Public | Transport

There seems to be a disconnect between the public and the transport system in Singapore. Since my earlier blog entry about the transport woes in Singapore, where it was reported 26,600 passengers were affected in the Circle Line downtime, SMRT has repeatedly appeared in the news especially the past week, here's a quick compilation:

1. After 10 years, the Circle Line now fully opened on Oct 8 (Sat). However by Oct 13 (Thu), it was reported that unexpected demand creates human jams at Circle Line where higher-than-expected ridership during peak hours at the newly opened Circle Line caught train operator SMRT by surprise.

2. On Oct 13 (Thu), it was reported that Thai teen to ask SMRT for S$4m in compensation. Nitcharee Peneakchanasak who lost both her legs in a train accident at Ang Mo Kio MRT station in April will be asking SMRT for at least S$4 million in compensation.

3. 6,500 MRT commuters affected by train breakdown on Oct 14 (Fri) afternoon, resulting in a human jam at Tanjong Pagar MRT station, where fare gates had to be temporarily closed due to the platforms becoming congested with commuters unable to board a train.

4. Oct 18 (Tue), SMRT fined $200,000 for Bishan depot security breach for an incident that happened earlier this year on Aug 17, when graffiti was found on a northbound MRT train. SMRT had been previously fined $50,000 for a similar incident that took place in May 2010 at its Changi facility. The fine collected will be donated to the Public Transport Fund to help needy families with transport fares.

It is apparent from above that SMRT's service standards is appalling and has continually dropped. It seems that fines may not be the solution as it's possible that the burden of higher operating costs may be passed on to passengers in the form of higher fares. Being a public transport provider, which means there's practically no alternatives, it is no wonder that the people in Singapore are turning to the government to step in and clear up the mess.