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Sounds like some chirping in the safari... Singapore where got free lunch... not even in UK, Australia or even China...

(05-03-2013, 08:52 PM)CityFarmer Wrote: [ -> ]More and more "free" or "subsidized" proposals. Prospect of SBST/SMRT doesn't seem good...

MP proposes free travel on public transport before peak hours

SINGAPORE — Member of Parliament for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC Janil Puthucheary has raised the idea of free travel on public transport before peak hours to encourage commuters to change their travel patterns.

Speaking during the Budget debate in Parliament today, Dr Puthucheary urged public transport operators to consider providing commuters free travel within a certain time period outside rush hour. This could reduce the crush during peak hour travel.

http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/mp-...peak-hours

> Janil Puthucheary has raised the idea of free travel on public transport before peak hours

He has a good heart. But this idea make no logical sense.

Once given free, the free mentality will go on forever.

Quote:Speaking during the Budget debate in Parliament today, Dr Puthucheary urged public transport operators to consider providing commuters free travel within a certain time period outside rush hour. This could reduce the crush during peak hour travel.

I suggest Dr Puthucheary lead by example. SMRT and SBS can give him free travel to his office - at 7am. And also free ride home - at 9pm. After 3 months of enjoying such "free off-peak public transport", maybe Dr Puthucheary can share with us how feasible this idea would be.

Seriously, where does the PAP dig up such amazing geniuses? Do they think people LIKE to travel during peak hour? If the government wants to alleviate rush hour, lead by example - stagger the government's own working hours. Let some start early and leave early, and others start later and leave later. Obvious departments that can implement this - Changi Airport and PSA, which already work 24/7, and whose administrators only make up a small proportion of the operational staff. Also the police force - change the shift timings to avoid peak hour. Ditto the hospitals.

(06-03-2013, 02:08 AM)d.o.g. Wrote: [ -> ]Seriously, where does the PAP dig up such amazing geniuses?

The selection criteria of PAP candidates are likely to be:
1) Singaporean which is obvious
2) Very successful in their respective career... especially in terms of salary and position.
3)....
4)....

In Singapore, due to the quota and the nature of some careers, it is inherently unavoidable that some careers will have the most congregation of successful Singaporeans and tend to fall into PAP selection criteria.
Some careers like..
1) Civil Service including SAF. (especially if you are a scholar)
2) Financial services ( bankers, accountants)
3) Medicine (Doctors. Only 200+ entered medicine a decade ago and the job is naturally protected from external competition by the expensive overseas degrees and requirement to obtain a license to practice)
4) Lawyers (same as doctors)

So, if you are looking for a high flying Singaporean with a successful career, naturally you will end up with a high percentage of candidates in the above categories.

And for some careers, due to the nature of the work and fierce competitions, it is harder to be very successful (especially in terms of $$$)
Eg.
1) Social Services
2) Education
3) Engineering, Science and manufacturing
4) Service industry
5) Charity/Social Enterprise (Durai not included...)

How much can a very successful director of social service earned? A low five digit maybe. Career progression? not much. Fall into PAP selection criteria??? very hard.
Successful engineers??? there are some but most of the smarter ones have jumped ships.

So, inevitably, we see a relatively high proportion of doctors, lawyers, bankers, accountants, senior civil servants, SAF generals in our parliament. In fact, with only 200+ trained Singaporean doctors in Singapore yearly in the last decade, it is amazing to see so many doctors in our parliament.

With this kind of combo, sometimes, they tend to think in the same way or weird way.

The parliament should compose of dedicated and successful citizens from all walks of life that can reflect and feedback the feelings of Singaporeans. A successful professional from service or engineering industry is unlikely make the same amount of $$$ than lawyers and doctors but they will have very different views from them.

In the parliament debate of population policy, with so many civil servants, doctors, lawyers, bankers around, the only MP that can put across the feelings of Singaporean so well was in fact an engineer - Inderjit Singh.

Strange isn't it.

there was a period where i tried to beat the peak hours by going into the city 45min earlier.

but unless the whole world starts the day earlier (which by definition moves the peak hours earlier so back to square one), one is left in the office 45min earlier with nothing productive to do.

so i spent the 45min downstairs having coffee and breakfast and wasting my time.

from a financial p.o.v, breakfast in the city prob costs 5X the amount of commute savings from early ridership.

after a few mths, i decided that driving to the city is still much more comfortable and went back to my gasoline guzzling days.

(06-03-2013, 02:08 AM)d.o.g. Wrote: [ -> ]

Quote:Speaking during the Budget debate in Parliament today, Dr Puthucheary urged public transport operators to consider providing commuters free travel within a certain time period outside rush hour. This could reduce the crush during peak hour travel.

I suggest Dr Puthucheary lead by example. SMRT and SBS can give him free travel to his office - at 7am. And also free ride home - at 9pm. After 3 months of enjoying such "free off-peak public transport", maybe Dr Puthucheary can share with us how feasible this idea would be.

