SMRT vs Saw Phaik Hwa vs LTA vs Temasek vs Govt

[neddy]

I wish they could have just remind the customer to make sure the hot water container is securely covered to avoid scalding. To remind passengers about No food and drinks - too much.

 

[zhihau]

Musical chairs can always be played.

i still cannot imagine an ex-COD heading A*Star :*::*::*:

 

[scroobal]

Agree and its a formula that they are scared to leave =- auto pilot.

Even the GDP is being played because on it is based the pay for the fatcats. grow it at all costs by bringing in hordes of cheap labour and wanking up the volumes. never mind the discomfort of the locals. same syndrome as those with snouts in Wall St. That's cos the GDP is their KPIs.

 

[scroobal]

Also the old guards put SIA on a firm platform. No daughter in law will be allowed in Pillay in those days.


Agree they are abusing the monopoly to their own ends. Imagine the way she explained "crushload" as though it was nothing to be concerned about.

SIA is a bit different as it operates in a truly global market. SMRT got no similar train competitors and run like king in a local market. Everytime want to increase price, they get it and pple LL got to swallow it. They are always assured of a sizable pool of customers. They will inevitably slide into complacency. One word - the undoing of the mental culture and ways of how inter-establishments operates over the decades.

 

[scroobal]

Agree on the profit vs service but shocked that safety went out the window as well. The incident management was literally missing. So many things not working. Note that she said that she is personally taking charge of incident management.

The younger generation of PAP politicians seem to favour a corporatist state without realizing the political sensitivity, as you've mentioned, of certain essential services like public tpt, and I would add public utilities too. Profit now main motive rather than service being the main motive. That's why outsourcing is rampant and quality of engineering, workmanship, systems designs, operational flow all compromised.

 

[scroobal]

Even his RI schoolmates were surprised by his appointment. Apparently he could not explain or did not want to explain it.

i still cannot imagine an ex-COD heading A*Star :*::*::*:

 

[scroobal]

Thanks for sharing.

Its a gold mine. It channels passengers thru a channel and they become captive customers. Interestingly Mapletree which is a well known cut throat landlords of ex=-JTC premises is on the board and driving this as they are Temasek entity.

Imagine 99%.

Their retail shop fronts are extremely profitable for SMRT group. If I may recall, the lease for the SMRT shops are non-renewable, each tenure is two (or three?) years. Before the lease is up, SMRT would call for bid to lease the shop to the highest bidder. A small shop front easily 5 figure rental per month due to the bidding war.

 

[scroobal]

Great points. I forgot about the contingency aspects. About time you return and run this show. You can't do worse than her.

Eg.
For contingency planning (TTL are experts)
Buses are essential for Train replacement services too. Having an integrated service for public transport dependent Singaporeans is very important.
Taxis reach beyond bus routes.




PAP has forgotten the purpose of a government?
Is it surprise that the PAP has forgotten the .... rakyat? esp the ones who cannot afford cars.



Human traffic is a wonderful thing.

Another revenue stream is the pre-paid tickets that can be used in retail shops. (c.f HK Octopus)

 

[scroobal]

The template/formula is a good excuse if anything goes wrong. Nobody can be blamed except the template which was devised by their predecessor. Why do pay so high for following a formula.

Good point. Their excuse that a "template" was being used in highly telling. Theirs is a template of shareholder maximization without care about social or political repercussions. This is allowed to happen because the political leaders have become too blind to what is happening under their noses and assume they will be in power forever.

 

[GoldenDragon]

i still cannot imagine an ex-COD heading A*Star :*::*::*:

Probably no other high profile seat available so off he goes to A*Star. Blind obedience has its many rewards.

 

[Fook Seng]

Like what you wrote.
EXCEPT I kind of disagree with letting go of taxi and buses. Together, it should form Transport for Singapore (like "Transport for London [TTL]" with its Rail Division and Surface transport Division)

PAP has forgotten the purpose of a government?
Is it surprise that the PAP has forgotten the .... rakyat? esp the ones who cannot afford cars.

