Yeo Ning Hong
Singapore
“The SAF always reviews and enhances its training system to maximise the contributions of NSFs to national defence during their NSF stint. We will continue to ensure that the training syllabus is relevant to the defence needs of Singapore, and NSFs' time in the SAF used meaningfully and efficiently.”
“New recruits will find military training less onerous if they take on the personal responsibility of preparing themselves well physically before enlistment. AUCTION OF #03-06 PEK CHUAN BUILDING 6.”
“Sir, on a point of clarification. I believe Dr Ahmad Mattar had earlier on attributed some comments to me. I just want to clarify that I am not waiting for July to have my views on SBC made known to the Minister for Information and the Arts.”
“Sir, to encourage the new NSmen to maintain the same physical fitness that they have achieved while they were in full-time National Service, Mindef will increase the IPPT pass standards for new NSmen who ROD on or after 1st April to the same level that they attained when they were NSF.”
“Sir, I do not think Mr Chiam has any clue whatsoever about what is involved in basic military training. It is not fitness. It is the acquiring of basic military skills, to know how to fight, to know how to ensure that you do not get killed.”
“Sir, Mr Chiam would make a most popular Member of Parliament in Kuwait - if only they had a Parliament in Kuwait. That is exactly the sort of situation that had brought the Kuwaitis the disaster they had a year and a half ago, when people are only interested in having a better life and are not prepared to make the effort to ensure that th…”
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Every one of 853 lines we hold for Yeo Ning Hong, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 13 of 18.
“Sir, that matter was considered by the Commission of Inquiry which had made its Report. BILLS INTRODUCED 12.11 pm CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE (AMENDMENT) BILL "to amend the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore", presented by the Minister for Home Affairs and Second Minister for Law (Prof. S. Jayakumar); read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. ROAD TRAFFIC (AMENDMENT) BILL "to amend the Road Traffic Act (Chapter 92 of the Revised Edition)", presented by Prof. S. Jayakumar; read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. DEVELOPMENT LOAN (AMENDMENT) BILL "to amend the Development Loan Ordinances (No. 50 of 1959 and No. 7 of 1961) and the Development Loan Acts (Chapter 66 of the Revised Edition, No. 6 of 1972, No. 18 of 1974, No. 1 of 1978 and No. 1 of 1983)", recommendation of President signified; presented by the Minister for Finance and Minister for Health (Dr Hu Tsu Tau); read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. INCOME TAX (AMENDMENT) BILL "to amend the Income Tax Act (Chapter 141 of the Revised Edition)", recommendation of President signified; presented by Dr Hu Tsu Tau; read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. PRISONS (AMENDMENT) BILL Order for Second Reading read. 12.13 pm”
“Sir, the amendments are currently in the process of drafting and will be submitted to the House as soon as possible. Mr Jeyaretnam: Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, may I ask the Minister if the Committee considered whether the PSA had contributed in any way to this accident by failure to maintain proper standards of safety or whether there had been any omission by any of its officers?”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is possible by judicious allocation of berths to ensure that vessels above 52 metres do not come into the Height Restricted Area. So there will not be any significant inconvenience at all. Secondly, claims have been made against the three parties - the owners and insurers of the Eniwetok, Keppel Shipyard and the Port of Singapore Authority. Some of these claims have been settled, others are at different stages of settlement. Insurance had been taken by the appropriate authorities and companies.”
“Other safety measures recommended by the Commission have been implemented by the PSA. The PSA has also installed a system of visual checks using survey instruments at PSA Towers and Tanjong Pagar Complex. This check will confirm that vessels are below the specified height of 52 metres. PSA will upgrade this system into an independent and automatic laser detector system next year. LEGISLATION As recommended by the Commission, the appropriate legislation will be amended to ensure scrupulous implementation of the height restriction system and the requirement for accurate information on the principal dimensions of vessels in documents submitted to the PSA. HEIGHT OF VESSELS AS A PRINCIPAL DIMENSION My Ministry has also submitted a paper to the 51st session of the Maritime Safety Committee of the International Maritime Organization. The paper brings to the attention of the international body, the desirability of including the height of a vessel as a principal dimension in the vessel's plans and documents. This will highlight the need for all, who are responsible for the safe navigation of a vessel, to be aware of its height, and bring about greater safety for international shipping. Thank you, Sir.”
“For added safety, the Committee further recommended the following additional restrictions for the Height Restricted Area: (a) No vessel above 52 metres in height be permitted in the Area; (b) Vessels above 52 metres in height should not be constructed in the Area; (c) Only vessels of heights between 48 metres and 52 metres be permitted in the Area provided: (i) prior written approval is given by the Port Master; (ii) the height of the vessel has been verified by one of the Classification Societies; (iii) the height has been counter-checked by the PSA using a measuring instrument; and (iv) the master of the vessel has given an undertaking that the height of the vessel will not exceed 52 metres throughout the period of the vessel's stay within the Height Restricted Area. With the promulgated height of the cableway at 56.5 metres, the Committee's recommendation will ensure that the cableway will be protected from tall vessels. Prohibited Area The Commission of Inquiry also recommended the imposition of a Prohibited Area within the Height Restricted Area stretching 200 metres on either side of the cableway and in which no vessel above 48 metres will be permitted to encroach into. The Committee's more stringent recommendation regarding the Height Restricted Area, in effect means that the whole Height Restricted Area has become a Prohibited Area for vessels above 52 metres. It is no longer necessary to have the Prohibited Area as recommended by the Commission. Other Safety Measures The PSA has also upgraded its Marine Emergency Action Procedure to include emergencies threatening the cableway. This Action Procedure now includes rescue operations and evacuation of cable car passengers in case of emergencies threatening the cableway.”
