I dont freaking understand wtf SBS is doing by wasting $$$$ in rolling out bloody expensive satellite tracking devices (knn James Bond taking yer buses meh) + MOB TV (the TV noise is truly moblike).

Knn use the $$$$ u squeeze from all the poor commuters to hire more Chinamen to drive the buses so that we dun have to cram in the inevitably jampacked buses and suffocate like shit la...

Example :
Limpeh today at 7pm, waited 25 mins for 31 at Toa Payoh Interchange.
Q was as long as TOTO $5m jackpot queue. And in the end, it was a single decker bus everyone boarded.

Where have all the double deckers gone? Drivers drive off go bet on EURO2008 is it?

F*^% SG public transport and all those useless brainless ex-SAF honchos in charge of public transport.

Dun kaobei kaobu to all worldwide proclaim SBS SMRT world class la... come and take a peak hour bus or train and try to join in the cramming ...

Oh well, i gg to buy a car soon anyway. Screw LTA.

Our public transport *is* one of the better ones in the world, but it should be subsidised using fuel tax and COE money, since cars are so expensive.

ERP should be increased 500%. That way, no more jams!

I for one would like to see where the extortionate road taxes go. Not necessarily agreeing that they should subsidise any more than they already do, but would be nice to see some transparency once in a while.

Do they subsidise now? They always go on about how important it is for them to make a profit.

And transparency in Singapore? Hahahahahaha

Autonomous agencies. AA.

If cars were sold at market price here, rather than being so ridiculously expensive after COE, then maybe people won't bitch about public transport so much. Because then, more middle-class Singaporeans will have a car and it will be their choice whether to drive or to take the bus and MRT. And most probably after a while, the jams will get so bad that they won't mind taking MRT even if it's packed during office hours. Plus with oil prices rising everyday, public transport actually gets cheaper every month compared to driving. haha...

Another busy day for the papies internet strike team I see...
all those comments about how expensive the transport in Aus and London are irrelevant.
Point to note is the disparity in the cost of living.
The average aussie and londoner earn more "pound to $" than the average singaporean.
Also, their cost of private transportation and living expenses are WAYYYYY cheaper than the average hdb where it takes you 30+++ years to pay off.
Plenty of londoners and aussies rent and doesn't pay so much for their housing... so it balances off somewhere.

That's bullshit. I'm not pro-PAP in any way. And we don't "earn more" relative to the fares.

Fares went up from A$3.30/2hr to A$3.50 at the beginning of 2008, and even more for daily/weekly/monthly tickets. (You don't get charged per trip like in Singapore, so even if you're just making a one-way journey, you've got no alternative than to fork out more than three bucks). Did my salary go up? No, my taxes did, thanks to Kevin Rudd. And interest rates have gone up. The fare rise is a bigger increase than S$.03 that everyone gets up in arms about. And what do we get for it? Trains still get cancelled. Trams still change their service at the last minute.

Picture this:
You're on the North-South Line to Jurong East. You got on at Somerset and you're going to alight at Woodlands. You get to Braddel and the driver suddenly announces, "Ladies and gentlemen, this train is now terminating at Bishan." When you ask why, they say it's because it's running late, and if they terminate at Bishan it's considered a cancellation and they get fined LESS by the transport authorities than if it was late to Jurong East. So instead, they cancel it, cut their losses and send it back to the city.

Melbourne trams do that ALL THE TIME. And no one can do anything about it. And our fares still go up every year by a colossal amount.

We pay MUCH MORE for our housing and living expenses over here. I'm not sure what planet you're on, but Singapore is still one of the cheapest cities to live in compared with the rest of the world.

The fact is that it might not be as good as it used to, but you really, REALLY don't know how good you have it with transport. I know things are tough, my family back in Singapore is dealing with skyrocketing rent, ridiculous food prices, petrol prices and so on. Compared to THESE, the quality of the public transport is a ridiculous target for criticism. It's still running like clockwork. It's still ridiculously cheap.

you then bullshit
according Mercer Human Resource Consulting cost of living survery in 2007, Singapore is ranked 14th in cost of living. Sydney is ranked 21st.. Melbourne doesn't rank anywhere in the list.

http://utopia8787.blogspot.com/2008/06/wow-we-singaporeans-are-paying-more.html

2007. Before our taxes went up. And the fact that Melbourne "doesn't rank anywhere in the list" means it's irrelevant - where is the data for Melbourne to compare to Singapore?

