Bus fares won’t go up

Mark Tan — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 06:45:23 +0000

Reading this article over at AsiaOne, I am wondering will it become another excuse for fare hike next year when the economy improve. Comparing our transport service with Japan, I feel that their network is more advanced than ours and the buses reach each stop timely. The million dollar question is “How come our transport service cannot meet the public standard, there is still fare hikes the past few years?”

BUSES now arrive more frequently and serve more commuters, but this will not result in higher fares, said Second Minister for Finance and Transport Lim Hwee Hua yesterday.

Bus frequency has risen by 18 per cent, and carrying capacity has grown by 24 per cent since higher standards kicked in from Aug 1 this year, she said.

To meet the requirements, bus operators have added more than 460 bus trips to 109 bus services during the peak periods.

But she assured the House that they are not allowed to pass on the costs to commuters.

They can raise fares only if there are changes in the consumer price index or national wage index.

extracted from AsiaOne
[http://motoring.asiaone.com/Motoring/News/Story/A1Story20090915-167916.html]

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Bus fares won’t go up