“SAFETY MEASURES Sir, the Committee agreed to all the safety measures recommended by the Commission. In one particular instance, the Committee has decided for added safety to have additional constraints. This concerns the movement of vessels in the Height Restricted Area. Height Restricted Area The Commission of Inquiry recommended the establishment of a Height Restricted Area within Keppel Harbour, and that only vessels up to 48 metres in height be allowed freely into the Height Restricted Area. For vessels above 48 metres, the Commission recommended that they must obtain the prior written approval of the Port Master before they can enter or manoeuvre within the Area. In addition, the Commission recommended that movements of such vessels should only be permitted when the tide is not flowing towards the cableway and provided there are sufficient tugs for use during an emergency. Maximum Height Restriction Sir, the Committee agreed with the Commission on the extent of the Height Restricted Area and that vessels up to 48 metres in height be allowed freely into the Area.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, Members will recall that on the fateful day of 29 January 1983, a drillship named "Eniwetok" collided with the cableway carrying cable cars between Sentosa and the main island of Singapore. Seven cable car passengers lost their lives in the accident. Fourteen other passengers were rescued. Immediately after the accident, the President appointed a Commission of Inquiry to inquire into the circumstances leading to and determine the cause of the accident. The Commission was also asked: (a) to examine the current regulations on the use of waters and facilities along the channel between Sentosa Island and the main island of Singapore and to make recommendations for any amendments; and (b) to make recommendations for such appropriate safety measures which can be taken in order to prevent a similar occurrence. Sir, the Commission submitted a report of its findings and recommendations to the President on 30 December 1983. MINISTRY'S COMMITTEE Following the Commission's Report, the Ministry of Communications set up a committee in January 1984 to study the recommendations of the Commission and to submit an implementation plan. This Committee was headed by the Director of Marine and had, as its members, representatives from the Ministry of Communications, the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA), the Attorney-General's Chambers, Keppel Shipyard and Singapore Cable Car Pte Ltd. The Committee completed its work early this year. I would like to circulate this Report to Members of the House for their information. [Copies of Report circulated to Members.] Sir, I would also like now to highlight the key features of the measures that have been taken to prevent a recurrence of a similar accident.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Minister for Finance who is responsible for this has indicated that he will be flexible. ROBBERY AND HOMICIDE (Figures) 15. Dr Toh Chin Chye asked the Minister for Home Affairs and Second Minister for Law what is the number of (i) robberies, and (ii) homicide cases for the periods January-June and July-December 1984 and January-June 1985.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, since April the collection of taxi drivers has been improving. The situation has not stabilized. New fares were introduced in June, and that was only about a month ago. Therefore, we would like to be in a position where more data are available before a final decision is taken.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I have mentioned in the House previously that we will monitor the situation and closer to October we will have an overall picture, and then make a final decision.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the data available to the ROV and the taxi companies do not support that hypothesis.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, there is no fixed number of hours per shift. When taxi drivers bring their taxis in to have their meters read, they will indicate whether they are driving on one shift or two shifts.”
“Sir, the complaints varied from misconduct to over-charging, to refusal to let out taxis, to failure on the part of taxi drivers to use meters, and so forth. There is not any one fixed category. Dr Augustine Tan: Is the Hon. Minister aware of the continuing anxiety on the part of taxi drivers about the impending increase in diesel tax?”
“Sir, surveys by ROV, NTUC Comfort and taxi companies of some 600 single-shift and 1,400 two-shift taxis for the month of June 1985 showed that taxi drivers were earning more than before the fare adjustments in April. Taxis driven for one shift showed an average increase in fare collection of more than $180 a month; while taxis driven for two shifts showed an average increase of more than $360 a month. ROV received a total of 76 complaints in June 1985. This is 32% less than the monthly average of 112 complaints over the last year. There are about 11,200 taxis on the road. The total number of taxi licences issued by ROV remains the same as at last year, at about 11,600. The Ministry has no intention of reducing this number.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, since the introduction of the new taxi fares, some commuters have switched to taking buses as expected. Bus ridership in April rose by about 4% over that in March. This increase, spread throughout the island and throughout the whole day, has no significant impact on the quality of bus service. Notwithstanding this, my Ministry will ensure that the quality of bus service continues to improve. BULLETIN (Disseminating information on Government policies) 11. Dr Lau Teik Soon asked the Minister for Communications and Information and Second Minister for Defence whether the Publications Department will issue either a fortnightly or monthly bulletin which will contain information and explanation of Government policies and programmes and which will be distributed free of charge to all households in Singapore. The Minister of State for Education and Communications and Information (Dr Tay Eng Soon) (for the Minister for Communications and Information and Second Minister for Defence): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am replying on behalf of my Minister. Information on Government policies and programmes is best disseminated through the existing mass media, ie, the SBC and the local newspapers, which reach almost everyone in Singapore. The important task is for the Government information service as well as individual Ministries to provide the mass media with information presented in a timely and interesting manner. This, in our view, would be more effective than duplicating the effort of the mass media with a fort- nightly or monthly publication as suggested by the hon. Member.”
