Punggol East By-Election coming ? MP steps down

[3Boys]

toddles:

3Boys:

[quote=\"toddles\"]

disingenuous leh... civil service, NGOs all no excellence lah liddat.

Aiyah, I know what you mean, but NGOs, who are they accountable to? If they close shop, does the country stop running? Not all NGOs are the same by the way, and many of them are downright sleepy.

Civil service? Top honchos are WELL paid! Often times better than private sector. Performance deliverables are good for many, but have you scrutinised their cost base? Got bang for the buck or not?

conflating pay with profit, no?

bus drivers and SMRT management can still be paid (not asking them to work for free, not asking them to work on cost recovery basis), but MUST the organisation be run as for-profit?

non-profit organisations still pay their workers salaries, but is it a given that the organisation performs worse than a business due to the absence of the profit motive?

Tried to research on the London transport system. Sounds like a reasonable hybrid model to me.

Question then is whether \"cost of providing such a service is commercially viable if it depended solely on the passenger income \" - to determine whether it should be gross cost or nett cost basis.

http://www.arriva.co.uk/arriva/en/about_arriva/strategy/business-models/

Contracted services

With contracted services, the primary customer is usually some form of public sector body. A regional government or transport authority may offer various forms of contract giving an operator the right to operate services, usually exclusively, on a particular route or in a specific area.

Most of our mainland European bus and rail markets are contracted services. In the UK, the London bus market and the rail market are contracted services.

There are two main types of contracted arrangement: gross cost and net cost.

With gross cost contracts, the tendering authority agrees to pay an operator a specified sum to provide the specified service for a specified period, keeps the passenger revenue and often sets the routes and specifies the vehicles.

The London bus market, some of our rail operations in Sweden and bus contracts in Denmark, Sweden and Madrid, in Spain, are gross cost contracts.

With net cost contracts, the operator takes on both the revenue risk and the cost risk, and keeps passenger revenue. The tendering authority generally provides a contribution in the form of additional contracted income, where the cost of providing such a service would not be commercially viable if it depended solely on the passenger income that it could achieve.

UK rail contracts, Italian bus contracts and some Dutch bus and rail contracts are net cost contracts.[/quote]Thank you, that was most instructive.

In the final analysis, public transport is frequently a partnership between the g'ment (regulator, often infrastructure provider), and private operators. It's about who provides the capital, who takes the risk, who generates/retains revenue, who takes responsibility for operations.

Even in the models above, some form of private sector involvement is necessary, none of them are totally government owned/operated.

I am not averse to trying different things, but why the mantra that public owned/operated = better? Who's to say one model above is better than the other? Are fares lower? Service standards higher?

[3Boys]

Irrelevant:

toddles:

Gahmen give $1.1 bn to SMRT/SBS transit - where does that come from?

Another wild statement. :yikes:

Unfortunately, I am not patient like 3Boys nor do I need to win votes. I will leave you to your beliefs that the govt gave $1.1bn to SMRT, NLB operates well without any profit incentive and our transport companies are showing record profits.

Errrr......I have yet to be accused of being patient!

Take some liang teh my fren, cooling off period today , I do think toddles does mean well.

[concern2]

Irrelevant:

toddles:

Gahmen give $1.1 bn to SMRT/SBS transit - where does that come from?

Another wild statement. :yikes:

Unfortunately, I am not patient like 3Boys nor do I need to win votes. I will leave you to your beliefs that the govt gave $1.1bn to SMRT, NLB operates well without any profit incentive and our transport companies are showing record profits.

Ya, drink some liang teh
Ok lah, help you clarify to toddles lah! Here is the news report on the bill passed on this:

\"SINGAPORE: Minister for Transport Lui Tuck Yew on Monday said the implementation details of the S$1.1 billion Bus Services Enhancement Programme (BSEP) to ramp up bus capacity over the next five years have largely been sorted out.

He said this in Parliament, as he proposed the necessary amendments to give the Land Transport Authority (LTA) powers to roll out the programme, in a second reading of the amendment bill.

Under the proposed amendments, LTA will be given a new function to implement programmes, such as the BSEP improve public bus services provided by the public transport operators (PTOs) and other bus operators licensed by the Public Transport Council (PTC).

This includes giving LTA the powers to coordinate the routes and scheduling of bus services provided by the operators. ...............\"

(source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/specialreport/news/1212541_170/1/.html )

Over here, we try to be more specific to reduce confusion due to hearsay..

[goldenvoice]

First and foremost, let me set the record right. I am neither for nor against the PAP. If its a good government, then its got to be good. However, I personally feel that in governing its people, they ought to show compassion where it matters most. Sadly enough, the area of COMPASSION is where they are lacking in most.

