Circle Line costs more?

This is a super duber good article on our singaporeans average thoughts. i doubt it will serve any purpose or any impact on the high transport costs that is going to be inflicted on us and i doubt "they" will listen to our woes, because basically, nobody does listen to us, having said that, its good once a while for us to have our say anyhow!

Cheers to this article! Well SAID!

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Extracted from ASiaoNe
Circle Line costs more? Don't pass the buck to us

I REFER to last Thursday's report, 'Train fares likely to match NEL's'. It was mentioned that fares for the upcoming Circle Line will be higher because it is completely underground and fully automated with driverless trains.

I can understand why fares are higher if the entire Circle Line is underground. But can SMRT explain why fully automated and driverless trains cost more? This may be due to the initial high cost of installing the automated system, but is this not a cost-saving measure in the long run?

Let us assume that SMRT is justified in passing on the initial high cost to passengers. But then, will it give rebates to passengers when the system starts bringing in cost savings? I doubt so.

If automation costs so much, why not employ the traditional system of drivers, which is now in place on the North-South and East-West lines? Besides, this will create more job opportunities when we are going through this economic downturn.

Transport is an integral part of everyday life and so the average citizen is deeply concerned about transport costs.

The Government encourages us to take public transport to reduce the number of cars on the road. Hence, should the Land Transport Authority and public transport operators not work together to come up with measures to ease the burden of higher transport costs?
Jason Chua

I’m Feeling: YES~!