Rilek1Corner

Tag: SMRT

  • Public Transport Fares Will Be More Expensive From 5 Apr 2015

    Public Transport Fares Will Be More Expensive From 5 Apr 2015

    There will be an overall increase of 2.8 per cent to public transport fares following the conclusion of the 2014 Fare Review Exercise, the Public Transport Council (PTC) announced on Wednesday (Jan 21).

    How the 2.8 per cent figure was calculated: By aggregating the 3.4 per cent fare adjustment quantum carried over from the 2013 Fare Review Exercise with the -0.6 per cent figure from 2014, the PTC said.

    But fares for senior citizen, and existing monthly travel concession prices will not rise, said the PTC. The Transport Ministry separately announced on Wednesday that fares for lower-wage workers and persons with disabilities will not increase, while the monthly concession pass for persons with disabilities will remain at S$60 per month.

    “In total, more than 1.1 million commuters will see their fares unchanged,” the PTC said in a press release.

    FARE CHANGES FROM APRIL

    From Apr 5 this year, adult card fares for buses and trains will increase by 2 to 5 cents, while student concessionary fares will increase by 1 cent, the PTC announced. Cash fares for adult bus and train rides will increase by 10 cents, while senior and student cash fares will remain unchanged.

    The prices of all monthly concession passes for adults, National Servicemen and senior citizens will remain the same, it reiterated.

    The PTC said bus and train fares will continue to be affordable, even for lower-income groups, as household income growth has generally outpaced household expenditure in public transport.

    For instance, in 2013, the second quintile (the 21st to 40th income percentile) and second decile (11th to 20th income percentile) of households in Singapore spent 2.2 per cent and 3.1 per cent of their monthly income on public transport, respectively. These were down from the 3.2 per cent and 4.6 percent, respectively, in 2003, it said.

    Said PTC Chairman Richard Magnus: “In approving the fare increase and deciding on the quantum, the Council made a concerted effort to minimise the impact on commuters, even to the extent of insulating some from the increase altogether. Overall, the fare adjustments for the 2014 fare exercise are lower than last year’s adjustments.”

    IMPACT ON OPERATORS

    With the fare increments, the PTC said the two public transport operators – SBS Transit and SMRT – will have to contribute S$5.5 million and S$8 million, respectively, to the Public Transport Fund. The total of S$13.5 million is S$2 million more than their contribution last year, according to the press release.

    The Government will utilise the Public Transport Fund to provide Public Transport Vouchers to lower-income households to mitigate the increase in their travel expenditure, it added.

    “I am always very concerned not only with making transport fares affordable, but making sure that our low-income families who need more assistance will be looked after,” Mr Magnus said. “The contributions to the Public Transport Fund by the operators will help defray the travel expenditure of these needy families.”

    “PLEASED” VULNERABLE GROUPS NOT AFFECTED BY HIKES: LUI

    Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew said on Facebook that he was “pleased” that more than 1.1 million commuters, particularly more vulnerable groups like senior citizens and persons with disabilities, will not experience a fare increase.

    “Looking at the overall outcome of this year’s fare adjustment exercise, I believe the Public Transport Council has achieved a good balance between keeping fares affordable for Singaporeans and maintaining the viability and sustainability of our public transport system,” he wrote.

    He added that the 250,000 public transport vouchers of S$30 will be provided to needy commuters, and the ministry aims to simplify the application process further.

    “We also have other plans on the meaningful use of the Public Transport Fund and I will share these with you when we are ready,” the minister said.

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

  • No Deals For German Vandals To Have Charges Reduced

    No Deals For German Vandals To Have Charges Reduced

    Two young German men facing flogging in Singapore for vandalising a train were unable to reach a deal Wednesday to reduce their charges, their lawyer said.

    Christopher Bridges said a district court has yet to reply to his request to have the number of charges against Andreas Von Knorre and Elton Hinz, both 21, reduced.

    Each of them faces three counts of trespassing and one of vandalism allegedly committed in November last year, but the lawyer wants state prosecutors to proceed on just one charge each of trespassing and vandalism.

    Bridges, who attended a closed-door pre-trial conference with the prosecutors and the judge, said another meeting will take place on February 4.

    “There has been no reply yet from the court. We might know more at the next pre-trial conference,” Bridges told reporters after the session.

    The two Germans were accused of breaking into a suburban depot and spray-painting graffiti on the exterior of a metro train cabin last November. The depot is a restricted zone surrounded by fences topped with barbed wire.

    The defence lawyer declined to disclose his instructions from his clients but Singapore media reports said both could plead guilty after a plea bargain.

