SINGAPORE: SBS
Transit said it is willing to pay for all funeral expenses, including
repatriation costs, incurred by the family of a Malaysian who died in a
bus accident in Sengkang on Tuesday.
66-year-old Chan Ah Yong died at the scene after she was hit by an SBS Transit bus while crossing the road.
SBS
Transit's senior vice president for corporate communications, Tammy
Tan, said the company spoke to Mdm Chan's son-in-law on Wednesday to
tell him that the company would foot the bill.
However, before SBS Transit could convey the offer, Mdm Chan's son-in-law told the company to call him again next week.
SBS Transit said it respected his request as it did not want to impose on the family during their time of grief.
The
company has since contacted Mdm Chan's son-in-law again to inform him
that all costs related to the funeral will be borne by the bus operator.
SBS Transit also told him that he can contact the company anytime for assistance.
The company said it is deeply saddened by this accident and is doing all it can to help the family during this difficult time.
"We
know nothing we do or say can change the fact that a life has been lost
and a family is in grief. We can only say we are very, very sorry and
will do whatever we can to assist the family during this difficult
time," Ms Tan said.
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.
