Public outcry forced SMRT to postpone it's decision to bid for London taxi firm until after GE

Reuters, 12 Oct 2014
Singapore public transport operator SMRT Corp Ltd said on Monday that it has decided not to make a bid for London-based taxi firm Addison Lee.
Sky News reported on Saturday that SMRT was in the early stages of considering an 800 million pound ($1.3 billion) offer for the firm, which is currently majority-owned by private equity firm Carlyle Group.
"Having considered the matter, the company has decided not to make a bid at this stage to acquire Addison Lee," SMRT said in a statement to the Singapore stock exchange. Link

SMRT plans to make a whopping S$1.64 billion bid for London's minicab operator Addison Lee

Sky News, 11 Oct 2014
One of Singapore's largest transport groups is examining an £800m takeover bid for Addison Lee, London's biggest minicab operator.
Sky News has learnt that SMRT Corporation, which is listed on the Asian city state's stock exchange, is at the early stages of considering an offer.
Addison Lee's owner, the private equity group Carlyle, has kicked off an auction of the company for which it paid £300m just 18 months ago.
News of SMRT's interest in Addison Lee comes just a month after it announced a joint venture agreement with Hailo, the London-based taxi mobile application developer. Full story

Related:
Singapore's SMRT Steers £800m Addison Lee Bid - Yahoo!

LTA turns a blind eye to Uber offering fare discounts that affects the livelihood of local taxi drivers

Singapore Promotion


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Related:
Ban Uber Taxi in Singapore - Singapore Affairs

Uber undercuts taxi fare by 20% since July, but LTA did nothing

Blog.uber.com, 9 Jul 2014


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SBS Transit driver allegedly chased pregnant female passenger off the bus because her pram was not folded

Facebook, 1 Jul 2014

These stupid bus driver of 269 @ AMK interchange really heartless..I m 7mnths pregnant, alone. Carrying a 9months old baby, with a small bag and a light weight pram. The bus driver uncle CHASE ME OUT OF THE BUS just because I NEVER FOLD D PRAM. Full story

Related:
Fare increases needed to improve service to commuters, says Lui Tuck Yew - XIN MSN News

Angry Jurong East commuters waited 45 mins at bus stop for feeder service no 335 before finding out that SBS Transit had change the bus route without any notification

Omy.sg, 22 Jun 2014
巴士怎么还没来？裕廊举行裕廊湖竞跑活动，7条巴士路线改道，乘客申诉不知情，有的傻傻在车站等了45分钟，怨声载道。
本报读者吴小姐（30岁，书记）告诉记者，她昨天下午4时在裕廊东中心第134座组屋附近的巴士站等候335号巴士，发现巴士站人很多。
“我等了10分钟，巴士都没来，我就尝试通过手机应用程序查询巴士到站时间，这才发现巴士改道，不会在这个站停靠。”
吴小姐走到前一个站，刚好看到一名阿叔在埋怨，说乘客们都不知道巴士改道，他就傻傻等了45分钟。 Link

Related:
Fare increases needed to improve service to commuters, says Lui Tuck Yew - XIN MSN News

Singapore Government spends S$749 million on 91 driverles trains for SMRT

International Railway Journal, 29 May 2014
SINGAPORE Land Transport Authority (LTA) has placed a $S 749m ($US 597m) order with a consortium of Kawasaki Heavy Industries and CSR Qingdao Sifang for 91 four-car metro trains, which will be used on the new Thomson and Eastern Region lines.
The 750V dc driverless trains will be the first in Singapore with five doors on each side of each vehicle. LTA says the fleet will also be equipped with improved current regeneration technology.
Kawasaki will design the trains, while CSR Qingdao Sifang will be responsible for producing the aluminium alloy bodyshells and final assembly of the vehicles. The trains will be delivered to Singapore between 2018 and 2021. Full story

Related:
Singapore orders driverless trains for combined line - Railway Gazette

Snapshot: Gerard Ee contradicts himself on public transport fare hikes

Public Transport Council (PTC) says fare hikes and breakdowns are unrelated issues - The Real Singapore, 21 Jan 2014

Public Transport Council Chairman Gerard Ee: Want better transport? Pay more for it! - The Real Singapore, 25 May 2014

OPINION: LTA's latest restructuring plan allows SMRT, SBS Transit to pass bus operation losses to the government

Mypaper.sg, 22 May 2014
The shift to a government contracting model in public bus operations will be a welcome move for SBS Transit and SMRT, which have, for several years, suffered losses in the business, said experts.
Under the existing privatised model, both operators have struggled with the sustainability of their bus operations. While fare increases are regulated by the Government, operators have faced escalating capital and operating expenses.
DBS Bank equities analyst Andy Sim said both SMRT and SBS Transit will benefit, as the losses they are seeing now will be erased when the new government contracting model is implemented in 2016.
"They will be able to cut down on capital expenditure, and the balance sheet will not be so strained," Mr Sim added. Full story

SMRT train strayed onto wrong track?