“Sir, as far as possible, taxi fares, like prices for goods and services in other sectors of the economy, are best determined by market forces. Therefore, taxi fares should be determined by taxi companies and associations. They will of course have to assess consumer demand. Government's role must be to ensure, firstly, a reasonable and competitive level of taxi service to serve the segment of our population that does not own cars and uses taxis occasionally and selectively; secondly, that the increase in the number of taxis does not contribute to excessive traffic jams; and, thirdly, that fares are common among different taxi operators so that a commuter knows what fare he has to pay when he steps into the taxi. Sir, as I have informed the House on 21st March this year, my Ministry will continue to monitor closely the travel pattern in taxis in the coming months. I shall review the overall position closer to October, and if necessary, I shall take up the matter of diesel tax with the Minister for Finance. BUS SERVICE (improvement) 10. Mr Chew Heng Ching asked the Minister for Communications and Information and Second Minister for Defence, since the introduction of the new taxi fares, (a) whether there has been a significant increase in the number of bus commuters and, if so, by how many; and (b) whether the Ministry of Communications and Information in view of this increase has further plans to expand and improve the bus transportation system.”
“Sir, last year, as Members will recall, the taxi situation in Singapore was one of excessive demand for taxis. Commuters complained about long waiting times, about long queues, and time wasted waiting for taxis. They also complained about choosy drivers who refused to stop or refused to take them to their destinations. On the other hand, Sir, taxi drivers also asked for fare increases. As a result of this, the Ministry decided last year to increase taxi fares to resolve these problems. We allowed for the passenger demand for taxis to drop by about 30% initially, and then recover to about 15% to 20% over a two-month period. Under those circumstances, taxi drivers would have been able to pay the diesel tax to be implemented in October, and still have an increase in take-home pay. Sir, as it turned out, the drop in demand was greater than expected. In response to a request from NTUC Comfort on behalf of taxi drivers, my Ministry agreed to a 20% discount on the new fares. This has helped to improve passenger demand for taxis. Sir, the fare increase has achieved the objectives of reducing excessive passenger demand due to unrealistically low fares, and has improved the level of taxi service all round. However, contrary to expectation, taxi drivers were unable to increase their take-home pay. NTUC Comfort has been discussing with their drivers and representatives regarding more appropriate fare structures. NTUC Comfort has also exchanged views with other taxi operators and companies. When the various taxi companies and associations have finalized their proposals for a new fare structure, my Ministry will give their proposals full consideration.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, taxi driver's vocational licences are issued to enable holders to drive taxis for a living. In the past, because of limited training resources and an overwhelming number of applicants, it was necessary for the ROV to train only those who were most likely to drive taxis after being issued with taxi driver's vocational licences. Therefore, starting from 1979, the ROV ceased accepting applications from Government employees as they are not allowed to take on a second job. Those who had previously been issued with taxi driver's vocational licences were allowed to retain their licences. We do not know the number of taxi drivers who are currently employees of Government and statutory boards as the ROV does not keep a separate record for this particular group of taxi drivers. Since January 1985, in a move towards greater privatization, the Ministry has authorized NTUC Comfort and the Singapore Commuters Pte Ltd to conduct training courses for taxi drivers in order to accelerate the training of taxi drivers. Applications are currently open to anyone who meets the basic requirements for the licence. NEW TAXI FARE STRUCTURE (Revision) 9. Mr Goh Chee Wee asked the Minister for Communications and Information and Second Minister for Defence, in view of the substantial drop in demand for taxis after the introduction of the new fare structure and the consequent reduction of income of taxi drivers, if the Minister will consider revising the fare structure after taking into consideration the views and suggestions of taxi drivers and operators.”
“I think they deserve it because this is the sort of society that we want, hardworking people earning more money and keeping for themselves. An hon. Member: Hear, hear!”
