Skip to main content

Travel Smart or LTA Smart?

When I saw on TV news of a new pilot initiative called “Travel Smart” announced by the Land Transport Authority (LTA), I thought of some good new measures by LTA which will enable commuters to travel on public transport in a smart manner by leveraging on technology or innovation. Hence, I was quite disappointed to learn that this “Travel Smart” pilot programme is actually a travel demand management programme which places the onus to utilize public transport –so that our MRT trains and buses will not be overcrowded- on the commuters themselves!

With buses and MRT trains already bursting at their seams with hundreds and hundreds of commuters on every trip, there should be efforts to increase the number of trains and buses at peak hours or ramp up existing public transport infrastructure and capabilities.  Instead of announcing measures in these directions, it seems, from LTA’s latest announcement of the “Travel Smart” programme that commuters have to reconcile the fact that what we are getting from our public transport system (MRT trains and buses) is already the “Best” that the public transport operators can deliver and as part of this “reconciliation”, we, commuters will need to be responsible not to overcrowd the MRT trains and buses provided by adjusting our travel habits! It seems that with “Travel Smart”, LTA and public transport operators will be absolved of all overcrowding that occurs in trains and buses since commuters will be the ones who are responsible for all the overcrowding with their travel habits.  In view of the above, I believe that this “Travel Smart” should be called “LTA Smart”. With “Travel Smart”, I have a feeling that LTA and the public transport operators will no longer look at improving the prevalent overcrowding of our trains and buses as commuters will have to manage this poor quality of public transport provided by managing the use of public transport utilization in our own lives


Popular posts from this blog

Vernon Leong Jun Wei

What happens to the 31 year old bride groom, Vernon Leong Jun Wei? As the news of this latest unnatural and bizzare death developed, it seemed that Vernon did not jump from the 24th storey of Hilton Hotel as was believed earlier. There were 3 video camera footages which might prove otherwises for the cause of Vernon's death. The first video footage showed Vernon at the 24th storey, making his way hurriedly into the fire escape staircase. The next video footage showed Vernon at the 2nd storey which also holds some shops and the final footage showed an unconscious Vernon motionless at the ground of the hotel. Vernon was cladded casually in a T-shirt and pants and have left his hotel room while his wife was taking a shower. It seemed that he might be escaping from something or somebody or that he might be chasing after something or somebody. What did Vernon see and experience at his last moments? The police is still investigating the case. It is really a very tragical and sad
Post a Comment
Read more

Kampong Lorong Buangkok

Amidst the blazing afternoon sun today, my Dear and I made our way to Kampong Lorong Buangkok. The visit was a timely one as there is such a high buzz being generated over the last kampong in modern Singapore. After alighting from Bus 854 from Eunos, it was not difficult to find our way to the kampong. The entrance of the kampong was distinct as you could see from the picture: the 'ulu-ness' (rural charm) is evident from the attap-roofed buildings and more unkempt conditions. A signboard with hand-written text welcome my Dear and I to the last kampong in Singapore: As we entered the kampong, I spotted a middle-aged woman talking to an old man. I had seen the old woman before on TV. She was none other than the owner of the kampong land. In the documentary, I learnt that the whole kampong land was passed to her by her late father. She has kept the land and have not gone on to sell the land to the government. If she were to sell the land, she would be an instant multi-millionair
Post a Comment
Read more

Performance Bonus

It is the time of the year civil servants receive their performance bonuses (PBs). In the coming two weeks, civil servants will not only receive their performance bonuses, special ‘growth bonuses’, would also await them for the very first time. These PBs and growth bonuses are only applicable to performers, defined as officers with assessed performance gradings above the ‘D’ grade. Typically, civil servants receive their performance bonuses in March, a 0.5 month of bonus in July and a 13th month plus AVC in December. Are all the bonuses good? To be frank, the bonuses dished out in Civil Service are averages at best. With the various bonuses being given out in these months: July, December and March, a civil servant who would like to quit would most likely try to find a ‘suitable’ month to quit so as not to forfeit his bonuses. The December bonus is generally the most generous portion. To quantify for this bonus, an officer would have to be in service till the end of January ne
1 comment
Read more