Govt's move to fund bus purchases sparks public concern

SINGAPORE: The government's move to spend S$1.1 billion over the next 10 years to fund the purchase of 550 SBS Transit and SMRT buses has sparked concerns among some Singaporeans.

A few have written to the government's feedback portal REACH, questioning why the government is using public funds to help profit-driven companies.

SBS Transit and SMRT are public-listed private enterprises.

Analysts said the government's move to help the two public transport operators grow their bus fleet does not mean a free lunch for them. They said commuters would stand to benefit from higher service standards, which are likely to be imposed on SBS Transit and SMRT.

Observers said the government's move is not unique. In affluent cities in Europe and Australia, private operators receive public-funded buses in order to achieve a more efficient transport network.

Assistant Professor Paul Barter from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy said: "In Singapore, if the government is going to be helping a private sector operator in this way, we would not do it in an open-ended way.

"We will need to set higher service standards. If we are giving money for the buses, we expect higher service in return. It would not just be a gift. There would be expectation of improved service."

Analysts said although the two operators are making profits overall, they have been weighed down by bus operations.

Latest data showed SBS Transit incurring an operating loss of S$6 million due mainly to increased fuel and staff costs.

Meanwhile, SMRT said it incurred a higher operating loss of S$1.7 million due to the same reasons.

So the assistance will come in handy to help boost capacity and meet the anticipated growth in demand.

Analyst John Rachmat from the Royal Bank of Scotland said: "The situation is such that the bus operations are not generating enough profits for the operators.

"In fact, in many cases, (they) are incurring losses. So if this continues, there will be no new investments in buses in Singapore and as a result, the public will suffer from more overcrowding."

With the government's funding for additional buses, "hopefully, what we will see is a lot more frequent bus services, a lot lesser overcrowding and more profits for the operators because that will be the reason for them to deliver the better services," said Mr Rachmat.

"In a way, they will earn more profits but in exchange for that, the public will see a lot better bus service in Singapore."

Observers believe the S$1.1 billion fund will not only go towards helping operators grow their fleet.

Given the big sum of money, there are indications it could also help operators get the manpower they need to run the buses.

They could increase salaries to make the job more attractive, particularly to Singaporeans.

Minister of State for Transport Josephine Teo said with the government chipping in to buy new buses, public transport operators must improve their service standards.

Mrs Teo on Wednesday defended the government's move to co-fund new buses at a post-Budget dialogue organised by feedback unit REACH.

"What Singaporeans want is quicker solutions," she said.

"They don't want to wait so long. So it's with Singaporean needs in mind that we assessed that the better way to do it, the faster way to do it, the more efficient way of doing it, is to partner the existing public transport operators to deliver the increased capacity."

Charles Chong, a member of the Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) for Transport, said: "With the grant, I think this eliminates some of their excuses...that they can't get drivers (because) they can't pay them enough."

"This grant should not be used to bump up profits for shareholders -- it is meant really to help serve the public better, because you are using public funds for this; the expenditure should benefit the public," he added.

Mr Chong said operators are expected to bump up bus frequencies and serve more areas.

Analysts said they believe the operators will see operating costs going up in the short run. But the higher costs are unlikely to be transferred to commuters as higher fares.

Details on the S$1.1 billion fund are expected in the upcoming Budget debate.

S'poreans respond to Budget via REACH

SINGAPORE: Building a fair and inclusive society topped the number of responses with 40 per cent of all inputs received by the national feedback unit REACH on this year's Budget.

While many welcomed the measures to support the ageing population and their employability, a handful were concerned older workers will not benefit from the increase in CPF contribution.

This is because the change does not directly help with their daily expenses.

There were calls for increases in the contribution to be extended to those aged 65 and above.

Singaporeans also supported the government's Silver Housing Bonus to unlock the savings of seniors, but some questioned its effectiveness.

On healthcare, affordability was a key concern.

Some said costs will increase further with enhancements to healthcare infrastructure.

Others suggested the monthly S$120 grant to hire foreign domestic helpers to care for seniors be extended to families with disabled members, as well as to those with children.

The majority of Singaporeans welcomed support for those with disabilities, but also felt more could be done.

Some suggested help be extended to those suffering from mental illness, and to the disabled who did not graduate from Special Education Schools.

Restructuring the economy to sustain growth made up 23 per cent of feedback on the Budget.

While there was support for the enhanced Special Employment Credit, some worried it may discourage companies from paying older workers more than S$3,000 monthly.

Response towards measures to support small and medium sized enterprises were mixed as well.

Some welcomed the cash grants announced for these enterprises, but others questioned the effectiveness of various measures.

Public transport concerns made up 12 per cent of total responses.

Some felt the plan to boost bus capacity should be fully funded by operators.

They are also worried the increased bus fleets will add road congestion and increase the difficulty of recruiting more drivers.

Many are also afraid the cost of additional bus fleets will be passed on to commuters via fare increases.

Singaporeans voice top 3 concerns for Budget 2012

SINGAPORE - Social issues, employment matters and the economy were among Singaporeans' list of top concerns, said REACH after it conducted the Pre-Budget 2012 Feedback Exercise.

The government feedback arm received over 1,800 inputs from members of the public over the period of Nov 16, 2011 to Feb 5, 2012.

It received 38 per cent more feedback this year than the last.

Social issues such as the rising cost of living, promoting family life and strengthening social safety nets made up 24 per cent of inputs.

13 per cent of feedback was centred on employment; while 10 per cent raised concerns about the economy.

Contributors called for more measures to curb the rising costs of basic necessities and essential services like utilities, transport and healthcare, and to improve the standard of living for the low-income and sandwiched middle-income groups.

To boost Singapore's birth rate and make raising families in Singapore more affordable, they requested for more measures such as cash incentives, additional paternity and childcare leave, more subsidised childcare facilities and waiver of the foreign domestic worker levy.

On supporting the elderly, they requested for more aid like transport and medical subsidies to help elderly Singaporeans cope with escalating costs, as well as measures to address elder care needs.

Many also called for more funds to be channelled towards helping the less fortunate in Singapore.
There is also a call for greater efforts to develop local Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), promote entrepreneurship and strengthen Singapore's business infrastructure so as to encourage more business start-ups to enhance Singapore's economic growth.

Others requested for more measures, such as corporate tax rebates and lower office rentals, to help local businesses cope with the economic slowdown and rising business costs.

Contributors also urge the Government to create more jobs for citizens and help companies keep existing jobs during the economic slowdown.

They want  the quantum and income limit for Workfare incentives to be raised and transitional schemes to be introduced to tide citizens over a short period of unemployment.

Some also requested for more to be done to encourage companies to hire and develop Singaporeans by providing training schemes and subsidies to improve the competitiveness of the local workforce.

And instead of relying on low-cost labour, they want more initiatives to raise productivity.

Besides these top issues, REACH has received feedback and suggestions on other topics such as housing, healthcare, education and transport.