The Moley Prophet

The M5 sucks luh. Lose by so much. Only caught up when the RS4 got stuck.

Transitlink: 

Dear Mr Leong

Please refer to your email through Public Transport Council (PTC) and Ministry of Education (MOE) regarding the above.

Allow us to share that full-time matriculated undergraduates/diploma students from approved tertiary institutions and who are neither sponsored by nor receiving an allowance from an organisation are eligible for the Tertiary Student ez-link card.

We have carefully reviewed your request and sincerely regret that we are unable to accede to your request.

In Singapore, public bus and train services are provided on a commercial basis.  All concessionary fares are effectively cross-subsidized by full-fare paying commuters. Thus, we have to exercise prudence in granting further travel concession beyond the present eligible groups, so as to avoid any adverse impact on full-fare paying commuters.

We hope the email has shed light on the matter.
Yours sincerely

DAVID SOH
Corporate Communications Supervisor

KY, Grace, Yang, ZZ, RH:

I refer to your reply on 8 August 2006.

From the email by Transitlink, I have come to understand that Transitlink only provides concession to full-time matriculated undergraduates/diploma students. However, what I do not understand is why the Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) is not under the list of approved institutions.

Students at SIM can be as young as 16 years of age, which is also the age at which many others choose to study at either Junior Colleges or Polytechnics. We, as students at SIM, are enrolled here due to the prospect of being able to attain a degree much faster than what our other peers, who chose to study at Junior Colleges or Polytechnics, would take. As Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew mentioned in his interview, “…the younger generation needed to be well educated and connected to different cultures, to survive this brave new world.” (Ramesh, 2005), which I believe means that Singaporeans have to be well educated, preferably in cross-cultural environments. Students studying at SIM agree with his views, and thus some of us at the young age of 16 are already pursuing our degrees. Thus, what would the rational be for Transitlink to disregard us when fellow Singaporeans are being subsidized? What makes us lesser of a typical Singaporean student?

At SIM, we study in the external programs of accredited colleges from around the world. Such as, the State University of New York at Buffalo, University of London and Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. Furthermore, UniSIM has already been recognized as the fourth university in Singapore. Hence, SIM not only has enough credentials, but recognition as well.

In his interview, the Minister Mentor also mentioned, “Where would I want myself to be educated? First, here. I got the network, then where else? Today, I think I will tell my grandson I think you better go to America. It will be the largest single factor in the Pacific for a very long time.” (Ramesh, 2005), which I have come to understand to mean that Singaporeans should put studying at American colleges as a priority, if possible. The SIM-State University of New York at Buffalo program fits into that category perfectly. Furthermore, it allows students like us to study in an American system of education right in our own country with American professors, albeit at rather expensive school fees.

Therefore, I believe that the government should support our decision to study at SIM by providing incentives such as a concession pass, since our school fees have not been subsidized by the government unlike local colleges. On top of that, we are no lesser a Singaporean even when we study under a foreign education system. I urge Transitlink, as a representative for the Public Transport Operators in Singapore to issue the concession to all full-time students studying locally, and include SIM as one of the approve institutions.

I have attached a copy of the interview for your perusal.

Thank You.
Yours Sincerely,
Leong Kaiyan

Guys and girls! I'm currently testing out this widget called meebo me! It's a plugin for meebo, which allows me to chat with people on my blog by logging in to meebo, and you guys can chat here. I don't really think its a good idea. Si bei mafan. But no harm trying out new stuff. So help me by using it for the next few days and I will decide whether to carry on with it. Anyway, watched The Fast and The Furious Tokyo Drift on Sunday. The storyline quite weird, and the guys are crazy. Know what they used for drifting? The chasis from a Ford Mustang GT. The antique one. Its against a Nissan 350Z!! How can it be that the 350Z falls off the cliff but the Mustang remains? Its not just flat on the ground drifting. Its down the mountains! If they use the latest Mustang- which probably can't drift well due to those locked rear axles- it may not flip that easily due to the weight and the lower body, but its the antique one. I tried driving that in a game and it lifts off the ground easily when I turn. Like Wei Yang said, they probably trying to 'hao lian', but don't know what they 'hao lian' about. It's all a show. Everything controlled. Something I like about the show is the opening song. But there are some parts of it I don't like- too draggy and irritating- so I deleted them! And here is the product: -removed-

Comparison to Other Cities
14. Compared to other developed cities like Hong Kong, London and New York City, the average bus fare (S$0.65) and RTS fare (S$0.94) in Singapore are much lower. The findings were lower even after using the purchasing power parity of the cities.