“If this single shift taxi driver were to rent out his taxi for the second shift, and the rental figures are fairly high - it varies for individual taxis from the new ones to the old ones - but the figures are in the range of about $30, give or take a few dollars, if he were to rent out his taxi, he would easily recover his $550 just from the rental of his taxi alone. So this scheme will not be disadvantageous. This scheme will give our taxi drivers an increased income. Even if the demand drops by 20%, which we do not expect, we will still find the taxi driver better-off: $25 plus the extras, plus all the money that he can get from renting out his taxi for the second shift. Sir, if we look at the third page where the analysis is done for taxi drivers doing two shifts. Here, obviously, the benefits are much greater because the diesel tax is now shared between the two drivers, but the arithmetic is exactly the same. If there is a drop of 15% in the ridership, then both of them will get collectively $4,573 plus extras. And if we deduct the breakeven point of,$4,032, then we find our two taxi drivers working together on two shifts, they will get $541, plus extras again. Sir, for the two-shift taxi drivers, this represents a sizeable sum of money. And if we expect, as we know of Singaporeans, that where there is money to be made, Singaporeans are willing to work harder, then we can see that this scheme will definitely benefit our taxi drivers to a large extent. And I think they deserve it. 12.30 pm”
“So a taxi-driver driving a single shift will collect approximately $2,439. Those who have a second shift driver, together they will collect a little more because they will drive longer hours, They will collect approximately $3,482. The next page, Sir, shows how we arrive at what we think a taxi driver would be able to collect under the new fare scheme. Present collection: gross collection per month is $2,439. If we add the diesel tax which is approximately $550, then the breakeven point for the taxi driver on one shift would be $2,989. We have done a survey of taxi drivers with more than 300 trips to assess what the difference would be between the new rates and the old rates, and there is a conversion factor of 1.545. If you multiply 1.545 with $2,439, you will get the figures given down below: 0% drop in demand, gives him $3,768 plus extras. The extras are listed below. If there is a drop of about 15%, which is what my Ministry estimates, then we would expect a monthly taking of approximately $3,203 plus extras. And if you take away the breakeven point of $2,989, then we can expect the taxi driver on a single shift to make approximately $214 plus extras. This is why we are confident that if the taxi driver suffers a drop of 15% in the demand from taxi commuters, he will still have a net takehome pay (ie he takes home more money) per month to the tune of something like $200. This is what we have been saying all the time. But that is not the only point, Sir.”
“The Member for Potong Pasir has decided to make a political point by using fallacious calculations. And knowing straightaway that he has been caught, very quickly he ran to the ROV to seek a way out, hoping that all this will be covered up. Unfortunately for him, my instructions to ROV were, "No, I will give an explanation to the Member for Potong Pasir since he cannot do his calculations." And I will explain to Members of this House, including the Member for Potong Pasir, why his calculation is so ridiculous that anybody who is doing PSLE would know it to be wrong. That is why it is not possible that the Member for Potong Pasir could have made that mistake unintentionally. That was a deliberate attempt to distort the figures in order to create a scare in Singapore. Sir, if you look at the first page of the Tables that I have distributed, you will see that it is the first page titled "Average taxi drivers' gross takings per month". This is the amount of money that changes hands in one month between taxi commuters and the taxi driver. On the average, the taxi driver who does a single shift will collect -”
“Sir, I would like to illustrate the sort of credibility that one can give to the sort of figures that he weaves out of thin air. Sir, in this Hansard (col. 176), the Member for Potong Pasir did a calculation on taxi fares. He took the ratio of $3.40 divide $2.40 X $1,200. Is the Member for Potong Pasir telling us that this is the level of his arithmetic -that the increase in fares only affects the net income of the taxi driver and not the gross takings of the taxi driver? He does not know that? Surely he does.”
“As a result, the passengers will not have to pay the capital cost during his trip because the money has already been paid for from reserves. It is expected that because the MRT will make the value of land in Marina South much more attractive in the process when Marina South will be sold, the money recovered as a result of this differential - between having the MRT run into Marina South and hence capable of high density development versus a Marina South that does not have an MRT (because there is not an MRT in Singapore), and hence very much lower development plot ratios - that difference would more than cover the cost of the MRT. Sir, when the Member starts talking about numbers, he has to be very, very careful, because he can talk about numbers outside in mass rallies and most people will let him off, but when he starts talking about numbers in the House, it goes into Hansard. In Hansard of 4th March the Member for Potong Pasir did a calculation of taxi fares. Sir, with your permission, I would like to distribute the calculations of taxi fares. [Copies of Tables distributed to Members.] (Cols. 1689 - 1692) [Copies of Tables distributed to Members.] - AVERAGE TAXI DRIVERS' GROSS TAKINGS PER MONTH, AVERAGE TAXI DRIVER'S MONTHLY COLLECTION WITH VARIOUS DEMAND SCENARIOS (One shift taxis), AVERAGE TAXI DRIVER'S MONTHLY COLLECTION WITH VARIOUS DEMAND SCENARIOS (Two shift taxis) (Cols. 1689 - 1692)”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I think the more we hear from the Member for Potong Pasir, the more we have to come to the conclusion that he has deliberately sought to distort figures in a manner to undermine the integrity of the Government. Sir, the money for the building of the MRT has been set aside by Cabinet, by the Ministry of Finance, to pay for the building of the MRT.”
“Sir, in which case then he is not eligible for the taxi licence. May I carry on, Sir?”
“Sir, it has been decided not to allow a transfer because the transfer for the yellow top taxi to a child opens up the door to the sort of abuses that we know of. This has happened in the past and we do not intend, as I said, to drift back to that sort of circumstances. As for the driver who can speak excellent Malay, he must be a fair linguist. So it should not be something beyond him to pick up a few Mandarin words for purposes of conversation.”
“Pass his conversational Mandarin in order to get his licence. As our society moves past a stage where fewer and fewer people speak dialects, it is obvious that the majority of the ethnic Chinese will be speaking in Mandarin, even if it is at a conversational level. As the Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education has clearly demonstrated, it is not difficult. It would be a lot worse if we had a taxi driver who speaks dialects only, and then finds to his disadvantage that all his commuters are unable to talk to him in the dialect. This is part and parcel of the national movement towards the use of Mandarin in place of dialects. That is a national objective. It is something worth working for, and I am sure this particular individual, if he were to apply himself, would be able to pick up enough conversational Mandarin to be able to get the licence.”