Seriously, where does the PAP dig up such amazing geniuses? Do they think people LIKE to travel during peak hour? If the government wants to alleviate rush hour, lead by example - stagger the government's own working hours. Let some start early and leave early, and others start later and leave later. Obvious departments that can implement this - Changi Airport and PSA, which already work 24/7, and whose administrators only make up a small proportion of the operational staff. Also the police force - change the shift timings to avoid peak hour. Ditto the hospitals.

We have more and more "geniuses" in our PAP government since they came up with the GRC system in the name of ensuring minority representatives in the parliament. They later raised to become full ministers. In fact the current batch of minister all got into parliament through back door early in their political life. This has become a standard route to becoming a minister and it explain why we have so many screwed up policy. Take the recent curb on cars for example. The ordinary man in the street is smarter to spot the loopholes quicker then those policy makers sitting their ivory tower enjoying highest paid in the world. Don't about you guys, As Singaporean, I fill that I am being short changed big time.

(06-03-2013, 07:19 AM)yeokiwi Wrote: [ -> ]

(06-03-2013, 02:08 AM)d.o.g. Wrote: [ -> ]Seriously, where does the PAP dig up such amazing geniuses?

The selection criteria of PAP candidates are likely to be:
1) Singaporean which is obvious
2) Very successful in their respective career... especially in terms of salary and position.
3)....
4)....

In Singapore, due to the quota and the nature of some careers, it is inherently unavoidable that some careers will have the most congregation of successful Singaporeans and tend to fall into PAP selection criteria.
Some careers like..
1) Civil Service including SAF. (especially if you are a scholar)
2) Financial services ( bankers, accountants)
3) Medicine (Doctors. Only 200+ entered medicine a decade ago and the job is naturally protected from external competition by the expensive overseas degrees and requirement to obtain a license to practice)
4) Lawyers (same as doctors)

So, if you are looking for a high flying Singaporean with a successful career, naturally you will end up with a high percentage of candidates in the above categories.

And for some careers, due to the nature of the work and fierce competitions, it is harder to be very successful (especially in terms of $$$)
Eg.
1) Social Services
2) Education
3) Engineering, Science and manufacturing
4) Service industry
5) Charity/Social Enterprise (Durai not included...)

How much can a very successful director of social service earned? A low five digit maybe. Career progression? not much. Fall into PAP selection criteria??? very hard.
Successful engineers??? there are some but most of the smarter ones have jumped ships.

So, inevitably, we see a relatively high proportion of doctors, lawyers, bankers, accountants, senior civil servants, SAF generals in our parliament. In fact, with only 200+ trained Singaporean doctors in Singapore yearly in the last decade, it is amazing to see so many doctors in our parliament.

With this kind of combo, sometimes, they tend to think in the same way or weird way.

The parliament should compose of dedicated and successful citizens from all walks of life that can reflect and feedback the feelings of Singaporeans. A successful professional from service or engineering industry is unlikely make the same amount of $$$ than lawyers and doctors but they will have very different views from them.

In the parliament debate of population policy, with so many civil servants, doctors, lawyers, bankers around, the only MP that can put across the feelings of Singaporean so well was in fact an engineer - Inderjit Singh.

Strange isn't it.

Inderjit Singh & Puthucheary i bet they are new citizens..
i learnt of many new citizens working in the ministries these days.
they could be loud or gave interesting ideas/real feelings in the parliament, but when the time to vote, they all fall in line as a single party.
these days a lot of these wayang speeches in the parliament i guess?
'change people's traveling patterns' why dun they change their first..
the birds start to sing at 7am for a reason & goes to sleep before 10pm for a reason, there is a timed natural biological clock to follow in human beings, have they consulted the research of human health before suggesting to change morning or evening rush commuting hours ..i bet they dun.
just looking at the surface...

To add-on from a different perspective.

I had gone thru endless round of brain-storming sessions, and few are very successful. One of the criteria to success is a open mind to ideas, and no idea is stupid.

The context of the proposal is within a budget debate. It is quite similar to brain-storming session IMO, where everyone voice-up their ideas for policy maker.

Let get back to the proposal. Base on observation, a daily $1-2 ERP fee is making a difference on car-owner's travel time to work and off from work, so it is possible to make a diff if "free" MRT/Bus trip during off-hour. The question is who pay the shortfall eventually.

I agree with Yeokiwi. Group think is very prevalent and they do not have sufficient people in other walks of life as they are moving towards elitism rather than meritocracy.

A successful actor or teacher has its own merit; meritocracy is not judged by income or profession. That is where the govt's idea of meritocracy deviates from the true spirit.

OTOH I believe Inderjit Singh chose to be absent on the day of the vote, since the party whip was not lifted. So we should always give credit where it is due.

We singaporeans have not yet learned to voice out our concerns. 16th feb was agood start. we may more such events now. Our Mp's are also cast from the same mould. an outright rebellion bu IJ would have surely cost him his livelihood (i.e his MP seat). I also think he is a one of the brigth spots in the present leadership & doing reasonably well as an alternative voice .