Calling to open up bus routes
Actually, it is no good... Private operators will cherry pick (Something which Singaporeans did not realise)...
Anyway, the 2 sectors big brothers's parents have merged....
No lah.. the writer is talking about niche sectors, where big buses may not be economical to operate. Every biz has an economic advantage, and not always, big is better. The writer is proposing that if the 2 big operators are not willing to operate a scheduled service there, then PTC should allow small guys to run there. But then again.. did any small player offer to operate there in the first place?
For example.. farm area.. perhaps aircon bus may not be the best veh to use. Perhaps a lorry with Toyogo plastic chairs nailed to the back would be a more viable alternative. After the weekend crowd is gone, lorry can be converted back to carry chicken manure, for example.
Here's the article for people who don't have today's TODAY.
TODAY/25-Jan-05 Voices p14
Open up niche transport routes
THERE are many tourist attractions like hydroponics and fish farms in
Kranji, but tourists find it difficult to explore these areas because of a dire
lack of public transport.
Hence, GardenAsiaÂ’s organisation of the visits to eight farms in Kranji over the long weekend turned out to be torturous trip for families, who faced a long wait for the free shuttle buses in the hot weather.
Private chartered buses were inadequate to cope with the crowd. There are no public buses to alleviate the problem.
There are many niche areas in HDB towns, outlying areas which could be served better by opening up the routes to other operators.
However, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) is obsessed with the principle of new entrants cherry-picking profitable routes at the expense of SBS and SMRT.
It is time to rethink this whole issue — the LTA must identify serious transport deficiencies across the island and then ask the incumbents to rectify them, failing which the LTA should then open up these poorly served areas to other operators.
Our tourist board can do little to boast of our various attractions when SBS Transit or SMRT wonÂ’t provide the necessary access for tourists and locals, such as in the Kranji example.
HDB towns, too, could be less haunted and more buzzing if the public feeder services were adequate.