|
HERE is some good news for public transport users whose journeys involve transfers: Travel expenses will shrink from the fourth quarter.
A new system that calculates fares according to distance, regardless of the number of transfers involved, is being phased in.
It will help cut transport bills for four in 10 commuters who have to make such journeys now. But for the remaining six who take direct services, higher fares are likely.
Currently, commuters whose journeys involve transfers pay base fares - starting fares of around 60 cents - each time they hop from one bus to another bus, bus to rail, or rail to bus. Although they are given a 25-cent rebate every time they switch, this is not enough to offset the cost of base fares.
As a result, they may pay as much as 50 per cent more than those who take a direct service over the same distance.
Relief is on the way soon. The Ministry of Transport (MoT) will increase the rebate to close the gap between the two types of journeys.
This will be done in two stages. The first is expected in October, and the second by the same time next year. By then, the cost of direct journeys and trips with transfers will cost the same. Details will come later.
On why commuters who take direct trips would have to pay more, a ministry spokesman said there are costs involved in restructuring, and this ought to be shared by both commuters and transport operators.
'Both sides will benefit with the new fare structure,' he said. 'Commuters as a whole will pay less, and operators can expect higher ridership.'
The restructuring, the most comprehensive one in recent memory, is one of several initiatives being rolled out to make public transport more attractive.
It was announced by the MoT yesterday, and coincided with the Public Transport Council's (PTC) statement that it will cap fare increases this year at 3 per cent. The cap is higher than the 1.8 per cent ceiling set for 2007, despite a revision to the formula used to calculate it.
Essentially, the revision allows commuters to have a bigger share of operators' cumulative productivity gains. In other words, cost savings are passed on to commuters more generously.
However, this year, the other components in the formula - inflation and wages - went up, raising the ceiling.
The chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport, MP Cedric Foo, yesterday described the new formula as 'a move in the right direction'.
He noted that if the productivity factor had not changed, the cap would have been 4.2 per cent.
The PTC, which determines fare adjustments, will decide on an increase only after receiving applications from transport operators SBS Transit and SMRT Corp.
Any fare changes will kick in on Oct 1.
The council said growing ridership - which is expected to boost revenue significantly - will be a factor in its decision.
PTC chairman Gerard Ee said the council will also consider 'structural changes to the fare system' in the new distance-based regime.
Bus route changes may be required as well, to minimise the impact of the distance-based fare structure on, say, the often winding nature of feeder services.
Mr Foo said he hopes that the PTC will once again examine the financial returns of the operators.
'Public transport companies should perform like bonds. Risks are lower, so yields should be lower,' he said. 'We'd like to see more of the transfer rebate given to commuters.'
christan@sph.com.sg
|