Very funny Mr FRMC. The difference of S$0.01 and you talk so much. Don’t you guys know that people in Hong Kong, US and London buy cars very cheaply. Average car ownership in the United States is 3 per family? You compare what shit. They don’t use public transport as much as us because they own cars! So unless you make cars cheap, I don’t see a reason for comparing these countries.

To the Straits Times Forum, Public Transport Council and Ministry of Education: 

I refer to the article, “SMRT, SBS apply tp raise bus, train fares”. I am currently a student pursuing my degree at Singapore Institute of Management (SIM). It is reported that “there is good news for students, children and those holding concession passes, such as the elderly: Fares for them will remain unchanged”. However, I would like to point out that we, at SIM are not entitled to any concession. While my peers (at 18) who chose to go through the polytechnics or JC route pay 45 cents for a bus ride or buy concession passes, I pay the standard adult fare. And almost every half a year, the fare increases, which adds to my burden for transport fares. 

Although both transport operators have also said that they will use their profits to beef up their fleets, they have not done so everytime they increase the fares. Sometimes, the “Air-Conditioned” buses are even hotter than those which are not, and we have to pay more for them. Also, if the transport operators have not realized this, teenagers at my age are quite tall compared to before. Therefore, we need more leg room, which are not available on the buses. The only seats which I can fit in, are those which are reserved for the elderly. I simply could not enter the others. Bus frequencies are also very bad. Even at peak hours ( 6.00-6.30PM), I have to wait for about 15-20 minutes for bus 52. At the bus stop outside SIM, there is always a bus parked on the side of the road for reasons which are unknown.

For the many reasons listed above, I urge the PTC to not approve of the fare increase or the Ministry of Education to provide concession to SIM students.

The PTC’s reply:

I refer to your email on 2 Aug 06.

Allow us to explain the fare adjustment mechanism adopted by the PTC since 2005. Last year’s fare increase was approved based on the new fare review framework as recommended by the GPC (Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport)-led Fare Review Mechanism Committee (FRMC). The factors and rationale considered by PTC in approving last year’s fare adjustment are consistent with the FRMC’s recommendations. The same mechanism will be adopted for this year. Any fare adjustment approved by the PTC is subject to a cap as determined by the formula: Price Index - 0.3%. Within the fare cap, the PTC could moderate the quantum under extenuating circumstances such as adverse economic conditions and deterioration in affordability. This means that the fare adjustment is not determined by service improvement per se. If you wish to know more about the recommendations of the FRMC, you may refer to the FRMC Report posted on Ministry of Transport’s website at www.mot.gov.sg/policy-land.htm.

Public transport operators are expected to continually improve their services to meet the needs and expectations of their customers. It would be helpful if you could provide specific information to the bus operators directly on bus services that have poor air-conditioning. This way, the operators can attend to them immediately. As for Service 52, we will ask SBS Transit to investigate and reply to you directly. SBS Transit has to ensure that Service 52 complies with the new standards set for basic bus services.
 
On concession fares for SIM students, the public transport operators (PTOs) are allowed to charge any fares lower than the maximum amounts approved by PTC, based on their commercial and social considerations. Given that concession fares are lower than the maximum fares approved by PTC, decisions with regards to concessions, eligibility and pricing structures are made by the PTOs. Hence, matters on concession schemes will have to be dealt with and addressed by the PTOs or Transit Link on their behalf. We will, by copy of this e-mail, ask Transit Link to look into your request on behalf on the PTOs, and to respond to you directly. Thank you for your feedback.

Eddy Goh
for Secretary
Public Transport Council

cc     SBS Transit - please look into the feedback and suggestions given by Mr Leong and reply to him directly. In your reply, please extend a copy to PTC. Thank you.
        Transit Link - please look into the feedback and give a reply to Mr Leong directly. Thank you.

And to follow up:

In your reply dated 3 August 2006, you requested that I inform the Public Transport Operators about the poor air-conditioning on the buses.

However, I believe that the PTC should look into the case as the transport operators are charging fares for air-conditioned buses but providing buses which are not in the state. Since I take service 52 rather often, I did notice that not only the air-conditioners in the buses poor, the doors have a problem closing properly. This leads to foul gases from the roads wafting into the buses especially after a rainy day.

Also, in my previous email, I mentioned that the seats are too cramped for people exceeding 1.77 meters in height. Since my secondary school days, it has remain in its current state. I have not seen any improvements or changes to it except for the MRT styled seats (seats facing each other on both sides of the bus) which causes backaches due to excessive braking and jerking during the journey. Therefore I do not agree that the Public Transport Operators have met the expectations of continuously improving their services to meet the needs and expectations of general public.