Although nationalisation may be a dirty word to many these days, I think it is time to revisit its benefits in the wake of the recent transport debacle.

Although the free market has been a boon to the majority, there are some essential services that I think need to be in the public domain. Public transport, especially on a small island like ours, is one of them.

The last few days have been trying for many of us here, with the breakdown of parts of the subway system coming in the wake of higher taxi prices.

And with two security lapses occurring at two MRT train depots within the past two years, the Government has to seriously relook at how our transport system is run.

There is an obvious need for a comprehensive public transport policy that gives greater priority to addressing the needs of the commuter rather than other stakeholders, such as shareholders. What the commuter wants is to be taken to his or her destination in the shortest possible time, at the lowest possible price.

Private companies, like the SMRT and ComfortDelGro, with shareholders to answer to - and therefore motivated by the need to produce ever-increasing profits - just can't or don't seem to be able to do that.

What we need is a single entity - either a statutory board or a state corporation that is completely in charge of Singapore's transport system. While the taxi service could be run separately, perhaps in the manner of the Hong Kong system, it should be regarded as an integral part of our public transport system. It is not as if a taxi takes the place of just one car as it takes multiple riderships on any single day.

The nationalisation concept is not something new. At one time, the Government took control of all our bus companies. And Temasek Holdings still has substantial stakes in SMRT and ComfortDelGro, the two main public transport providers.

With one entity running our rail and bus services, there could be a rationalisation of routes and costly duplication, not only of routes but also of staff, could be avoided.

Any blame for poor or unreliable service could then be directed to just one entity. Pricing can be benchmarked against similar corporations elsewhere.

Each Singaporean will be able to save at least S$100 a year on public transport - based just on the profits in the last financial year of the two companies, S$161 million for SMRT and S$220 million for ComfortDelGro. More savings can come from greater efficiency.

Why should all that money go to a few thousand shareholders when it could result in lower fares for all?

It is not fair that while public funds are used to build the infrastructure, the profits go into the pockets of a relatively few shareholders. In any case, there's no real competition between the two operators as they do not ply identical routes.

And when it comes to apportioning blame, it is sometimes difficult, as the Land Transport Authority (LTA) is responsible for building and owning the infrastructure. SMRT and ComfortDelGro - which lease the infrastructure from the LTA for 30 years - are mere operators of the system and only own the rolling stock, buses and taxis.

So while the two operators are responsible for the maintenance of the system, it becomes a bit murky in terms of responsibility when the fault lies with the infrastructure.

Much of the blame for the recent train problems has been placed on "collector shoes" that pick up electrical power from the third rail and "claws" that keep the third rail stable.

To reduce vibration to surrounding buildings, some sections of the tunnels have been installed with floating slab tracks. If these devices were not working properly, where does the blame lie?

There was also an attempt to push the blame, at least some of it, on increased train frequencies to cater to the rapid rise in population, which was said to have left less time for the train operators to carry out inspections and maintenance.

With one, single entity there can be no passing of the buck. We won't need a Public Transport Council to decide on fares - which should be based on the actual cost of running the system, plus some surplus for a rainy day or for certain stated purposes.

The problem with our two listed companies is that they are often distracted from their main goals in order to increase yields. With SMRT, the main concern was on how to maximise its rental yields from the shops and stalls at the MRT stations.

A Commission of Inquiry is being established. It should not only look into the recent problems but expand its scope to review the entire transport system and come out with something better.

And by the way, imposing fines for the problems caused by the train delays only benefits the Government and not the commuter who had been inconvenienced. Better perhaps to roll back for a period of time the fare increase the operators were recently granted as a penalty.



Conrad Raj is Today's editor-at-large.