Elect The News
So what’s new? The STI soared past the 3000 mark, the economy is roaring ahead with numbers that are supposed to make us feel good. How much of that good news is going to translate into more money in the pockets of ordinary folks like you and me? Anyone who has been around long enough to find life getting tougher year after year will know that the big picture is only for the big guys.
For those little guys like us who take the bus and MT, bus fares will go up 2 cents to 71 cents. For train fares, it is up 3 cents to either 71 cents or 76 cents. But “transfer penalties” will be removed and because of that commuters who make transfers when they travel will save some money. The plain facts are:
1. Bus and trains fares will go up.
2. Some commuters used to be fortunate enough to make a single trip to their destination without transfers.
3. Some commuters have no choice but to make transfers because of the way the bus and train routes are fixed.
Strangely, we read about such things in the news: “Depending on the decision, you can save money or you can end up paying a bit more, but for the benefit of faster travelling time,” said PTC chairman Gerard Ee.
Let’s leave the scholarly language aside. But what did Mr Ee mean by “Depending on the decision”?. How often does one make the decision to transfer from bus to train, train to bus, bus to bus to save money?
Who on earth would choose to make multiple time-consuming transfers if he can get a nice window seat from the start to the end of his journey? In practical terms, those who have no choice but to live with the inconvenience of transfers will now pay less for their inconvenience. The lucky ones who have direct services now have to pay more for their convenience. Passengers don’t win. The unlucky ones who still need to transfer have nothing to cheer about.
But even more confounding, are the headlines that say: Public transport fares to go down by 2.5% . If I had written an essay like that for my General Paper, I’m sure I would have failed. Our journalists seem to be trying to pass a very different kind of examination.
Finally, let’s observe a minute’s silence for a final year dental student who jumped to her death from a flat at Telok Blangah. Wait a minute. is one minute of silence good enough? Or should we either maintain silence forever or twist the headlines on issues that don’t look too good on a report card.
