SBS Transit

[d.o.g.]

In the parliament debate of population policy, with so many civil servants, doctors, lawyers, bankers around, the only MP that can put across the feelings of Singaporean so well was in fact an engineer - Inderjit Singh.

Strange isn't it.

Zaobao did an exclusive interview with Inderjit recently, an extract is available online at:

http://www.facebook.com/LianheZaobao/pos...9384452235

Inderjit is unusual among the elected MPs because he is an entrepreneur. In other words, he is used to having to fight for a living. So he can understand how SMEs and the man in the street think.

Civil servants have a semi-iron rice bowl, and doctors/lawyers' earnings are semi-protected because their numbers are limited by regulations (only a small number of foreign medical/law schools are recognized). Drawing MPs from this pool can only accentuate the ivory tower effect since they face limited competition from foreigners for their jobs.

Inderjit Singh & Puthucheary i bet they are new citizens.

Puthucheary is new. Inderjit Singh is not. According to Wikipedia, Inderjit was born in 1960 in India, but attended Kaki Bukit Primary School, Broadrick Secondary School, Temasek Junior College and Nanyang Technological University. So he's about assimilated as an overseas-born person could be.

[pianist]

is there something wrong with selection criteria for MP? a new citizen who dun really know and feel the ground can be a MP? MP is a corporate position cannot suka suka import from overseas...unless they are cheaper, faster and betterer?

[pianist]

Jermyn Chow | The Straits Times | Saturday, Mar 9, 2013




SINGAPORE - Just under half of commuters said they would get up earlier if it meant they could get a free bus or train ride to work, a straw poll by The Straits Times (ST) has found.

Forty-five per cent said they would be willing to change their travel pattern if such a scheme was set up to avoid the peak-hour crush.

Many cited cost savings of up to $40 a month as the motivation to leave home earlier.

Among those willing to set their alarm clocks forward was cleaner Majmi Bakar, who earns about $1,000 a month.

"My finances are tight and cutting the $80 to 100 monthly public transport expense will go a long way," said the 49-year-old.

But the other 55 people in a survey of 100 said they were not willing to change, with some of them saying the money saved was a "trivial sum".

More than 50 netizens who posted comments on ST's Facebook page on Wednesday were also sceptical about such an incentive.

Their responses came after MP Janil Puthucheary (Pasir Ris- Punggol GRC) proposed offering free rides to commuters who travel earlier to ease the peak-hour congestion.

During Tuesday's Budget debate, Dr Puthucheary suggested that commuters travel free for 30 minutes to an hour up until 7.45am every weekday.

Investment banker Darren Seah, 33, said such a move could bring about a welcome change to his lifestyle.

He added: "I can shift my daily routine to adjust to an earlier start, like visiting the gym in the morning rather than evening, so I can do more things after work."

Commuters like financial planner Dawn Liew said they would not want to lose sleep just to get free rides, but most agreed they were willing to change their travel patterns if their bosses also changed their start and finish times. Some also called for more flexible working hours.

[FatBoi]

(source: Southeast Asia Infrastructure - April 13)

"A total of eight private bus operators have submitted bids to Singapore's LTA to operate a parallel bus route from Jurong West to the city. This is the first route to be awarded under a S$1.4 billion Bus Service Enhancement Programme (BSEP) initiated in 2012. Based on LTA's plans, private operators will run nine parallel bus routes under the BSEP. Singapore-based Woodlands Transport is among the bidders that have made a bid for the City Direct route. Under the City Direct operating model, operators will receive a fixed sum for the duration of the contract, while the LTA will collect the fare revenue. The two-year City Direct contract will be from September 2013 to August 2015, with an option for an one-year extension. The winning firm will have to obtain a bus service licence from the Public Transport Council and meet standards such as operating at least 96% of monthly scheduled trips. Non-compliance with any of the bus service licence conditions can lead to the imposition of a fine of up to S$123,990."

Some developments for the local bus scene - I did not check if this has been discussed in the earlier posts.
Just wanted to transfer some knowledge gained from recent readings.

[pianist]

(source: Southeast Asia Infrastructure - April 13)

"A total of eight private bus operators have submitted bids to Singapore's LTA to operate a parallel bus route from Jurong West to the city. This is the first route to be awarded under a S$1.4 billion Bus Service Enhancement Programme (BSEP) initiated in 2012. Based on LTA's plans, private operators will run nine parallel bus routes under the BSEP. Singapore-based Woodlands Transport is among the bidders that have made a bid for the City Direct route. Under the City Direct operating model, operators will receive a fixed sum for the duration of the contract, while the LTA will collect the fare revenue. The two-year City Direct contract will be from September 2013 to August 2015, with an option for an one-year extension. The winning firm will have to obtain a bus service licence from the Public Transport Council and meet standards such as operating at least 96% of monthly scheduled trips. Non-compliance with any of the bus service licence conditions can lead to the imposition of a fine of up to S$123,990."

Some developments for the local bus scene - I did not check if this has been discussed in the earlier posts.
Just wanted to transfer some knowledge gained from recent readings.

thanks for sharing this. my contact from mot also told me about this recently. doesn't seem like a gd news for sbs shareholders. however sbs also run the mrt lines..

[felixleong]

SINGAPORE - SBS Transit suffered a 41.6 per cent fall in first-quarter profit from the corresponding period a year earlier despite higher revenue as rising costs ate into its bottom line.

The bus and rail transport operator said on Monday net profit for the three months ended March 31 amounted to S$2.8 million while revenue grew 7 per cent to S$204.8 million as more people took buses and trains and on growth in its advertising and rental businesses.

Average daily ridership on its buses went up 2.3 per cent, while that of the North-East Line and two Light Rail Transit systems increased by 5.6 per cent and 11.9 per cent, respectively, SBS said.

But operating costs surged on the back of higher staff costs, higher repair and maintenance expenses and higher depreciation, the company said. The start-up of the Downtown Line also raised operating costs.

SBS Transit expects its bus and rail ridership to continue to grow but at a slower pace. The outlook for its bus business is challenging, with headcount increases and higher foreign workers’ levy to add on to operating costs, it said.

“With the renewal and expansion of the bus fleet, depreciation and financing costs are expected to increase. The bus segment is expected to be impacted more significantly by these cost increases,” SBS Transit said.

[NTL]

Look like public transport companies are soon to be non-profit organisations.

[pianist]

Ya. They even lent drivers to smrt to cover the latter shortfall last year.

[KopiKat]

For me, what looks interesting on a y-o-y comparison is,

1. OCF is better
2. "Excluding the start up costs for DTL, operating profit for Rail Operations in 1Q13 would have increased by 65.3% or $1.4m to $3.6m from $2.2m in 1Q12" (Pg7)

Looks like mainly dragged down by higher losses in Bus Operation as Rail, Advert & Rental showed improvements in Operating Profit. Also, a bigger drag down by higher Depreciation Expenses (a non-cash item) which may explain why that helped OCF to be better.

[felixleong]

this industry seems tough
raising labour cost, fuel and increasing capex
booking a net profit is already a good job done ^^