Fare committee identifies key issues
SINGAPORE - Even as academics identified service quality as "an important issue that must be addressed" if public transport is to be made attractive, there was no consensus on whether service quality should be directly incorporated as a component in the fare formula.
"Some felt that doing so could spur operators to drive service improvements. Others were cautious of the inherent tension between the cost of service provision and service quality, and viewed that it would be better for the fare formula to focus on addressing operating cost changes," said Mr Richard Magnus, who heads the Fares Review Mechanism Committee (FRMC), in a blog post yesterday.
The committee has held three meetings and conducted focus group discussions with the public transport operators and academics.
Affordability, fare formula and service quality of public transport were the key issues that surfaced from the meetings, Mr Magnus said.
While affordability remains "a key consideration" to commuters for the fare adjustment process, and have remained so to the average commuter, the academics felt "special attention" should be paid to the low-income groups.
This could include providing targeted assistance and subsidies to help them better cope with their public transport expenditures.
On the issue of the fare formula, the public transport operators and academics are largely in favour of keeping to a "price cap" type of formula instead of regulating fares on a "cost-plus" basis.
In the coming focus group discussions at the end of this month, the FRMC will meet commuters from various walks of life and people who have written in to the FRMC earlier.
