Here's the insing,com story on how you can acquire this piece of paper. Got signature, even...
http://news.insing.com/tabloid/smrt-hands-out-late-excuse-chit-for-stranded-commuters/id-73423f00
This SMRT innovation resulted from yet another rush-hour train delay this morning; in this case, along the Circle Line. But I find this picture of the lingering crowd troubling:
One lesson -- from a security perspective -- that should have been learnt from last December's massive train delays is to quickly clear people from underground stations and out into the open. Commuters themselves too should act on their own initiative. Don't be blur like sotong!
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Housing and public transport are arguably the unremitting hot-button issues for Singaporeans. I felt that TODAY reader Chua Soo Kiat has penned a very cogent letter (TODAY, 18 April, page 18):
Transport, housing are worlds apart
With the Committee of Inquiry into the recent train breakdowns now under way, it is important to take stock of two burning issues from last year: Housing and public transport.
Since the General Election, the Government has responded swiftly to deal with these issues, and the new ministers appointed to these portfolios have reacted responsibly. However, the fate of the two issues could not be more different.
In housing, due to the aggressive supply of public flats, the outcry over a housing shortage, especially for young Singaporeans, has subsided.
After the public voiced concern over prices of Design, Build and Sell Scheme flats, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan suspended new land sales under the scheme.
In transport, unfortunately, there have been more problems, chiefly the series of Mass Rapid Transit breakdowns hardly seen in the past. As for taxis, there was a fare increase led by the dominant player, which led to concerns over seeming anti-competitive behaviour.
Recently, the public had to accept that the Government will be pumping more money into the purchase of buses, while SMRT and SBS Transit continue to pay dividends to shareholders despite their service problems.
It is no comfort that Certificate of Entitlement prices are nearing all-time highs, limiting most Singaporeans to public transport, no matter the reliability.
The situation will improve when more projects such as the North-South Expressway, new rail lines and more buses come on stream.
I sense, though, that the current public transport woes are partly due to conflicting interests and unclear accountabilities of the various stakeholders. For example, there are several bodies, namely the Transport Ministry, the Land Transport Authority (LTA), the Public Transport Council and the respective managements at ComfortDelGro, SBS Transit and SMRT, making transport decisions.
Thus, while Mr Khaw can order the Housing and Development Board (HDB) to build more flats, the Transport Minister is unable to order the transport companies to do as much because of pushback from the companies, who must consider shareholder interest.
So, while the public follows the inquiry, for instance, into whose duty it is to maintain rail "claws", let us not lose sight of a bigger issue: Whether a private supplier of public transport is the most efficient and cost-effective way ahead.
If the HDB can deliver world-class service to Singaporeans, there is no reason why the LTA cannot. If cost recovery is an issue, we could implement tier-pricing for citizens and non-citizens, with the Government subsidising some operations as it is already doing now.
Let us avoid the situation where gains are seen to be privatised, that is, through dividends, while costs are socialised through government infusion of capital, falling service levels and decreased productivity due to train/bus faults.
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Meanwhile, Certificates of Entitlement (COEs) for cars have shot up again. As I have blogged previously, we kiasu Singaporeans are such suckers and only the resource-rich car dealers (which can bid high) and the banks happily dishing out car loans, are benefiting. We, the consumers, will also be the poorer for choice, as some brands will exit the market here due to poor sales.
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