Hardwarezone Forum, 30 Apr 2014

[Click on image to enlarge]

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LETTER: Secondary school forcing students to distribute flyers promoting SBS feeder service at bus stops

All Singapore Stuff, 30 Apr 2014

I hope you can share this and let the general public know how MOE and Transport ministry are making use of our children.
My son is a student in Ping Yi Secondary School. The school has asked my son and his friends to distribute flyers to the public at bus stops to raise awareness about the new feeder bus service 222 in Chai Chee.
This is outrageous! Why do you need to use students to raise awareness of a profit driven organisation? Their exams are also around the corner. Why are the transport authorities so desperate now? Link

SMRT's stock price surged after it sought the PAP government to take over it's aging assets with taxpayers' money

Reuters India, 25 Apr 2014
Singapore's SMRT Corp Ltd , the operator of the city-state's main rail network, asked the government on Wednesday about a financing framework which would reduce its capital expenditure, The Straits Times reported.
SMRT has previously expressed interest in changing to a financing framework that was introduced by the government in 2010. Under this system, the government would own the assets, and be responsible for replacing them. This would free SMRT from having to incur huge capital expenditures on asset replacement. Full story

Comfort taxi charged passenger a total fare of $596.98 for 11.7km journey

Hardwarezone Forum, 10 Mar 2014


Full story

New 24km bridge in Penang is more than 50 percent cheaper than 5km Marina Coastal Expressway

Longest Bridge In Southeast Asia Opens Today In Penang - Malaysian Digest, 1 Mar 2014

The Second Penang Bridge, the longest bridge in Southeast Asia, opens tonight, easing traffic in the rapidly industrialising northern state of Penang.
Totalling 24 km in length, it will take motorists around 20 minutes to cross the RM4.5 billion bridge from Batu Kawan on the mainland and Batu Maung on the island. Full story

Marina Coastal Expressway to open on Dec 29 - Todayonline, 13 Nov 2013

Work on the 5km-long MCE started four years ago and is Singapore’s most expensive at S$4.3 billon — which works out to S$860 million per kilometre.
A 420m-section of the MCE goes under the seabed just south of the Marina Barrage, making it Singapore’s first undersea road. Full story

Related:
Singaporeans think government is "not poor", expect more from government: PM Lee Hsien Loong - Hardwarezone Forum

MRT train service disrupted again at North-South Line on Tuesday night (25 Feb 2014)

Facebook, 25 Feb 2014


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Related:
Fare increases needed to improve service to commuters, says Lui Tuck Yew - XIN MSN News

Republic Polytechnic students late for exam due to MRT service disruption

The Real Singapore, 24 Feb 2014

The train delay lasted for more than an hour including waiting time in stations and inside the train. I was able to reach school at 8.15 if the train is going smoothly. But i reached school at around 9.30. I have exams at 8.30. Due to train fault from kranji north south line. Students from republic polytechnic were greatly affected by the train fault. Resulting in in many students unable to take their exam and grades was greatly affected even though the smrt late slip was given to school. Students were advised to take another exam that is for students with medical reasons. (Ut4) which is alot harder. Full story

Related:

1. Snapshot: MRT train service disrupted on busy Monday morning rush hour causing thousands to be late for work
2. Fare increases needed to improve service to commuters, says Lui Tuck Yew - XIN MSN News

Snapshot: MRT train service disrupted on busy Monday morning rush hour causing thousands to be late for work

Singapore government delays plan to ban smoky Malaysian vehicles from entering Singapore to 1 July 2014

Paultan.org, 13 Feb 2014
Malaysian vehicles with excessive smoke levels will soon be barred from entering Singapore, according to a report from The Star. Initially scheduled to take effect at the start of the year, Singaporean authorities have now decided to delay the implementation of the new rule to July 1, 2014.
The neighbouring country’s National Environment Agency (NEA) has lowered the permissible level of black smoke emitted from a vehicle from the previous 50 HSU (Hartridge Smoke Units) to 40 HSU. As such, private and commercial vehicles that fall foul of the new ruling will be denied entry into the republic. Full story

SMRT installing "traffic lights" insides Ang Mo Kio and Tanjong Pagar MRT stations to combat overcrowding

Hardwarezone Forum, 6 Feb 2014
In an effort to allow commuters to better plan their journeys, Ang Mo Kio and Tanjong Pagar MRT stations are installing a set of traffic lights that signal to commuters how crowded the platforms are before they go through the fare gates and onto the platform.
The new signals will indicate green, yellow or red, similar to current traffic lights.
Green will mean that the platform is not very crowded and passengers should be able to board a train straight away.
Yellow means there is a small crowd on the platform and commuters can expect to wait 2 or 3 trains before they will have room to board.
Red will mean that the platform is extremely crowded and commuters should expect delays on their journey and may wish to take alternate transport options. Full story

Poorly maintained SMRT bus broke down at BKE on Thursday morning causing massive rush hour traffic standstill

Hardwarezone Forum, 6 Feb 2014
An SMRT bus that broke down on the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) and brought Thursday morning's rush hour traffic to a standstill has been removed.
The Land Transport Authority said the SMRT bus broke down at the Bukit Panjang Road entrance into the BKE.
Photos from readers showed commuters caught in the jam alighting from buses and walking away. Full story

Related:
Fare increases needed to improve service to commuters, says Lui Tuck Yew - XIN MSN News