    The two men were extradited to Singapore by neighbouring Malaysia after they were arrested at Kuala Lumpur International Airport as they were leaving for Australia.

    For trespassing they face up to two years in jail, a fine of up to Sg$1,000 ($800), or both for each count.

    For vandalism, they face up to three years in jail or a fine of up to Sg$2,000, and between three and eight strokes of a rattan cane — a punishment dating back to British colonial rule.

    Both remain in remand at Changi Prison.

    An older sister of Von Knorre’s who attended the hearing told AFP that she visited her brother twice in prison and he seemed to be in good condition.

    “On behalf of my family, I would like to apologise to this country for what my brother did,” she said, requesting anonymity.

    Singapore, a leading Asian financial hub, is well-known for its tough stance on crime.

    The city-state’s vandalism laws became global news in 1994 when an American teenager, Michael Fay, was caned for damaging cars and public property despite appeals for clemency from the US government.

    In 2010, Swiss expatriate Oliver Fricker was sentenced to seven months in jail and three strokes of the cane for vandalising a train at a depot in the city-state.

    Caning entails being whipped with a rattan stick on the back of the thigh below the buttocks, which can split the skin and leave lasting scars.

     

    Source: https://sg.news.yahoo.com

  • Who’s To Blame For The CFO Revolving-Door At SMRT?

    Who’s To Blame For The CFO Revolving-Door At SMRT?

    In all my years of working experience in IT, as a project manager and now as CIO, I have found that the best CFOs I’ve ever worked with can be very difficult sometimes, but at the same time, they can also be the best ally you have. Let me explain.

    This is because when they are being difficult, they are doing it for a very good reason: they know how to ask all the right questions to make sure that the financial, compliance and legal bases are covered (where the company doesn’t have legal counsel to fall back on), and to make sure that all the operating costs and project costs are correctly planned and estimated.

    Once you can take your project proposal to the CFO and answer all their questions, they will be on your side when you take it to the CEO or steering committee for review and approval.

    Having the CFO on your side is a very strong endorsement to management that your project has been planned meticulously and covered from all angles. They are like your second set of “radar” in case anything can go wrong (and every project will have things you couldn’t anticipate for.)

    This rotating door at SMRT with their CFOs, with an ex-army CEO, really only shows how clueless the CEO and his masters are. This is a case of “people want to help you but you are just too incompetent to be helped.”

    Can you imagine, if we actually went to war with this clown in charge, someone who cannot work with his “senior officers”, what the outcome will be?

     

    Source: www.therealsingapore.com

  • 2 Germans Charged With Trespassing And Vandalism at SMRT Bishan Depot

    2 Germans Charged With Trespassing And Vandalism at SMRT Bishan Depot

    Two German men were charged this morning (Nov 22) with trespassing and vandalism at SMRT Bishan Depot earlier this month.

    Andreas Von Knorre and Elton Hinz, both 21, appeared before the State Courts and had their charges read in German through an interpreter.

    The Court heard that both men had on Nov 8, at about 2.48am, entered the Bishan SMRT Depot at Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 without authorisation and vandalised the left exterior cabin of an SMRT train using indelible spray paint.

    If convicted, both men may get up to S$2,000 fine, three years’ jail and eight strokes of the cane for the vandalism charge, and fined up to S$1,000 and imprisoned two years for the trespassing charge.

    Both men will be remanded at Tanglin Police Division for one week to assist in investigations and reenact the scene. They will next appear in court on Nov 26 and 10am.

    Source: www.allsingaporestuff.com

  • Elderly Man Dead After Accident Involving SMRT Bus

    Elderly Man Dead After Accident Involving SMRT Bus

    An accident involving an SMRT bus and a pedestrian left one elderly man dead on Monday (Nov 17).

    The Singapore Civil Defence Force said they were alerted to the incident along Jurong East Street 32 at 11.57am. They sent one ambulance to the scene, but the man in his 70s – later identified by SMRT as Mr Tan – was pronounced dead at the scene.

    Channel 8 News quoted eyewitnesses as saying that the lower half of the elderly man’s body was mangled, while a walking stick was seen on the road. It also said the bus windscreen was shattered in the accident.

    The driver was reportedly a 34-year-old female, according to Channel 8 News. Her relatives told Channel 8 News that she had only joined SMRT eight months ago, but had 13 years’ experience driving buses in Malaysia.

    An SMRT spokesperson said: “We would like to express our deepest condolences to Mr Tan’s family. We are currently cooperating with the traffic police on the investigations. We have contacted Mr Tan’s family and will render assistance as best as we can during this very difficult time.”

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com