Tan Kin Lian's Blog: Crowded MRT trains

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Crowded MRT trains

Read this letter.

25 comments:

Anonymous said...: My advice to CEO SMRT is that she try to use the train every day for a week and see for herself that she should not have made such a comment. It shows she does not have leadership quality and don't deserved the CEO pay.; June 30, 2010 6:04 PM
Anonymous said...: Rex comments as follows,

The Prime Minister Mr Lee Hsien Loong, has oft stated that Singapore is a meritocracy. The best people will be selected to hold positons of leadership, there is no short cut, underhand means, only the best will be selected to serve the interests of Singaporeans.

Yet the statement by the SMRT CEO (SMRT being majority govt owned) in response to a very real problem, is nothing but provocative, non-customer oriented, and regressive. How can she retort with statements which is tantamount to "so there, take it or leave it!" This is a wise advice from a "meritocracy" leadership style? Ptui~!

Next, are the members of the Board of Directors in SMRT selected also via meritocracy? A mistake made by their staff (Ms Saw) if not corrected, would mean that the Board of Directors is also a bunch of mediocre or sub-mediocre morons who do not know how to handle problems.

There is more to Management than counting profit and loss and keeping kpi's invented by themselves.

The Prime Minister should really explain how meritocracy system can lead to this kind of leadership? What a pathetic state of affaris we have in Singapore today.

rex; June 30, 2010 7:18 PM
Anonymous said...: The SMRT CEO reply is very high handed. The last time involving the security breach at Changi Depot, her reply was also similar

It is infuriating to see her reply. But this being a monopoly, what can we do? I think i am more frustrated and helpless rather than infuriated

Such is the state of average Singaporean. The CEO challanged Singapore to "choose to" take or not to take the MRT. What choice does the average Singaporean have as far the the MRT is concerned?

Jerome; June 30, 2010 7:45 PM
Anonymous said...: CEO SMRT is talented in other ways, eg setting up lots of shops in MRT, collecting rental and bringing revenue for SMRT.

She fully make use of her talents in her previous job in managing Duty Free Shops.

As for MRT trains being very crowded, commuters have not much choice or any at all. I think that's partly why she can afford to make those comments.; June 30, 2010 8:09 PM
Anonymous said...: Sooner or later the law of the jungle shall apply.; June 30, 2010 8:42 PM
Anonymous said...: REX comments as follows,( re. anon. 8.09 pm)

The core business of a transport company is， Transport.

The leasing out of shop space at MRT stations is an issue to be delegated to the Estate Management division within SMRT. It should not even be part of the CEO's KPI.

The key performance indicator of CEO is how efficient is the transport service provided, what is the satisfaction level of say 80% of the customers (it is fair to assume you cannot have 100% customer satisfaction), and to maintain profit levels within reasonable limits.

What is the Board of Directors doing about this episode? I do not understand how a public servant ( i see her as a public servant because SMRT is majority owned by Govt) can get away with such a ridiculous arrogant statement without comment from her bosses. Silence means consent, are the Board of Directors perfectly happy with her statement? If so let us hear them out too.

The whole episode is completely deplorable, and a compliant Media unable to do anything to expose the fallacies of the system, is also one of the major disasters in the management of Singapore.

rex; June 30, 2010 9:00 PM
Anonymous said...: Dear Mr Tan Kin Lian, I recall you agreed with Mr Gerard Ee on national TV that Singapore's MRT system is very good.; June 30, 2010 9:15 PM
if-only said...: singapore's public transport system leaves much to be desired.

i lived in hong kong for 4 years (i left hong kong in early 2008) and i am very happy with the transport system over there. i didn;t own a car then and hardly took taxis. i used the public bus/mini bus and trains mostly.

although trains are also crowded, they are very frequent (ave 1.5 mins wait, even shorter for peak hours). i believe it's alot more frequent than SMRT trains!

i am not sure what is the frequency of the SMRT trains now (cos i am living in europe now), but based on my experience on my annual trips back to singapore, the average wait time is ard 5 mins, even longer!

