Be forthright with Singapore’s state of public transport

I refer to the 14 Jul 2014 Straits Times letter “Be appreciative of Singapore’s good public transport system” by Ms Gina Ng.

Ms Ng wants those who complain about MRT delays or breakdowns to consider MRT’s 25 years of faithful good service and not take it for granted. But MRT delays, congestion and breakdowns have persisted for nearly three years already. It is not a one off delay or breakdown that Singaporeans can understand. How long must the delays or breakdowns persist before Ms Ng would agree to complain? 25 years?

Ms Ng points to more buses being added to shorten peak hour waiting time. But what is the point of adding more buses when the roads are jammed during peak hours?

Ms Ng cites her visitor friend often praising our public transport for its efficiency and convenience. Can Ms Ng also share where her friend comes from? Taipei or Timbuktu?

Ms Ng praises Singapore trains as affordable, takes you anywhere and equipped with air conditioning. But the recent public transport study by Credo gives Singapore a lowly score of only 3 out of 10 for public transport affordability and 4 out of 10 for network density. The table below shows that when these two factors are considered, Singapore ranks lowly amongst First World cities.

Ms Ng postulates that Singapore complainers have not experienced worse transport systems in other cities. But most First World cities have transport systems comparable to or better than ours. Is Ms Ng referring to worse transport systems in Third World countries? What’s the point of comparing with Third World countries? Do Singaporeans deserve Third World transport systems? If we do, then what’s the point of paying million dollar minister salaries and enduring their constant self praise?

Ms Ng urges Singaporeans to appreciate and not take our transport system for granted. It is Ms Ng who should appreciate the situation as it is and not take Singaporeans’ good will for granted.

Thank you

Ng Kok Lim

Straits Times, Be appreciative of Singapore’s good public transport system, 14 Jul 2014

MANY Singaporeans use public transport daily. With a range of different MRT train lines and bus services available, travelling has been made easy for us.

Many changes have also been made to improve our transport system, such as shortening the average waiting time during peak hours by increasing the frequency of trains and buses.

However, many people still take our public transport system for granted. For example, when there are delays with MRT trains or bus services, people start to complain. And in the event of a train breakdown, people often show their unhappiness by posting negative comments on social media.

The MRT system has been serving us for the past 27 years, and only in recent years has it started to show signs of its age, with breakdowns and delays. Those who complain about the system often ignore the fact that it had been serving us perfectly for the past 25 years!

Our bus services have also improved over the years. Buses are either replaced or upgraded every few years. Most buses in Singapore are wheelchair-friendly, making it more convenient for those with disabilities to travel about. Buses here also have air-conditioning, and more buses have been added to facilitate the large number of users here, shortening the waiting time during peak hours.

My friends who visit Singapore often praise our public transport system for its efficiency and convenience. It is affordable and the trains take you just about anywhere, and every new train station is equipped with air-conditioning.

It could be that Singaporeans have not experienced the high costs and the inconvenience of less well-maintained transport systems in other cities, and so they fail to appreciate our local system.

Singaporeans should not take things for granted, and should be more appreciative of our transport system.

Gina Ng Hui Li (Ms)