“Sir, the plea for yellow-top taxis is something that the Member for Anson has raised year in and year out, again and again. The answer is still the same, no. The explanations have been given in greater detail to him on other occasions. It is not the intention of the Government to give taxi licences to individuals. This was done at the time to get out of a difficult situation when the taxi licence was used by unscrupulous people to create the Ali Baba system, where there were numerous proxy holders of taxi licences, where syndicates were using proxies to hold all these taxi licences. We do not intend to go back to those unpleasant days where taxi drivers were at the mercy of people of that sort. Hence the system will remain. I believe our present system is much more effective under the present set-up. We have companies that have got good facilities for the servicing of vehicles. This ensures that our taxis are always kept in good condition. We know full well, Sir, as I have explained in great detail yesterday, that each time a vehicle breaks down in the middle of the road, not only is the person in that vehicle inconvenienced but large numbers of other people are also inconvenienced. Hence it is important that our vehicles be kept in tip-top condition. Our policy is to encourage companies with these facilities to hold the taxi licences and to make the taxi licences available to taxi drivers who wish to use them. The second point concerns a man who had to do conversational Mandarin in order to get his -”
“If necessary, the HDB will give additional incentives, incentives that people want, so that we will over a period of time be able to restore to a certain extent what we have lost - the integrated multi-tier family with parents helping with the children, with inlaws helping with the grandchildren, and in the process imbibe more of our Asian traditions. Therefore, if we do this, ie, tax severely those households that own more than one car, we are going to discourage the younger generation from wanting to live with their parents, because this will be another additional disincentive to stay together.”
“But the system for the evening CBD will be a little more complex, because you will then have to decide which is the more effective control. To limit the cars going in or to limit the cars coming out? Each one of these variations has got its advantages and disadvantages. So it is something that is being closely studied by the Ministry. 12.00 pm The Member has suggested that we tax severely those households that own more than one car. This is a favourite proposal put up many, many times. This is a very great favourite. On the surface of it, yes, why not? But if you examine it in detail, you will find that it will not work because almost immediately you will get a proxy owner doing all the registration on your behalf - cousins, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, grandfathers, grandmothers everybody who does not live in the same house will be used as proxies. And we will be back to square one. But, Sir, a much more important reason for not wanting to go in this direction, even though it is not going to be effective, is that it goes against the fundamental principle that our Government is trying to implement in Singapore. We heard the Minister for National Development speak the other day with great sympathy about people who live alone and who have to live alone for a variety of reasons. The Minister summed up by saying that we must continue to encourage our families to live together, not just to solve the problems of HDB but also to solve the problems of our entire society. Ours is an Asian society. Having families pulled apart as soon as the children grow up is not something that is part of our culture. So we must try to bring our families back together, ie, the multi-tier families.”
“But if you think about it, what it really means is that present owners of cars are protected from future increases, and that all increases would now be loaded very severely on all the younger workers, the next generation of workers, on our children. That is what it really means, because they will pay the ultimate high price while those of our generation, having got the car, having got the immunity from future increases in road tax, will enjoy the car, in privilege. Sir, is that system fair? Is this something that we want to do to the future generations of Singapore - to inflict upon them something that we, collectively, are responsible? Because it is we collectively as car owners, who are contributing to the congestions of our roads. Is it fair that we should penalize them rather than all of us sharing a little in the restraint that will make life a little pleasanter for all? Sir, the Member has also suggested extending the CBD, again another subject tackled before. Yes, we have been doing that. As long as there are new buildings coming up, new buildings that will generate large numbers of people in the offices, in the hotels, in the restaurants, those areas will slowly be brought into the CBD, so that at any one time within the city, traffic flow will be reasonable. We remember the days before CBD, when it was impossible to travel in the CBD. We do not want to go back to those days. We will continue to monitor the situation and to look at it slowly, carefully, but systematically. The Member has also suggested an evening CBD, again an idea looked at by us in the past. That is a good idea. The only question is whether the time is ripe for it. We all know that traffic in the evenings is much worse than in the mornings because in the mornings there is a CBD.”
“But it is a measure that helps the largest possible number of people who use our roads. Of course, each time we do this, the motorists are unhappy, very unhappy. But I think it is fully justified because, with over a million people on our roads every day, helping them travel a little faster is something worth doing. Sir, I now come to the comments of the Member for Kolam Ayer. He asks for the projection of cars that we will have over the next 10 to 15 years. Sir, this is a very tall order because public transport, land transport, is a very flexible system. It is a dynamic system. Let me put it into perspective for the Member to understand, HDB builds on the average 50,000 to 60,000 flats a year. Last year, HDB broke its own record and built 66,000 flats in 1984. With an average household of 41/2, that is almost 300,000 people on the move a year. People from all over the place going all over the place. And you want to have a public transport system that will fit in in such a way that disruption is kept to a minimum. This is a very difficult problem. It is not possible for us at this stage, especially with the MRT coming on-stream in 1988, to be able to project specifically what the traffic demands will be like for the next 15 years. But I will assure the Member that if our cars continue to grow at a much faster rate than 3% a year, then everyone of us, whether we are bus commuters, taxi drivers, drivers of cars, travellers in minibuses, everyone of us is going to see progressively, maybe imperceptibly at first, but definitely, traffic jams getting worse and worse. The Member has suggested that we should have a new system, that new cars be ballotted. Sir, this idea has been covered in the discussions last year. Balloting sounds like a good idea.”