One often quoted argument for privatization of public utilities is that it provides agility and flexibility in operation which a government run organisation cannot. But it comes with the price of a loss of control in the balance between profit making and service provisioning. To address this, we need a regulator who not only sets high, clear and measurable standards of compliance but also lay down mandatory processes to be followed e.g. Preventive maintenance, replacement targets, feedback exercise, hygiene procedures, traffic and waiting time measurement and adherence etc. And it should have the muscles and without any conflict of interest to police licensing adherence. You might argue, then there is no money to make. But I believe there is enough money in the surplus budget to allocate special tax incentives for essential services to allow this to succeed. If you can give pioneer status to foreign MNCs in important areas of new business, why can't it be applied for essential services?

 

[elephanto]

The template/formula is a good excuse if anything goes wrong. Nobody can be blamed except the template which was devised by their predecessor. Why do pay so high for following a formula.

Taxi console message insensitive? sori hor, wrong template used...

In fact, TEMPLATE is the buzzword in SMRT's corporate communications.

TEMPLATE FLOW:-
-Incident
-incident management : public broadcast of situation, alternative transport arrangements activated - feeder bus/taxi(income opportunity lai ah huat ah !)...

- the all important and oh ! all so predictable press conference (fill in the blanks)

".... we view this incident XXXXXXXXXXXX with grave concern /
I will PERSONALLY address this/oversee things / investigate / launch the investigation blah blah

PLEASE ACCEPT MY SINCERE, SINCERER, SINCEREST, SINCERESTEST (please circle the appropriate) APOLOGIES.
I /We (depending on severity) will SPARE NO EFFORT to ensure this will not happen/will be reasonably prevented/ etc....

Apparently / So far / From our preliminary investigation /
..........

Oh Yeah, before I forget...

BE GRATEFUL HOR, LIMPEH will refund you ok, at least this incident I don't take your money hor ! wat more you want !

BUT !
BUT - you must follow my refunds claims procedure...
do this do that, bring this bring that, office hours only hor, 3 working days hor, anyway, I dun give a shit if you incur $3 to come & claim your miserable $1.70.

Your choice.
Just remember I refund you hor !
I offer to refund you on my most convenient terms....

Ah-ber-then ?!

Apparently, TEMPLATE culture did not arise & will not stop there.
It has risen upwards....

Out goes Raymond Lim.
In comes Lui Tuck Yew.

Such a hot potato & Ah Raymond has been laid out to pastures.
Tuck Yew?

It's template time.

Take public transport.
It is time to show I care.
I set personal example.
But call in reporters a bit.... too obvious.
Get my IB, or my FB kah kias to snap in train cabin or bus, then upload & use viral communicating, heh heh, I smart hor.

GOT INCIDENT....

TEMPLATE:-

Minister Lui cut short his overseas trip in view of the severity of ....

STATEMENT: My Ministry view this with grave concern....
A high-level COMMITTTEE comprising BEST of the BEST of the BEST, including international experts will be set up to......
get to the bottom of this blah blah blah ..... money spent, time spent, then public has cooled down, ah life goes on

sigh!

Formulaic templates may improve efficiency and be made idiot-proof, but the blind adoption of them simply demonstrates that idiocy can co-exist with brilliance (apparent) of meritocratic technocratic bureacrats, corporate leaders & organization bigwigs.

 

[neddy]

Great points. I forgot about the contingency aspects. About time you return and run this show. You can't do worse than her.

You are kidding with me!

Saw should visit Transport for London and see how they deal with crumbling Tube infrastructure - all those daily fire, flood, signaling problem, poorly maintained rolling stock, a terrorist attack and RailTrack union summer strikes, and still manage to get that financial city moving.

It never fails to amaze me.

 

[elephanto]

it is touch & go whether Saw will resign.

Her response to the 'resign?' question from that gutsy reporter : '...may consider...' is either sincere or an advancement on existing templates.

