemed to had only plegded to provide fast and reliable service. Comfort is out.
SMRT makes an average profit of $40 million every 3 months. Instead of increasingly providing more trains and better services here in Singapore (for the commuters who provided them with the income) they have invested millions in China! SMRT should remain a provider of an essential public service in Singapore and not be distracted. They should not attempt to conqueor the world even if it is a noble objective. That is not their job.
(SMRT, please reply me if I am wrong).
Finally, I wish SMRT could have some seats where, with a swipe with my senior citizen card, a barrier is released to enable old folks to sit. ( I am sure, the executives will say no with excuses like what about pregnant women, disabled etc?)
Thanks for reading my letter.
Wishful senior citizen