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MRT and the role of LTA policies


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MRT and the role of LTA policies

 

Letter from Toh Beng Guan (TODAY 24Dec2011)

 

The problem is that there are counterproductive policies that have effectively fostered an oligopoly in all modes of transport. This includes the insistence that there be no competing modes of transport to train services.

 

 

WHILE everyone has been berating SMRT Corporation chief executive officer Saw Phaik Hwa and suggesting solutions to the recent train disruptions, we have overlooked the role of the Land Transport Authority. Many other cities with subway trains have alternative means of transport should one line fail, so commuters can still get to their destinations.

 

These alternatives may not be optimal, but they run regularly; unlike backup buses called upon in a rail disruption, there are no problems of unfamiliarity with the routes for both drivers and commuters. Whereas with the Mass Rapid Transit, we have put all the eggs in one basket, which means it has to be 99.99 per cent reliable.

 

To make matters worse, we have accepted a slow recovery time when things go wrong. But 30 minutes to put buses into operation is unacceptable.

 

Ms Saw was tasked to find other means of revenue, to reduce the need for fare increases to fund investment and profits. In that sense, she has done well. The problem is that there are counterproductive policies that have effectively fostered an oligopoly in all modes of transport. This includes the insistence that there be no competing modes of transport to train services.

 

In Hong Kong, for example, there are minibuses, taxis, bus services and even the Kowloon train service. In contrast, when the Light Rail Transit was launched, some feeder bus services plying the same routes were removed. The LRT was packed but only recently has there been news of increasing the number of carriages.

 

This follows other LTA policy failures over the years, such as failure to keep Certificate of Entitlement supply in recent years in tandem with growth of the road network.

 

Now, COE supply is being drastically reduced. There is an inordinate reliance on Electronic Road Pricing to control traffic flow. Look at the cost of travelling to town via the Central Expressway and how ridiculous it was to pay ERP to go home even as late as 10.30pm. Now, the ERP operates until 8pm.

 

There was a failure to provide alternative expressways to the CTE for the new estates in the north/north-east. Only recently did we have the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway, and the North-South Expressway is being planned now.

 

The LTA has also insisted on not allowing cab drivers to be independent operators. Have the taxi complaints gone down in tandem with the reduction in Yellow Top taxis? Is outsourcing the policing of driver behaviour to companies proving effective?

 

 

 

 

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About 10 years ago or so, the relevant authority or was it PTC? called for a rationalisation of public transport assets. In an effort to avoid avoid cannibalising operator(s) profits, redundant services were removed. I especially sympathise with CCK residents who were forced to put up with the shitty LRT. When i was stationed in Stagmont Camp, the residents of Teck Whye had to depend on trunk bus services as a form of feeder bus. 10 years on, the venerable MRT is on the verge of reaching its maximum loading but where is the relook on bring those "redundant" bus services back?

 

How many times do we have to see the authorities adopt a reactive stance rather than being proactive? useless pos.

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