Security breaches (not once but twice), breakdowns, fines .... matters not how hip she streak her hair, Saw come across as extremely hagged, stressed, defensive, recalcitrant, harried, victim-minded and fatigued.

The only things that may stop her from resigning are:
1. currently no better kangtow, so for the sake of the $, continue to put up a charade & cruise on
2.the powers-that-be use moral suasion, find it ill-advised for her to break precedence & initiate a 'take responsibility PERSONALLY and resign as prove of contritement' ground-breaking, 'spoil-market' breakthrough. no no, Saw better not let the Pandora Box be thrown open.....

 

[Varuna]

You are kidding with me!

Saw should visit Transport for London and see how they deal with crumbling Tube infrastructure - all those daily fire, flood, signaling problem, poorly maintained rolling stock, a terrorist attack and RailTrack union summer strikes, and still manage to get that financial city moving.

It never fails to amaze me.

Me too, I was amazed. The London Tube has a longer history and is the world's oldest underground railway dating back to 1860s. They have to carry the baggage of having to run and maintain an ageing infrastructure. Some of the stations are like WW2 bunkers to me. We may have the newest and 'self-inflated best of the world transport' but it is the people who runs the show makes or breaks the real picture. With time, all the fake gold will crumble under the intense heat while genuine ones stand firm and strong.

 

[coolguy]

When you are in a monopoly situation, you will tend to safeguard your position so as not to let outsiders have a piece of your fat pie.
What better way than to let your family and relatives grab every piece of the pie?
In this way, your entire clan benefits and power stays within. Every secret and dirty linen stays within the clan.

Also the old guards put SIA on a firm platform. No daughter in law will be allowed in Pillay in those days.


Agree they are abusing the monopoly to their own ends. Imagine the way she explained "crushload" as though it was nothing to be concerned about.

 

[lockeliberal]

Dear Scroobal

The NO's for SMRT look good only because the capital intensive portion of the business has been subsidized by the Government. The latest take away from the SMRT in 2011 indicates the following.

a. Profits for 2011 whilst on paper looking good are only good because LTA has borne the costs of building the infrastructure. As an example the interest even at 2.5% on 10 billion SGD costs of building the Circle Line would wipe out any profits from SMRT not even counting depreciation and costs of repaying capital.


b. The retail arm of SMRT gives about 70 million in Revenue. However that as a share of profits of 190 million is unclear. I suspect it to be high and as high as 30% of underlying profits.


c. I am worried about the O and M costs for SMRT and I do wonder as it stands as an average in 2011 at 8% of revenue is it above or below normality and is it sufficient.





Locke

As the title suggest there are too many stakeholders pulling from various sides on a single national entity that has become a daily and important feature of nearly everyone in Singapore. Multiple agendas are never good. These are little snippets.

Couple of noteworthy points to consider. Please add on.

• SMRT is a listed business and majority owned by Temasek. They do not own the infrastructure. They have leased it from LTA for 30 years. They have no interest in the infrastructure. When overcrowding became a safety issue at Jurong East, this lady could not be bothered. She did not build the infrastructure and any additional build work was the responsibility of the LTA.
• Besides trains, SMRT operates Light rail, buses and taxis. They also consider two other businesses as revenue streams and this is where Saw Phaik Hwa comes in.
• Both rental and advertising are major revenue streams. Saw was recruited in 2002 via headhunters. At that time, she had no notable links to the establishment.
• SMRT was incorporated in 2000 and came under majority control of Temasek. It was time to make money. They assumed that as the infrastructure was completed and they could rely on LTA to build the next phases of the line, the focus turned to other revenue streams. A simple terms, you just switch on and off the train switch as Singapore's history on infrastructures were pretty solid.
• So the role remit was focused on rental and advertising for the new CEO. As MRT stations are not suitable for offices but shops, the natural incline was to look at that industry.
• So in comes this Lady and in 2 years she launches Raffles Xchange as the new shopping experience for Singaporeans. Both Advertising and Rentals have done well and the occupancy rate is close to 99%.