And you're grasping at straws, btw. Read my other points. Jackass.

melburnite, y u tok so much???
you rave so much abt how much better this place is... but where are you now???

put ur money where your mouth is and come back and squeeze with us on the peak hour trains! i reserve one 30cm x 30cm standing space for your 2 feet for u (no gurantee near pole to hold on to)

until dat happens, your words are not even worth consideration.

and not driving a second hand car in melbourne but taking the public transport and then come and complain abt melb train problems says a lot about ur stupidity

Maybe, you should go stay in a hotel in Serangoon and post in a blog.

what Sporeans hate most is cramming like shit into the MRT trains and SBS buses.
and what frustrates them most is that SMRT and SBS keep saying "we world class la worldwide no 1" + their "innovative technologies" like MobTV (damn kaobei only lo) etc

And dun start this shit abt.... oh Tokyo more terok la, Melbourne bo swee oso
- this is Spore period.

those wankerous wankers in charge of public transport probably won empathise anyway.

and dun start saying i never stayed overseas or cant think maturely.
Limpeh chao chao grad. from Stanford (although i damn beng one)

and u sound like those PAP spy sent into cyberspace to take on pro-govt stand.
U don stand a chance wif me

no wonder you are deluded.. read too much ST.

Your reading skills don't seem very good either.

same to u

my good tua pek gong, u kena alzheimer's or wat?

pls lah.. dun think everyone here like frogs in wells lah... i've travelled enough to know the diff between our trains and other country's trains lah plss... dun even need to go to tokyo. go KL and try to take a train from KLCC to central stn during peak hour can already..

but at the end of the day, the pt is, so wat if other ppl's trains are worse than ours? must we follow other ppl? this is exactly wat low thia kiang is driving at when he mentioned abt 'ah Q mentality'. y cant we improve on what we have achieved? if we singaporeans are uncomfortable with 1mx1m of personal space in the mrt, then improve it. doesnt mean other country ppl are comfortable, we are comfortable!! this is OUR country, own it. do u let ur friends/neighbours/the delivery guy/whoever dictate how u arrange ur furniture in your own house or tell wat your house should have??? wtf?!

and u mentioned u come back every 5-6 mths.. i dun think you should be so quick to say u wanna come back and squeeze ...pls.. i go KL often and take the damn trains every now and then, its worse than sg..but its bearable...y? becoz i know i dun have to do this everyday.. let see if you say the same if you have to squeeze in this kind of humid weather with so many other sweaty ppl, and u are running late for work only becoz u have been waiting for the next 3rd or 4th train coz becoz its full and u just cant get on.. EVERYDAY.. ppl who stay in tampines or jurong east will know wat i mean... i'm not sure if you are still smiling anymore..

australia's trains are shit.. nvm.. but their car is RELATIVELY (in case u wish to pick on this) cheaper.. aust gives you options! here you dun wanna take the train, wat other options u got? the more expensive taxi ?(which btw, u got money also sometimes cannot get a taxi) bus? (still squeezing and traffic jam)

and looks like u better get ur missus to wear the pants and do your maths, coz it seems you failed this subject terribly in school... petrol is about the same here and in aust.. but clearly the $$ you pay for the car in aust can cover your petrol for a few years!!

oh pls come back... sg miss u very much.. more power to u.. as for me, i'm getting out of singawhore as soon as i have enough dough... wat to do? i dun have queen's engrish wat.. cannot survive here..

Petrol here isn't that cheap either, but parking is ridiculously cheap compared to other big cities worldwide.

Curious: are there as many idiots in Melbourne as in Singapore?

Yes, but they usually know when to shut the fuck up.

I could barely interpret half of his damn post.

maybe your english too powerful. how to survive in heartland sg??? u sure u wanna come back? LOL

A lot of Aussie I know ride bicycle or motorbike to work. Why didn't you try alternative transports? just curious.

