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Be ready to pay for better public transport

I commend the Public Transport Council for doing a good job of improving the public transport experience.

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Chris Ng Yi Hao

I commend the Public Transport Council for doing a good job of improving the public transport experience.

Its recent suggestions for making public transport more accessible and comfortable have positive implications for the future of commuting in Singapore (“‘Jerky’ driving and public transport concerns are flagged”; Aug 1, online).

We Singaporeans should, however, take responsibility for our demands and not push them to the Government. Commuters often complain about the unreliability and discomforts of public transport, but if we expect better services, we should be prepared to pay more.

The problem does not lie in mismanagement but stems from our negative attitude towards rising fares. Improvements in service quality would result in higher operational costs, but many of us are unwilling to fork out the money.

These upgrades include providing more accessibility, better infrastructure and more reliable services. One of the suggestions was to train cabbies so that wheelchair users can enjoy better access to taxi services, which translates into higher costs.

Next, many of us take sheltered walkways for granted, and thus we now feel the need for high overhanging ceilings that prevent passengers from getting wet on rainy days even from the bus stop to the bus.

To minimise service breakdowns, maintenance work must be frequent enough and of good quality, which means cost increments.

There is no such thing as a free lunch, and commuters should not end up complaining about the fare increases, which may result in wasted time and resources.

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