Most people are aware of deteriorating quality of MRT and they have accepted it past of the overall drop in standards across govts. One recent trivial incidents explains this quite well - the Ah Tiong bus driver who took instructions from control and went on 2 hr jaunt across the island. Thursday's incidents showed how badly it was when an incident management was completely missing. People were stranded, no comms, no idea and no one in the house.

We have also assumed that MRT was one single entity but it is not. The Govt made a singular mistake by treating it as a business and not a politically sensitive icon that it is. It reflects badly on the new generation of politicians. I do remember when old man told the press that PSA workers striking is treason. As it was the lifeblood of a fledgling nation, he was right. It now all about helping Temasek to look good.

As to Saw, this lady has been wrongly associated with the establishment and people within and outside have placed to much of value in her. Sadly she has used it to the hilt and she is now truly in the establishment. She now holds key and influential positions outside SMRT.

It about time LTA separates rentals, advertising and non train activities from the train services and let go of the taxi and bus services. If SIA was to run along these lines, it would have gone up in flames. SIA has no interest in Changi Airport rentals and there is a reason why and they are their main customer. Some people call it common sense.

 

[Bigfuck]

I told u guys it would crumble by yearend. I have great intuitive predictive powers on systems operations. More to come. Next will be the telecoms system. The biggest and most frightening terrorists come from deep within

 

[scroobal]

Bro, well done for connecting the pieces.

Taxi console message insensitive? sori hor, wrong template used...In fact, TEMPLATE is the buzzword in SMRT's corporate communications.TEMPLATE FLOW:--Incident-incident management : public broadcast of situation, alternative transport arrangements activated - feeder bus/taxi(income opportunity lai ah huat ah !)...- the all important and oh ! all so predictable press conference (fill in the blanks)".... we view this incident XXXXXXXXXXXX with grave concern /I will PERSONALLY address this/oversee things / investigate / launch the investigation blah blahPLEASE ACCEPT MY SINCERE, SINCERER, SINCEREST, SINCERESTEST (please circle the appropriate) APOLOGIES.I /We (depending on severity) will SPARE NO EFFORT to ensure this will not happen/will be reasonably prevented/ etc....Apparently / So far / From our preliminary investigation /..........Oh Yeah, before I forget...BE GRATEFUL HOR, LIMPEH will refund you ok, at least this incident I don't take your money hor ! wat more you want !BUT !BUT - you must follow my refunds claims procedure...do this do that, bring this bring that, office hours only hor, 3 working days hor, anyway, I dun give a shit if you incur $3 to come & claim your miserable $1.70.Your choice.Just remember I refund you hor !I offer to refund you on my most convenient terms....Ah-ber-then ?!Apparently, TEMPLATE culture did not arise & will not stop there.It has risen upwards....Out goes Raymond Lim.In comes Lui Tuck Yew.Such a hot potato & Ah Raymond has been laid out to pastures.Tuck Yew?It's template time.Take public transport.It is time to show I care.I set personal example.But call in reporters a bit.... too obvious.Get my IB, or my FB kah kias to snap in train cabin or bus, then upload & use viral communicating, heh heh, I smart hor.GOT INCIDENT....TEMPLATE:-.

 

[scroobal]

Bear in mind that they followed HK MTR on many things. HK MTR was running decades ago before MRT. It is also old but well maintained. During peak, the the trains come in every minute. She even has an ex-HK MTR on her management team. To keep the 18% profit margin, they must have kept changes and maintenance to a minimum.

Me too, I was amazed. The London Tube has a longer history and is the world's oldest underground railway dating back to 1860s. They have to carry the baggage of having to run and maintain an ageing infrastructure. Some of the stations are like WW2 bunkers to me. We may have the newest and 'self-inflated best of the world transport' but it is the people who runs the show makes or breaks the real picture. With time, all the fake gold will crumble under the intense heat while genuine ones stand firm and strong.