I have no doubt that the Land Transport Authority and the public transport operators work hard on improving efficiency and reducing costs as much as possible.

But one source of revenue seems to be constantly overlooked: advertising spaces on the walls of MRT stations.

Subway stations nearly everywhere else in the world, including many European cities, Japan and Hong Kong, cover nearly every available inch of wall space in advertising. I would think this generates substantial revenue for operators.

Yet in Singapore, advertising spots are spaced far apart, and many of them are even blank. I am sure MRT operators can look into this and try harder to market the spaces with a rental rate that will spur demand. After that, they can increase the number and coverage of such advertising spaces.

Properly curated, advertising posters add to the vibrancy of the cityscape. The additional revenue would also help to ameliorate the pressure to further increase train fares in the future.

Joe Chua Cheok Kwang