Singapore's Public Transport.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
finally, the post on Singapore's public transport.previously, the singapore government has said that in order to reduce congestion on the roads, it hopes to have an efficient public transport system to encourage people to take public transport rather than drive.
has LTA managed to do that? let's take a closer look.
Buses
i wonder how many of you out there have spent more than 20min waiting for a bus, only to see the bus fully packed when it finally comes. frustrating, isn't it?
i personally have come across an incident which is unforgiveable.
i was waiting for bus service 174 at boon lay bus interchange, and guess how long i waited. 10minutes should be the norm, 15 was still alright. but i waited for 30minutes. at the interchange??!!?? i wanted to lash vulgarities at the bus driver when i boarded the bus. really.
if you are a frequent bus rider, you will realise that there are certain buses which are a hell difficult to wait for, while some others come every other 5 minutes, with most of them empty.
the irony is, SMRT and SBS both claim that they allocate buses according to their demand. so why are there buses which are always full and almost impossible to board?
in addition to that, one of the reasons it takes so long for a bus to arrive is because of the speed that the bus travels. traffic aside, some buses drive at a PATHETIC speed. if you alight and run, you prob reach earlier than your bus did. and so, the next bus that leaves the interchange will soon catch up, and you have a situation where 2 or 3 buses arrive together after a long long wait.
my opinion is, buses should depart the interchange at a frequency of 10 minutes, nothing more. and, other than the unavoidable reason of traffic, buses should move at an average speed of 50km/h at highways or expressways. remember, public transport is not about just meeting the demand, it is about providing a service that brings convenience to everyone. so SMRT and SBS, shut the crap about meeting demand.
MRT
i'm sure most singaporeans have taken the MRT before. its supposed to be one of the most efficient in the world. but is it so?
there are basically a few problems with the MRT. i will address them one by one.
1. Frequency is too long.
the average frequency of MRT in Singapore during peak hours is 3-5minutes, non peak hours is 5-8 minutes. (i have waited for as long as 10minutes before.)
every morning, thousands of people rely on the MRT to get to work. people will rush into the MRT so as to get into it. Others may find it rude, but you cant blame these people entirely. the MRT only comes every 3-5minutes, and the crowd gets larger and larger everytime one MRT leaves. and if you happen to take a MRT at about 7plus in the morning, its almost impossible to board sometimes.
the exact same thing happens when people knock off.
what about non-peak hours then? is the situation better?
unfortunately not.
you may be surprised to find out that sometimes, the MRT equally as crowded during non-peak hours as compared to peak hours. the reason is simple. the MRT takes far too long to come! and by 8 full minutes, the MRT is usually packed, and you will have to squeeze to get in.
imagine squeezing into an MRT at 11pm?
people have wrote into the forum reflecting about this problem, but what SMRT has said is that they have always been monitoring demand, and the MRTs that they send out if enough to meet the demand. they blame it on the passengers, saying that they don't move inside the cabin. (at peak hours, and when MRTs are packed, they do actually.)
so, its demand again?
in case you don't know, subways at other places like China and Hongkong arrive at a frequency of about 1-3minutes, regardless of the time. so, waiting for another train to arrive after you missed one is not at all a chore.
you see, Singapore's SMRT and SBS are overly profit driven. they already have the infrastructure there for them, all they need to do is to keep their pockets open for money to roll in. they don't care about the passengers, all they want is money, money, money.
best way out: follow hongkong's way. MRT arrives every 1-3minutes, regardless of the time.
fullstop.
and before they start comparing with other countries which are not as good, i have one word of advice:
don't compare with those which are worse off and say that we are better; compare with those which are better and say that we are best.
2. Air-con not working
this may apply to the buses as well.
i remember coming across a letter written to the forum, saying that the MRT's air-conditioning is not working. the reply from SMRT was hilarious: thermistor not sensitive.
for goodness, get a more sensitive one!
you mean you earn so much money from us, and yet you are not willing to get a better thermistor?
buses or MRT alike, there are some which are so cold that you can freeze inside; there are some which are so hot you sweat like you are in a sauna.
just a simple thing of getting a better thermistor, and setting a temperature of about 25deg, is it that difficult?
some first world country we are.
(taxis coming up in next post...)