I do have a bike, and in the warmer months I ride into work. But it's quite a bit colder now, and as it gets dark earlier it's substantially more dangerous to ride home now.

exactly!!! papies and 154 always like to compare here compare there.. irrelevant!!!

154?

I walk with my two feet. You froth with your mouth. I am enjoying this.

Becos they compare their mark since kindergarten and compare until the graduate then compare whose wife pretty then compare son and daughter without really contributing any real service to society mah.
Have Too much time comparing result from real people working no time to compare themshelves with people with same standing like compare pm to pm, dpm to dpm, ceo to ceo. Of course win everytime what. No balls to face real world mah.
And this thread is on poor public transport network in Singapore.

I get better service in Beijing. At 2 rmb per ticket wherever I go! MUAHAHA! You Singaporeans, Londoners, Aussies enjoy your rides!

Don't be a fool, I been to Beijing. Their public transport is worse than London and Australia combined. The price should be around 2 rmb for travel within Beijing within a certain limit bus ticket 0.4yuan (but most of the lines are not competed duh).
However price will soar after Olympics and you think that they(Hu) will let you enjoy free lunch? Most PRC come out because they cannot earn as much in the factory of the world.
But you see the problem is their own country only recognize their local elite University for high pay jobs or foreigners (European mainly).
But you can still Dream :) while working in Geylang.

ROTFLOL!!

The only way you can complain is by changing the parameters. We are talking about subways remember, not buses, and about now, not the last time you could afford to leave your little island.

Is the work in Geylang what is making you guys complain about losing jobs to foreigners? You can't even qualify to work there? Your arrogance is only matched by your ignorance

SIAO... if in china..take public tranport for fuck?!?! take METER TAXI. cheap and good. starting meter 2 dollar. 10dollar can go the distance fr jurong to changi.

Remember to wave that little red book of yours too!

wat to do... the only way out is to buy some SMRT shares at least can get something back (dividends) to ease some of the pain. haii..

and i see some angry comments which like to compare smrt with london tube or transport system. singapore always like to compare here compare there.. compare our taxi cheaper than london, compare our transport is the best, compare our cpf system better than the whole world, compare our education system is cannot compare to the rest of the world. i think all these comparing here and there is irrelevant. becoz WE PAY TOP DOLLAR TO OUR MINISTARS!!! so we jolly well get TOP SERVICE!!

other ppl pay their ministars lousy pay.. so i dun care of they get lousy social systems!! we pay a lot and if we dun get the kind of standard we pay, then wat's wrong with complaining?? i'll be first to complain!!!

If you want to lose money please buy SMRT shares.
I don't think that anon is angry but the case that s/he point out Australia and/or England use to have a better overall integrated transport system which stood the test of time which start to deteriorate after the massive influx of immigrants similar to Singapore's situation.
Irrelevant? Without experiencing the situation first hand prior to comment is at best naive.
MSK incident prove that high minister pay does not equal Top service but it equal Everyone else are complacent (not the guard not DPM and most definitely anyone who could have prevented it).
Complain all you want ,next time when ST say how inflation cause operating expense(always the same) to increase , PTC approve price hike and than They all price hike together again. Guess who lose?

quote: "MSK incident prove that high minister pay does not equal Top service but it equal Everyone else are complacent (not the guard not DPM and most definitely anyone who could have prevented it)." unquote.

if you find a cockroach in your $100 shark fin soup, do you blame the cook? or do you blame yourself becoz u nver spot the cockroach in the soup and proceed to eat it?!??LOL!

this fella must be ah gong's fav grandson!! HAHAHHAHAAA...

I hope that fella doesn't get your a gong stupid genes.

Cow herds and bakers. Yes, they lose.

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The Great Transport Challenge 2020: If I were the Transport Minister…...

I think they should build teleporters.

You have got to be kidding me. Singapore HAS one of the best systems in the world - if not the best. YOU should come to LONDON to experience the legendary LONDON underground and how late is is. And there isn't AIR CON in the summer hor.