“They should not be severely overloaded. And this, I believe, we have achieved to a very large extent. Sir, today there are two major bus companies in Singapore, TIBS and SBS, providing an extensive network of buses. During specific hours of the day, particularly during the peak hours, the bus services along high demand lanes are supplemented by other schemes, the CSS and the Schemes A and B. At the end of 1984, there were 3,136 buses operating on 283 services with nearly two million passenger trips a year. This is a vast improvement of more than 50% when you compare it with 1972, 12 years ago. Buses are also much bigger, capacity much larger. In 1972 there were only 2,103 buses, and they were operating only 142 routes. So there has been a great change, but the change has not met the expectations of our people, which has risen much faster. Sir, I can give more details of comparisons of what we have done over the last ten years for buses, and how the situation is very much better than it was before. But I do not need to belabour that point. Sir, we have also added, as I mentioned earlier, new types of mass transport systems, particularly the air-conditioned buses and the air-conditioned mini executive buses. These are for people in the intermediate stages, people who prefer something a little better than buses. And now we run routes from Bedok, from Boon Lay, down into the CBD. And during the lunch hour we run these services within the CBD, giving people more choice, depending on how much they are willing to pay, how much convenience they want, how flexible is their time and so forth, giving people greater choice in public transportation facilities. But one thing we must continue to do, and that is, to continue to have more bus lanes. This is not a fiscal measure.”
“That is part of the tax that goes to the Finance Ministry. Taxi drivers are self-employed. If they get the extra income, which I know they will, I would hope that they would be able to put some of it into CPF, into Medisave. This would be for their own advantage. It would also be for the advantage of their families. The Member for Boon Lay also wants us to continue to improve our bus services. Sir, we have been doing that for a long time. I can give him some statistics of what has been done over the past years. We know, Sir, that 87% of our people live within 400 metres of a bus stop. That is a very, very high figure for any country. We know also that 91% of people going to work do not have to change a trunk service. Of course, the ideal would be 100%. But when you are dealing with 2,3 million people, the ideal may be a little difficult to get. But we will keep trying. Sir, I will just give a brief outline of the bus service that has been improved over the years. Just to illustrate to the commuters. What do they want? For them, a convenient bus service, one that is easily accessible, within walking distance, close to the terminal or close to the interchange, and a service that will see him to his final destination in the shortest time possible. Good service, no breakdowns, extensive coverage, short travel time. These are what our commuters want, and rightly so. And with the increasing affluence of our country, we must expect that the expectations of our people, even of the public transport system, will also rise. Therefore, a reliable bus service must be able to get the passenger to his destination as quickly as possible. Buses should have a very high frequency, between five and 10 minutes. They should not break down all the time.”
“"Their Verdict: the impatient will find the bus shuttle service the most convenient and cheapest way to commute between Shenton Way and Orchard Road." Sir, some of these ideas are working out well. We hope more of such ideas will come in, more of these intermediate mass transportation systems will be adopted by Singaporeans and, hopefully, our massive traffic congestion problems can be put off for another few years. The Member also wants to know the speed of our buses. I will give him some average figures but average figures, of course, hide those that are above and hide those that are below. The average travel time from Orchard Road to many of the housing estates is approximately five minutes more than by cars. This is because they are able to take advantage of the very many bus lanes that we have drawn over the last few years. 11.45 am For Shenton Way the average extra time taken from Shenton Way to the various housing estates is approximately 10 minutes more. Again, thanks to the bus lanes. And we will be putting in more bus lanes this year, 1985, all with the purpose of giving bus commuters the slight advantage of faster travel. Sir, the Member for Boon Lay has indicated his satisfaction with the assurance I have given earlier in the House that, if the incomes of taxi drivers were to go down instead of going up which I am sure it will, then my Ministry will review the matter. But he has now come back with another request, that part of the diesel tax be put aside for contributions to CPF, Medisave, and so on. Sir, we have to be realistic in our approach to problems in life. The diesel tax is an attempt to help us solve our massive problem as a result of the large discrepancy between the cost of petrol at $1.51 per litre and the cost of diesel at 56 cents.”
“The Member for Kebun Baru also suggested that bus commuters would like to be able to travel very quickly from their homes to their place of work. So would everyone else. But I think we must put our feet on the ground and maintain a sense of reality. It is very unlikely to run a bus service that is able to take you from your doorstep to your place of work as quickly as a car. To expect that is to expect something that borders on the impossible. But for other trips, there have been examples, like the contest that was done by the Straits Times recently. The Straits Times, 22nd March, carried an article "Guess who got downtown last?" This was a competition between three journalists, one took a bus, the second a taxi, and the third drove his own car. There were, of course, handicaps and penalties built into the contest. I think the results are interesting because it clears the myth in the minds of lots of people. I will quote some of the relevant paragraphs: 'A taxi, a private car and the new CBD lunchtime bus shuttle (that is a new idea) ran a "race" yesterday from busy Orchard Road to downtown Shenton Way. The Straits Times wanted to pitch the new loop bus service, launched earlier this month by the Singapore School Transport Association (SSTA) and Tan Chong and Sons Motor Co, against the more personalised forms of transport. One reporter who boarded an SSTA bus opposite Liat Towers gave it top marks for speed, comfort and convenience. He arrived at the Telok Ayer Market within seconds of the second reporter who took a taxi. The surprise "loser" was the third reporter who drove his own car.' Why? Because he had to look for a parking lot. He had to walk some distance from the Market Street multi-Storey car park to the meeting place.”
