Commuters, be mindful of your rights

Letter from Hanafiah Ali

LAST week, my colleague was travelling on SMRT Service No 187, in the direction of Bukit Panjang, when she smelt something burning and told the driver.

He pulled up at a bus stop and asked the passengers to alight and board the next bus. He also asked them to tap out their ez-link cards at the card reader.

When the next Service No 187 bus (plate number TIB 483Y) arrived, my colleague told the bus driver they were transferring from the bus that had apparently broken down.

The driver told them to tap in their cards unless they had a complimentary ticket slip, which my colleague insisted was not issued by the previous driver.

She believed that as there was a risk the bus might catch fire, the driver ushered the passengers out quickly. But, he should have at least informed the next bus driver.

I encountered such a scenario before, but the driver was more compassionate. As I understood it, if a bus is unable to complete its journey, commuters will not be charged further.

But my colleague incurred a $1.52 fare, for a journey that costs less than $1.

Other passengers may have paid more. If she were to claim from TransitLink, how would the validity of her case be verified?

In any case, I would urge other commuters to be mindful of their rights as consumers when using public transport.

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SINGAPORE: Public transport fares will increase from October 8 - concurrent with the full opening of the Circle Line.

The Public Transport Council (PTC) has decided to grant an overall adjustment of one per cent.

The amount is significantly less than the maximum fare adjustment of 2.8 per cent the public transport operators (SBS Transit and SMRT) wanted.

Adults using ezlink cards for buses and trains will see a two cents increase per journey.

Fares for senior concession card holders will increase by one cent per journey.

But concession hours for senior citizens will be extended to the full-day throughout the week.

Their fares on the North East Line and Circle Line will also be adjusted downwards.

An estimated four in 10 senior citizens will see fare savings.

There will be no change to child or student concession card fares.

As for those paying in cash, adult commuters will see their fares increase by 10 cents per trip across the board.

There will be no change to senior citizen and child or student cash fares.

Overall, the average increase translates to about 15 cents more, per week, for the 85 per cent of commuters who will be affected.

- CNA/cc