In his Facebook page yesterday Lui Tuck Yew, our Minister of Transport, thanked the Public Transport Council as follows,
"I would like to thank the Public Transport Council (PTC) for working on the fare adjustment for 2013. I have no doubt that it was challenging as no fare increase is ever welcomed by commuters.
The PTC has struck a good balance by keeping the fare increase a few notches below the average wage increase in 2013 while enhancing concessions for a significant segment of commuters like the students, especially the Polytechnic students, NSFs, and providing new products like the unlimited travel monthly passes for senior citizens and for other adults. Overall, I believe this will continue to keep public transport affordable for Singaporeans.
This is the first time the Government is funding two fare concession schemes, for low wage workers (LWWs) and persons with disabilities (PWDs) which, from the start, will see close to half a million Singaporeans benefitting. As I had shared earlier, the LWW concessionary fare, with 15% discount off adult fares, will bring their public transport fares to price levels comparable to what they were paying 10 to 15 years ago. PWDs will get even greater discounts, of between 25% and over 50%. And for the general population who need assistance to meet the cost of public transport, we will have available more than twice the number of vouchers that were disbursed in 2011, and make these available all year round.
As these are new schemes, we are working very closely with partner agencies like MSF, MOM and CPF Board to ensure that the application process be made as fuss-free and smooth as possible. I expect we will encounter some hiccups along the way given that we are setting up the infrastructure and processes from scratch, and close to half a million Singaporeans may apply, and hence half a million personalised concession cards will have to be printed and mailed out. I hope that applicants will understand and I assure you we will try our best to get the concession cards to you as quickly as possible. We will provide more details of eligibility, how and when to apply, etc, in the next few weeks.
Once again, my deepest thanks to the PTC for undertaking this difficult assignment."
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Everyone was ranting about the fare hike last night so loud that I could even hear it in Perth, so I visited Tuck Yew's Facebook page to read what he had to say. He thanked the PTC twice, including a deepest one like the deep throat Singaporeans will have to perform for the transport companies from the 6th of April. I couldn't help wondering about the aptitude of Tuck Yew if he considered that assignment a truly difficult one as he claimed it was. It probably explained why he came out to peculiar solutions [read about the hilarious P.L.A.C.E policy] to solve the problems in his constituency.
Minister Lui just reminded me that our public transport fare hikes were pegged to national average wage increment. That meant that so long you have a wage increment, there will be fare hikes. So, smile sweetly at the sulky guy in the morning train. It wouldn't be too difficult to spot who received a pay raise last year and who didn't. Intelligent Singaporeans would understand that under the umbrella of such a wide income disparity in Singapore, the wage increment of a high earner would be the total wage increment of 20 medium wage earners or 100 of low wage earners. By taking a national average wage to peg it with fare hikes, most of us will be paying more than we should in the first place, so I don't buy Tuck Yew's claim that the PTC has kept the most recent fare increase by "a few notches below average wage increase" in 2013. We shouldn't even be paying for the people with astronomical wage increments who don't take public transport in the first place, such as Minister Lui and party members, his banker and high ranking military friends. Fair hike? So how about taking the average wage increase of the demographic who actually takes public transport before we talk about notches, Minister?
Wait a minute, why are we even pegging wage increment to fare hikes? Does that mean SMRT and SBSTransit will receive a higher revenue this year not because of how they perform but how YOU perform at work? I suppose Singaporeans who rant at transport companies all the while for poor services will have to realise they are not the customers, but the workers of SMRT and SBS. Do you still wonder why they don't give a shit about your complains? Smell the coffee and know your place my friends. Work hard and get your pay increments so these folks will get their fare hikes. Fair hike?
Polytechnic students are finally recognised as students and not working adults. It took them half a century to realise that and you wondered why they couldn't spot a limping terrorist. Good news for the poly kias. I am shedding tears of joys for my Alma mater as well as my chao NSFs brothers. Tuck Yew also announced that the Government is funding concession schemes for low wage workers and folks with disabilities, citing half a million of Singaporeans will benefit from that alone. Good on ya, Tuck Yew but wait. It is disturbing to know half a million of Singaporeans fall under the poverty line that the Government stubbornly refused to draw. From the last GE2011, we know there are only slightly more than 2 million Singaporeans today. Half a million of LWWs and PWDs is 25% of us. Is that an alarming percentage? I'll leave you to decide. These 25% would hardly have enough wage increment (in net value) to offset the fare increments and had been overpaying throughout the years before this funding scheme. Fair hike? The Government's late move to provide funding for this group has turned an achievement to a saving grace. Better late than never, I guess.
A Singaporean Son
*The writer blogs at http://asingaporeanson.blogspot/