“Sir, the problem of taxis was discussed thoroughly in the Straits Times dated 11th February 1984 entitled "Taxis Not the Solution to our Traffic Congestion Problem". And so on, Sir. We have been discussing these problems over the years again and again hoping that in the process our people will get a better appreciation of the problems that we are confronted with and thereby achieve a greater sense of reality as to what can be done in a limited place like Singapore, given the shortage of land, given such severe competition for the land that we have by all the various Ministries, the Ministry of National Development desperately needing land to build homes for everybody. We heard about the catchment requirements in order to ensure that we have water for ourselves and so on. So to the Member for Kebun Baru, I would like to thank him for his suggestion that we should continue to look. We have. If Members have any more new ideas, we will continue to look at them. The Member has suggested the idea that we should have custom-built buses for mothers with babies. I will ask the SBS to look into the suggestion and see if there are such buses. But we do have buses with wider doors and lower steps. This may, to some extent, help solve the problem. But if there are any special buses designed specifically for mothers with babies, we will be happy to look into them to see if they are suitable for Singapore. Sir, another proposal is to replace one vehicle with another, an old car for a new car. The system is, in fact, being practised in the form of ARF and PARF. What the Member may be suggesting is something more extreme. If he could give me more details, I will be happy to ask my Ministry to study the details to see what are the advantages and the disadvantages.”
“We have looked into it. I do not think anybody in his right mind could think that the hovercraft is a practical solution to our massive land transportation problem.”
“We went on to implement some of those suggestions to improve our public transport. And we collected many suggestions from the public, and so on. Yes, one more idea which I should just mention. Somebody proposed, I believe it is the Motor Traders, the use of a hovercraft to help meet the morning transport peak.”
“The Member has suggested that we look at other methods in order to help solve our traffic congestion. Sir, we have been looking at other methods. I want to refresh the memory of Members of this House that last year, from January through to about March, for three months, the Ministry of Communications has been writing to the newspapers explaining the various options that we have looked at, that have been put to us, again and again and again, Sir, I will read to you some of the press cuttings to demonstrate that this process of explaining to the people has been going on. Let me just pick at random some of them. "Our policies must help curb the car population. The test will be on three main criteria. They must be simple, equitable and effective", starting on the 23rd December 1983 in the Singapore Monitor. We talked about the advantages in having evening ALS, reported by the Straits Times, 31st December 1983. Then we talked about the problems should traffic peak reach a critical situation, headlined, "When Traffic Woes Reach a Peak", Straits Times, 7th January. "It's a Two-Way Traffic at Transport Dialogue", Straits Times, January 1984, referring to the various sessions that we had with the community leaders. "Bird's eye view and a fish eye view of transportation", more views collected and discussed. "Raising parking fees can reduce peak hour travel", one of the suggestions that was made and considered and the advantages and disadvantages were explained. "Mileage tax, road tolls, not the ideal answer". I believe somebody has raised this question of road tolls in the recent debate. "Tolls on more congested roads, the fairest method", not always true. "Will bus lanes and sharing help", the answer is yes.”
“Our speed limits are already fairly high, 70 km per hour for some and 80 km per hour for others. But each time we do something like that, ie, to increase the speed limit, we must also take into account the much greater risk that motorists will have to undertake. Because internationally, it is well established that there are greater fatalities on roads with higher speed limits, that if people drive faster, there is a greater tendency for a greater number of deaths. So it is not feasible for us to keep pushing for higher and higher speeds because in the long term that would not be to our advantage. The Member for Potong Pasir has also raised the question of the funding for the MRT and, again in the process, he has distorted it. Sir, we have said many, many times that the Government has put aside capital grant for the building of the MRT and that passengers will not have to pay for it. Of course, we know that eventually, when the MRT is constructed and the MRT will be going into Marina South, the land value of Marina South will be greatly enhanced. This is because, as it is right now, it is like any other piece of reclaimed land. The density allowed for a piece of reclaimed land is dependent on a number of factors, one of which will be the accessibility for people to move in and out. If we want to house large numbers of people within a given area, there must be plans to show that the movement of people in and out of this area can be facilitated. With the MRT, that can be done easily, and hence it is expected that the plot ratios for Marina South will be very much higher than if there were no MRT. So passengers will not be asked to pay for the capital cost of the MRT, and that has been stated many, many times. I now move on to comments by the Member for Kebun Baru.”