Oh ... did I forgot to mention a few days ago, a portion of a new bridge fell onto other parts of a track underneath - now that's an issue.

Pls guys you don't know what you're enjoying back home in Singapore for that price you're paying.

Do you mean this Transport news
Somehow You doesn't appear to be someone who had lived in London long enough or you do not take bus.
One thing you got right though "Singapore HAS one of the best systems in the world" the BEST transport propaganda system. PTC always agree to price hike

You need to put things into perspective.

That article about London transport was based on a survey from the perspective of international tourists. Tourists don't travel at peak hours. Tourists prefer cabs, not buses and trains. And in London, there are actually an alternate public bus service targeted at tourists, which most tourists take, instead of the (ir)regular bus services that bring people to school, to work, and back home, or the Tube service, that is good on a good day, but an absolute nightmare on bad days.

I've only been living in London for slightly less than a year, but I rely completely on public transport, and for a destination about 45 minutes' walking distance away, I usually have to leave the house an hour and a half earlier to make sure I get there on time. Each bus ride costs SGD2.70, and that's if you use the card. If you pay by cash a bus ride costs SGD12. (And tourists get special concessions.) Tube rides cost SGD3.50, but only within central London. The further away from Central London (something like going from City Hall to Changi Airport), the more you'll have to pay. A place about 30 minutes' walking distance cost me £35 (SGD100) by cab.

Of course, comparing the dollar-and-cent costs is insufficient because you need to take into account the cost of living in the countries. Average price of goods in London is about 2-3 that of the same product in Singapore, which explains the higher cost of public transport, but it doesn't explain why it's so disproportionately higher.

On the point of reliability, the only bus I have near where I live that takes me to most places I need to go (school, town, work, Tube station, etc) changed its bus route three times in the past three months without any warning. The bus stops changed their positions seven times in the past five months. And the bus drivers reserve the right to refuse you to answer you if you ask for directions, or to refuse you a ride: two weeks ago I was in the bus on the way to school for an exam, and the bus just stopped, and the driver refused to drive on any further.

I'm not saying the Singapore public transport system is perfect, but there has to be perspective on this. Coping with peak hour demand (that is also constantly on the rise) is not as easy as whipping out 50% more drivers and 50% more buses and trains, and in doing so you end up aggravating peak hour traffic. The grass just seems greener on the other side because you refuse to look beyond your own unhappy noses.

Wah no wonder lah make no friends in england and study there some more. Your parent must be very rich to send you there then you complain about singapore one is better than london one . ooi How big is england? come on lah make more friends and share transport lah. you are off topic already this entries is about the situation currently in singapore not london okay. Use your brain leh,study so much until don't know where your home is. si beh siao liao.
Their Bus service i don't know lah but see previous people say thing know you try to change subject can do with better pattern or not.
and the last sentence damm funny leh.
"The grass just seems greener on the other side because you refuse to look beyond your own unhappy noses."
OOi you in england leh, NUS, NTU or SMU not good meh?you go england study for what?
Me black pot calling kettle black chim or not.

wow. you're really stupid!

Yeah, as usual he's invoked the age old stayers vs quitters debate. When all else fails, whip out the "you so rich go overseas and study" argument.

Oy gevalt. Why am I coming back again? Oh ya, $2 chicken rice. Yum. :D

There're idiots everywhere, but for a small, educated, globalised city Singapore has a surprising number of them.

Looks like you have just unearthed another one.

Coming back for two dollar chicken rice, that's penny wise, pound foolish.

Are you serious? Propaganda about fucking TRAINS? How paranoid are you?

Whinging bunch of ungrateful bastards, the lot of you.

First you whine then you say people paranoid. It is propaganda because only ST report it quoting from some dubious report/study when no other nonprofit,credible, global and independent media have report that it as world class.
And usually when ST report it as world class, the prices usually hike. That why it is the best propaganda based transport system (taxi,bus and trains).
Do you even live here or do you have a private chauffeur?
Not ungrateful actually just disappointed . Really hope that our MiPs are more down to earth like they claim they are. They are elected (perhaps not all) by us after all.

Ride a tortoise!