and buses, HK buses are frequent too! i take the bus to work and usually the wait is ard 5 - 7 mins for my bus. it's crowded yes, but for peak periods, they increase the number of buses. i cannot say the same for singapore buses. my experience was at least a 15 minutes for the bus. worse is if it's crowded and i have to miss it and wait for another 15 minutes!!!

world class public transportation? honestly, i think it has a long way to go. when i was in hong kong, i didn't feel or see the need to own a car. but when i am back in singapore, i do feel that having a car is so much more convenient than putting up with the hassle of public transport.; July 01, 2010 4:57 AM
Parka said...: Is the train crowded? Any person who uses the train will know it is.

It's unfortunately a problem that can't be solved easily. Increasing frequency will just mean moving more people at a given time, it won't lower congestion simply because there are too many people.

As to the CEO's remark. Nothing unexpected. It is really a case of take-it-of-leave-it.; July 01, 2010 8:06 AM
Michael said...: I share with Wei Sze's comments and experience about the eficiency and effectiveness of HK's public transport system. In addition, although HK roads are much more narrow than Singapore, the traffic jam situation is not serious and the flow is smooth (note that HK does not have COE system). The final analysis could be due to two factors: Transparency and Accountability. Both have attained much higher standards at all levels including the Government Administration. HK is a very open society. Singapore should be humble enough to learn from them.; July 01, 2010 8:17 AM
Anonymous said...: Rex comments as follows,

Someone posted a comment and said that it's actually quite difficult to design the transport system, i suppose this statement is a mitigating factor to calm down our grumblings on the recent problems and the emotional response to Ms Saw's recent presss announcment.

Look at Hongkong: The population is over 7 million over 1000 sq km of land (and quite a bit of land is mountainous). Singapore is 5 million over roughly the same land 900 sq km (which is considerably FLAT and has more space).
With these numbers stacked against HK, why then is hongkong still able to solve their transport problem: the citizens are happy, the visitors (see 8.17 am post) are happy, the society is happy? It could be due to free competition and the free enterprise and consultative approach of their soceity. It could be due to many things, but one thing is for sure: IT is possible to improve if you don't say such things as "take it or leave it" as per Ms Saw.

Why is it that singapore administrators are paid many times HK administrators, and Singapore is hardly getting its money's worth?

WHY？　ＷＨＹ？　WHY？

This soceity is going to disintegrate if the government still lives in denial mode and only cares about "gdp" and does nothing to weed out incapable and inefficient administrators.

rex; July 01, 2010 9:27 AM
Anonymous said...: Except for the pharmacies, I seldom shop at the MRT.; July 01, 2010 9:30 AM
Anonymous said...: Well,these well paid CEO and the team behind the working are too complacent as they alwayS hit JackporT,the bigbottom line.
So why worry too much as the commutors wil have no choice but to take their MRT and buses to work.

a student 17 YR OLD; July 01, 2010 10:31 AM
C H Yak said...: It is "blind" expansion into the shopping arena for SMRT.

Already the stations are located close to shopping areas and also HDB shops which are having a hard time competing with one another.

To the CEO it is a way to create an impact since the SMRT is making profits. It also justify her high salary.

But at the expense of the "back-door virus" at the depots.

The CEO forgot the first lesson in management a CEO of a company should know. That is to improve on its "core-competence" ... i.e. improving the transportation of the public ... especially during the peak hours. This is no one.

Next, make sure they are SAFE...not just from terrorists but also make sure they are not pushed into the tracks.

These are KPIs - No 1 and 2. Not creating evolving change to better shopping experience and compete with shppping centres and also HDB shops.; July 01, 2010 11:34 AM
Anonymous said...: Hongkong has a much better transport system than Singapore, it is just our authorities are in denial mode, a frog in a comfortable well.
They are only concerned with GDP growth, as their pay is pegged to it.
If meritocracy is sincerely practised here, then how do you explain the incompetence of those heading our SWFs, nobody is accountable for the massive losses.; July 01, 2010 11:54 AM
Anonymous said...: Yes, HKG MRT is far better in terms of frequency.. same with TPE.