“"Subsidies for buses in many of Britain's major cities are at an unacceptable level. In a nation where massive metropolitan subsidies are neither necessary nor unavoidable [neither necessary nor unavoidable] and where fares have been held to artificially low levels ... there will have to be major changes." First and foremost will be the change from nationalized bus services to privately owned ones [from nationalized bus services to privately owned ones]. Ridley is urging industry members to accept competition as a spur to efficiency. We must get away from the idea that the only future for bus services is to contract painfully at large cost to taxpayers and ratepayers. "Competition provides the opportunity for lower fares, new services, more passengers. For these great gains half measures will not be enough."' Sir, this is Britain, a country held in great esteem by some of our Members in this House. They have been practising subsidized transportation for a long, long time. We have been very fortunate in that we have avoided that system, and this is their conclusion after very many years of practice. Are we still thinking of subsidies of a public system? Sir, the Member for Potong Pasir also suggested that if we get our cars to move faster, there will be less traffic jams. I think it is something interesting, something that we should tell those who are caught in traffic jams to drive faster and they would get out of traffic jams. I cannot see how it can work when you are stuck in a traffic jam. How are you going to drive faster when the capacity of the road has been exceeded? When everybody is stuck, how do you drive faster? Of course, we can talk about increasing the speed limits along the expressways.”
“Sir, the subsidy of buses is a subject that is a great favourite of some Members of this House; and many countries practised it, often to their detriment. Sir, I would like to read an article from the February 1985 issue of a journal known as Mass Transit that headlines "British Bus System: Going, Going, Gone?" Sir, I will read extracts of it to give us a feel for the sort of problems that we will encounter if we are to go in that direction following the British: 'Mid-way through 1984, the British Government announced intentions to place two hefty slices of its bus transit business on the open market [in other words to go privatization and stop subsidies].' The first thing that is going: 'Going is the massive National Bus Company which operates 14,349 public service vehicles throughout the length and breadth of England and Wales and, in doing so, accounts for something like 1.5 million passenger rides a year [and here in Singapore we are talking about 2 million passenger rides a year].' The second thing that is going: 'Going are the bulk of Britain's publicly owned bus services all over the country.' The third thing that is going: 'Going are the Passenger Transport Executive authorities established throughout Britain to run metropolitan bus operations outside of London.' And gone: 'Already gone is the British dream for the efficient public transit system served by sophisticated buses, operating socially essential services. Gone, too, is another British dream for guided busways, new light rail transit systems and introduction of trolley bus systems. Government plans, outlined last July, are based on sensible free-market principles [sensible free market principles], says London Transport Secretary, Nicholas Ridley.”
“Some other countries? You favour subsidy of bus systems?”
“Telok Blangah Town is now served by 22 buses operating 5 feeder services. Every neighbourhood is linked by a feeder service to the Bukit Merah Interchange. The feeders operate at morning and evening peak frequencies which range from 2 to 7 minutes. The mid-day frequencies range from 4 to 12 minutes. I shall ask the SBS to consider the Member's suggestion. FOREIGN WORKERS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES 4. Dr Koh Lam Son asked the Acting Minister for Labour whether the more flexible policy on foreign workers will be extended to the small businessmen such as dressmakers, tailors, hairdressers and shopkeepers who are finding great difficulty in employing Singapore workers from the local labour market. FOREIGN WORKERS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES (cont.)”
“Thank you, Sir, the Member says that the growth of cars is inevitable. If that is so, then I will be very sad, because it means massive traffic jams in Singapore is inevitable. Sir, we must not allow it to happen.”
“If the cost of labour does not go up significantly, and if the cost of fuel does not go up significantly, I see no reason why bus fares would increase in the near future. Sir, the Member for Potong Pasir has a few proposals. He recommended the use of PARF, that we have done. He looked for other possibilities where we have many of our Ministries outside of the Central Business District, again that we have done. He wanted better road engineering, I think that we have. He wanted more education. As the Minister of State for Home Affairs has explained, that we also have. We have regular programmes on television explaining to our people the safe methods of driving a car, how not to get into trouble, keep in lane, and so on and so forth. We also have a Safety Park which, as I read recently, may soon be open to the public. This will be part and parcel of an on-going programme of education of our people.”
“Sir, the public has been writing to the Ministry, writing to the press, and all these have been collated. I have spent three full sessions with members of grassroots organizations in 1984, where all detailed proposals were discussed openly, and I am happy to note here, Sir, that some of the proposals made by them have been found to be effective, the time was right and we have implemented it, and the pilot programmes that we have done so far appear to be succeeding. As an example, members at these three sessions recommended the use of more bus lanes. Of course, the car owners were unhappy because when you put one lane aside for buses and exclude the other vehicles they have less roads to use and they were unhappy. But the end result was that many more people were able to travel much faster. Other members suggested the use of mini-vans, something that we have not done in Singapore, air-conditioned mini-vans, because of the high expectations of Singaporeans. We have started a pilot programme on it, and to the best of my knowledge, the programme is working very successfully. Air-conditioned mini-buses from Boon Lay, and air-conditioned mini-buses from Bedok, going into the CBD, fully occupied. There was recently the introduction of a lunch time mini-van service. Again, from the report, it is a success. People are happy with it. But these are pilot programmes. We will be happy to examine all these proposals put up. Sir, the Member for Chong Boon suggested that we should look for new solutions. Yes, we will. He suggested that bus fares should be kept where they are. I would most certainly hope that it will. But, Sir, as we know, the two major components in the bus company's costs are labour and fuel.”
“Sir, the hon. Member for Anson has great faith in committees.”