I used to stay in Blk.194, Rivervale Drive until I was forced to sell my flat by the HDB somewhere in 2009. Initially, I was in arrear of 3-4 months on the payment of my HDB loans. When they kept sending reminders, left with no other choice, we sought help from our ex-MP, Michael Palmer.
Long story short, HDB wrote to tell us that they will arrange some kind of installment payment for us which we thought was something to cheer about. Sadly enough, our joy was short-lived. We were ‘chased’ once again by the HDB on our arrears. I can still remember very vividly, on one occasion when I received a call from the HDB officer, an Indian lady, when she raised her voice over the phone. Feeling frustrated with her attitude, I shouted back at her. That’s the kind of treatment you get when you owe them money.
Do they really care for you? Do they have the compassion that they have been claiming all this while? You decide.
Ultimately, we were reluctantly forced to sell our flat for which we had been living for the past 10 years. Worse yet, we had nowhere else to go. Mind you, with three children in tow, anyone would feel the stress and pressure. We were very worried. I was fortunate as I managed to put up at my sister’s place.
Perhaps, it is pay back time. Strange how some things just come back in unimaginable ways. Maybe, my one vote is just too insignificant to the PAP.

[concern2]

goldenvoice:

First and foremost, let me set the record right. I am neither for nor against the PAP. If its a good government, then its got to be good. However, I personally feel that in governing its people, they ought to show compassion where it matters most. Sadly enough, the area of COMPASSION is where they are lacking in most.

I used to stay in Blk.194, Rivervale Drive until I was forced to sell my flat by the HDB somewhere in 2009. Initially, I was in arrear of 3-4 months on the payment of my HDB loans. When they kept sending reminders, left with no other choice, we sought help from our ex-MP, Michael Palmer.
Long story short, HDB wrote to tell us that they will arrange some kind of installment payment for us which we thought was something to cheer about. Sadly enough, our joy was short-lived. We were 'chased' once again by the HDB on our arrears. I can still remember very vividly, on one occasion when I received a call from the HDB officer, an Indian lady, when she raised her voice over the phone. Feeling frustrated with her attitude, I shouted back at her. That's the kind of treatment you get when you owe them money.
Do they really care for you? Do they have the compassion that they have been claiming all this while? You decide.
Ultimately, we were reluctantly forced to sell our flat for which we had been living for the past 10 years. Worse yet, we had nowhere else to go. Mind you, with three children in tow, anyone would feel the stress and pressure. We were very worried. I was fortunate as I managed to put up at my sister’s place.
Perhaps, it is pay back time. Strange how some things just come back in unimaginable ways. Maybe, my one vote is just too insignificant to the PAP.

Thanks for sharing something so personal with us. With your place at Blk.194, Rivervale Drive gone, it is fortunate that you are able to put up at your sister's place, and still within the PE to give them a knock on their heads
So PAP or not as MP, it didn't matter to you anymore, yes?

[mummy so kiasu]

concern2:

Hey, you know, RP mentioned that everyone should be given a share in Temasek Holding leh, what do you think?

Why not? :rotflmao:

[concern2]

mummy so kiasu:

concern2:

Hey, you know, RP mentioned that everyone should be given a share in Temasek Holding leh, what do you think?

Why not? :rotflmao:

Haha! Frankly, I thought that was pretty interesting idea too.

[mummy so kiasu]

concern2:

mummy so kiasu:

[quote=\"concern2\"]
Hey, you know, RP mentioned that everyone should be given a share in Temasek Holding leh, what do you think?

Why not? :rotflmao:

Haha! Frankly, I thought that was pretty interesting idea too. [/quote]A form of red packets, just like the S'pore shares. :rotflmao:
Anyway, those are taxpayers' money.

[concern2]

Popped in to PAP website for a look, and found the PM's speech in note form:

(source: http://www.pap.org.sg/news-and-commentaries/news-reports/pm-lee-hsien-loongs-rally-speech-english#.UQJlb6XpaS0)

Thursday, 24 Jan 2013

These are the notes of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Punggol East By-Election Rally on the last day of campaigning.

1. Punggol East will soon vote for its MP

a. Met the candidates
b. Heard the Rallies
c. Consider carefully what By-Election is about

i. Choosing the right person, with the heart and abilities to serve
ii. Supporting a good government that will serve you and your family
iii. A vote for a better life

2. By working together, we have transformed Singaporeans’ lives

3. Look at Punggol – today completely transformed

a. Previously pig farms, kampongs, dirt roads
b. Now: Punggol 21+, award-winning Punggol Waterway
c. Same all over Singapore...........
..................

:? Wah seh, this is new to me....not even in proper sentences? I know, they're notes, but no one update it into proper article for him meh? i mean, website is for the public right? Speed reading ah? Can someone please enlighten me?

[concern2]

Here is the screenshot:


http://i45.tinypic.com/11kgxg6.png\">