I can't put my finger to it, but I really like this post from Lucky Tan about the recent increase in COE and why our government/public transport companies do what they do.
Now I understand truly why we have to continue to pay COEs and ERPs on top of road taxes and taxed-fuel to drive a car though it was meant to be discouraging with all the costs involved. Singaporeans still suffer from the lack of a good alternative from unsafe roads for cycling to sardine-packed-often late-buses/MRT services. Really I would ideally love to take a dependable public transport as I really want some commute time to play my PSPs and listen to my MP3s. And I wonder how Taiwan, Japan and even China does it even though they have a lot more people to move...which eventually reminds me..we pay them millions for?
Anyway this is not a rant, this is merely reminding us we need alternative voices in high places so we can put more creative people who take public transports instead of gods who fly around from ivory tower to tower.
My creative alternative is to direct all earnings from COEs and ERPs into the coffers of SMRT/SBS and increase the frequency of their services immediately through increase in wages, purchase of more trains, buses etc. More clear roads will equate to more COEs available to sell more cars, which indirectly will earn more from taxes. More people will enjoy taking public transport as we no longer have to suffer from lateness or dirty old men/foreigners taking opportunities to "squeeze" around. But of course, my idea is never going to be implemented until the government does the right thing in delisting these "public transport companies" who have to answer to the greater calling of being profitable year after year despite always being in a "terrible" cost situation. Really? Wages have either been stagnant or lowered due to more "cheaper" foreign options and petrol has since drop from their high US$130, rental at bus stations etc have gone up...where are the further cuts? Into the pockets of shareholders? So I rest my case that providing alternatives or solutions are useless... unless the system changes. So let me whine instead.
