- Joined
- Dec 30, 2010
- Messages
- 12,730
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- 113
In many countries, a person working as a cashier in a supermarket can own a car so transport is not in issue but in Singapore a many professionals/degree holders do not drive due to the cost. But since Singapore is small and population density is high people can accept that not everyone can own a car.
However, the distribution of COEs purely on the basis of the ability of people to pay mismatch the needs of people with this limited resource, cars. A lower middle class father with a real need for a car, say someone with children and parents with medical conditions (difficulty walking cannot take bus), is priced out by the teenage son of a millionaire who doesn't really need the car. Our income gap which is the largest in the developed world amplifies the mismatch.
Our public transport system has been privatised and the tradeoff between operating profits and passenger comfort comes into play. What public transport companies like SMRT and SBS try to do is adhere to minimum standards and maximise profit margins. So the incentive for CEO Saw is to do no more than the minimum in terms of service quality because she won't lose any customers as a monopoly.
- http://singaporemind.blogspot.com/2011/12/mrt-breakdown-and-what-is-wrong-with.html
However, the distribution of COEs purely on the basis of the ability of people to pay mismatch the needs of people with this limited resource, cars. A lower middle class father with a real need for a car, say someone with children and parents with medical conditions (difficulty walking cannot take bus), is priced out by the teenage son of a millionaire who doesn't really need the car. Our income gap which is the largest in the developed world amplifies the mismatch.
Our public transport system has been privatised and the tradeoff between operating profits and passenger comfort comes into play. What public transport companies like SMRT and SBS try to do is adhere to minimum standards and maximise profit margins. So the incentive for CEO Saw is to do no more than the minimum in terms of service quality because she won't lose any customers as a monopoly.
- http://singaporemind.blogspot.com/2011/12/mrt-breakdown-and-what-is-wrong-with.html
