Riding Along With the Increase

In mulling over the announcement of public transport fares being increased, my feelings towards it ranged from the predictable and instantaneous (anger) to the inevitable (resignation).

I guess many people share my first reaction. Especially in the way it was announced and the timing of it all. I remember reading in the Straits Times that the council which regulates public transport fees had said that they saw no reason not to allow fares to rise because the economy was doing well. In that report which I read, there were no other reasons reported for increasing public transport fees. While allowing slow inflation to take place being good for the economy may be a good enough explanation for an economist, it simply doesn’t cut it for me, and I’m guessing it doesn’t for other citizens as well, hence the grumbling every time such unpopular decisions are announced. That it came only a few months after the elections further stokes the fire and dissatisfaction that anyone may be feeling.

When I look at the announcement and rationale behind it again, I see an announcement from a business, a corporate announcement about a decision made for economical reasons. This goes in line with the feeling that Singapore has always been run like a business, and that us citizens are just people keeping the economy going. Now I’ve heard it all, about how a place like Singapore must ensure it economy’s survival and be on our toes about making money all the time, but somehow such arguments sweep questions that we should ask about the running of a national commodity that affects us all.

Firstly, that we must ensure our public transport system stays efficient and our buses and trains continue to look good just doesn’t sound good enough. Not after we hear of them making millions in profit every year. And we don’t even know where all the profit goes to. While I do think that the buses and trains are top notch, I don’t think there is a good link to be found with the astronomical profit that the services are churning out. While money is indeed needed for maintenance and renewal of fleets, the profits that are reported are over and above that.

And before we start thinking that it’s healthy for every business to make a profit, why must we think of public transport as a business in the first place? After all, it is a national service to us citizens. It is something that most of us have to take and so the demand is really inelastic, to use an economical term. Looking at public transport in terms of a national commodity doesn’t mean we think immediately of nationalising the whole thing. It just means that if we do have to continue practising capitalism, at least we can try capitalism with a human face. That would mean capping fares at a level where it is enough to make enough money for buses to be repaired and new trains to be bought. Right now, the excess millions that they are making just don’t seem to be justified.

Anyway, if we really do want to think of public transport in the free market, I’m guessing we would be running into a few problems. Singaporeans, by and large, do not have a choice when it comes to taking a bus. Having TIBS and SBS doesn’t count as competition because they run different routes. And more importantly, they charge the same fares. It isn’t as if I could wait for a TIBS bus to arrive instead of taking the SBS one that just pulled up because I’m unhappy with the fares SBS is charging. That’s what I mean by a lack of choice. And we all know what a lack of choice in a free market means: Monopoly.

This is probably why I guess most people share my last sentiment of resignation as well.