SMRT claims its purpose is 'moving people, enhancing lives'. Given that SMRT began to experience the effects of ageing infrastructure and train breakdowns, I start to doubt SMRT's ability to do well in the current monopolistic business environment it operates in.
Enhancing lives in the context of moving people means reliability, capacity and efficiency. But the most important component is reliability. They all should lead to reasonable increased revenue per costs.
Trains and buses must be reliable. They must be captained by responsible men and women. They don't just drive or control large vehicles, they make lives for all people around them better, through adherence to safety guidelines, accuracy of reaching buses and trains on time subject to weather conditions, and helping out fellow passengers from their point of view, whenever possible.
Maintenance has to be over the top, although this is indeed a cost escalating higher than revenues, so as to ensure the train and bus journeys are safe. That means, much infrastructural improvements have to be made, SMRT should overhaul the whole signalling, track etc. as soon as it can.
There should be an integrated media platform to let people with smartphones (not just iPhones) know when the bus or train is coming, even adding on to reliability.
More trains and buses need to be purchased, especially bendies and/or double deckers, up to the new analysis by the new SMRT management.
If possible, passengers should be in the know for the passenger loading in all stations - I notice trains coming in the early morning is already crowded, and they only have more room for people after 8.45am.
As for efficiency, it means that each train and bus should reasonably carry people and cover the operating costs of each bus or train trip. Well, isn't SMRT already doing this now, by tweaking off-peak timings and downroutes, which are empty buses only dispatched in the middle of a bus route? But they need to work on capacity and more importantly, reliability first.
Enhancing lives in the context of moving people means reliability, capacity and efficiency. But the most important component is reliability. They all should lead to reasonable increased revenue per costs.
Trains and buses must be reliable. They must be captained by responsible men and women. They don't just drive or control large vehicles, they make lives for all people around them better, through adherence to safety guidelines, accuracy of reaching buses and trains on time subject to weather conditions, and helping out fellow passengers from their point of view, whenever possible.
Maintenance has to be over the top, although this is indeed a cost escalating higher than revenues, so as to ensure the train and bus journeys are safe. That means, much infrastructural improvements have to be made, SMRT should overhaul the whole signalling, track etc. as soon as it can.
There should be an integrated media platform to let people with smartphones (not just iPhones) know when the bus or train is coming, even adding on to reliability.
More trains and buses need to be purchased, especially bendies and/or double deckers, up to the new analysis by the new SMRT management.
If possible, passengers should be in the know for the passenger loading in all stations - I notice trains coming in the early morning is already crowded, and they only have more room for people after 8.45am.
As for efficiency, it means that each train and bus should reasonably carry people and cover the operating costs of each bus or train trip. Well, isn't SMRT already doing this now, by tweaking off-peak timings and downroutes, which are empty buses only dispatched in the middle of a bus route? But they need to work on capacity and more importantly, reliability first.
