Public transport fares, service and profits

A vandal broke in to a MRT depot and painted graffiti on a train. The vandalism was not noticed by the employees for some time, until a video was posted on Youtube by a passenger. What does this tell us?

SMRT has cut down its employees to be bare minimum to reduce cost and improve profits. It would have been better if SMRT had employed more people and show a smaller (but still healthy profit). This will create jobs for more people to provide better security and improve customer service. They should also run more trains to reduce the congestion and waiting time.

These actions can be taken without increasing the fares, as SMRT is showing a healthy profit. The Public Transport Council has to be more vigilent in moniting the fares, level of service and profits of our bus and train operators.

This is an example of the failure of the unregulated market in getting the right outcome for the country.

Tan Kin Lian