The great conflict.
Firstly, my point. The new distance based fare is an increase in fares. Some may disagree, some may not. But train fares are quite clear cut, and have been explained here. I'm here talking about buses. Obviously the fares are beneficial for some. It is most beneficial to those who have already been transferring between buses more than once per journey. But think about those who have been taking one ride without any transfer per journey. A statement released today reminded Singaporeans that the distance fares are more beneficial to those travelling long distances. But I beg to differ. Looking at a student's fare, which is the simplest, costs around 45cents no matter how far he or she travels per bus ride. But now, if he or she takes just one service anywhere longer than 5.3KM, it costs anywhere between 51 cents to 58 cents. Obviously not a saving for that child. This is just one example among many others. But the bottomline holds that the distance fares is just a nicer way of telling us: "All you who have no choice but to use our public transport system, we're increasing our fares. But don't worry, we will show you some useless examples of a small minority who will enjoy fare savings."
Firstly, my point. The new distance based fare is an increase in fares. Some may disagree, some may not. But train fares are quite clear cut, and have been explained here. I'm here talking about buses. Obviously the fares are beneficial for some. It is most beneficial to those who have already been transferring between buses more than once per journey. But think about those who have been taking one ride without any transfer per journey. A statement released today reminded Singaporeans that the distance fares are more beneficial to those travelling long distances. But I beg to differ. Looking at a student's fare, which is the simplest, costs around 45cents no matter how far he or she travels per bus ride. But now, if he or she takes just one service anywhere longer than 5.3KM, it costs anywhere between 51 cents to 58 cents. Obviously not a saving for that child. This is just one example among many others. But the bottomline holds that the distance fares is just a nicer way of telling us: "All you who have no choice but to use our public transport system, we're increasing our fares. But don't worry, we will show you some useless examples of a small minority who will enjoy fare savings."
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