TODAYonline

More muscle for council

Neo Chai Chin

chaichin@mediacorp.com.sg

WHILE commuters will have to wait till next month for its verdict on public transport operators’ proposed fare hikes, the Public Transport Council (PTC) has meanwhile been given more muscle to make changes to the system.

This includes the power to initiate fare changes for the public bus and rail system, reallocate revenue among the operators, and punish errant players with fines of up to $100,000. Parliament yesterday approved the changes to the Public Transport Act.

All this, so that Singapore can “realise the vision of a more people-centred transport system”, said Transport Minister Raymond Lim in Parliament yesterday.

The changes will enable the “development of a more integrated public transport system by introducing distance-based throughfares” — a key element of the PTC’s recommendations in July, that will see transfer penalties phased out.

Four in 10 commuters make at least one transfer daily. For some MPs, however, their more immediate concerns involved the upcoming fare hikes — and whether it was fair that single-trip commuters would bear the brunt.

Asked Mr Cedric Foo, who chairs the Government Parliamentary Committee on Transport: “Would the majority 6 in 10 commuters that make direct journeys today be made to bear the burden of the removal of transfer penalties, and if so, does the Ministry of Transport have any plans to ease such a burden?”

Throughfares, he noted, could result in higher ridership for the public transport operators, resulting in a positive “overall net effect” for them.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan, MP for Marine Parade GRC, was concerned that commuters would have to “share” the operators’ loss of revenue from higher transfer rebates in the throughfares system, and hoped that would not be the case.

Minister Lim said as both commuters and operators benefit from throughfares, both should bear the cost — with exact details to be worked out by the PTC.

But he referred to PTC chairman Gerard Ee’s assurance last month that a one-per-cent increase or less was possible.

In all, seven MPs debated the changes to the Act in a 70-minute-long discussion, raising issues such as the need for greater public consultation in fare reviews, and how much profit was fair for operators.

Nominated MP Siew Kum Hong sought clarification on a seemingly “counter-intuitive” clause in the Bill, prohibiting certain persons from charging fares lower than those approved by the PTC.

Minister Lim said it would apply primarily to premium bus services operating only during peak hours, to prevent them from cannibalising the customer base of normal operators, which run full-day services.

Better feeder services, please

Mr Ong Kian Min (Tampines GRC) suggested that a hub-and-spoke public transport system was not ideal for housing estates, and urged that “connectivity between housing board estates” be improved.

For example, some students in his constituency attend schools in Bedok, and have to take a feeder service to Tampines interchange and switch to a trunk service to Bedok interchange, before taking another feeder service to get to school.

Urging for more convenient feeder routes, Mr Ong added: “I am also not convinced why feeder services should ply in a loop around the hub.”

Earlier during question time in the House, the subject of feeder buses also arose, with MP Josephine Teo (Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC) asking: With Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) cordons affecting some heartlanders, should the frequency of feeder bus services in such housing estates be ramped up ahead of other estates?

Senior Minister of State for Transport and Finance Lim Hwee Hua replied: “I think the ERP system covers most parts of Singapore, if not all parts of Singapore. It will be difficult to assign priority to certain areas.”

All heartlanders will see more frequent feeder services from this month, when 85 per cent of buses must run at headways of no more than 10 minutes. By next August, the proportion will go up to 90 per cent.

Ms Teo and fellow MP Dr Lim Wee Kiak (Sembawang GRC) also asked how the Park and Ride Scheme (PRS) could be enhanced.

Mrs Lim said 31.3 per cent of PRS lots are being utilised, but the take-up rate differed from area to area.