There seems to be poor judgement or lack of data or ignoring facts when SMRT decides on frequency of trains.

Much of our commerce is centred on services and these are usually accomplished via rotatiing shift work
We have aunties and uncles too who travell on the trains, adding to the load.

Shift workers end duty around 10pm.. that also coincides with students who are dismissed from night classes at the same time.. yet the frequency is 6mins.. this timming also applies to weekends.. when many people travel to seek relaxation.
They soon find stress when the trains are separated by 7mins!!

Yes, send out the entire board to ride the buses and trains for a whole month.. then and only then will I believe their words.. otherwise, its just all talk and no cock.; July 01, 2010 12:45 PM
Anonymous said...: All these years, you Singaporeans only know how to complaint and complaint. What else can you do? Nothing!

The government and the transport companies know that there is really nothing you people can do to them. They know that you people are unhappy with the service level but they would not be bother because at the end of the day you people still LL need to take their mrt and buses. Uniquely Singaporeans!

Always remember, if you keep doing the same thing, you will always get the same result. Hence, you people have been complain all these years and you will get the same reaction (or no action from them). Do something different if you want them to change their "can't be bother" attitude towards your complaint.

You can start by voting out the transport minister at the next GE for a start.; July 01, 2010 2:58 PM
Anonymous said...: Looking at it purely as a service and without considering its financials, my view is that the MRT service is acceptable.

However when I consider the financials, ie the fare charges and the salaries then it is totally unacceptable as a public transport.; July 01, 2010 10:38 PM
Concerned said...: In Japan when consumers complained and if there is a failure by the company, the CEO apologised and rectified the mistake. Example, Toyota recall the cars due to some brake problems and make good the problem. Here in SMRT, the CEO gave a damned load of rubbish, on train security, like Fort Knoxe and for over-crowded trains, ask commuters to bear with it. See the contrast between the two sets of management.; July 01, 2010 11:12 PM
Anonymous said...: Reply to C H Yak:

"....The CEO forgot the first lesson in management a CEO of a company should know. That is to improve on its "core-competence" .."

The above is true provided there is competition. In this case, there is no competition in our transport system hence they know that we are at their mercy. This also explain the CEO's arrogant attitude "it is whether you want to get on the train or not".; July 02, 2010 8:31 AM
The Enforcer said...: I thought that being "world class' meant we strive to be better than the next country, and not just be the same.

Benchmarking our public transport to cities such as HKG/TPE/TYO which are equally urbane and crowded is all well and good. Saying that its entirely up to the commuter to board or not is nonsense.

We should be targeting a level of service that is better than these cities. And these should be the KPI for the CEO:

A) Increase revenues by 25%
B) Increase profits by 10%
C) Increase frequencies by 100%
D) Increase capacities by 200%
E) Increase compliments by 300%

With bonus payable only if performance is over and beyond KPI by 100%.
With pay reductions by 50% if any one of the KPI are not met.

Now, will the real CEO please stand up?; July 02, 2010 11:25 AM
Anonymous said...: In any JOB Appraisals:
Performance Bonus counts when performance standard drops!

Better for companies to adopt ISO Certification and gauge incidents:
1. customer complains
2. safety issues / overcrowding
3. delays / discruptions etc.
4. security issues / vandalism
5. staff training / drills; July 02, 2010 8:21 PM
Anonymous said...: usually got no time to blog BUT LAST NIGHT HEARING THE NEWS REALLY MAKES MY BLOOD BOILS. i love Singapore but recently, really thinking very hard about this relationship. SMRT CEO totally lacks common decency and compassion. anyone studying local culture should really step into the train to get a loadful of reality. common courtesy does not exist anymore and most foreign workers taking up seats reserved for the 'true blue' Singaporeans like our ah ma & ah kong. very sad state of affair and truly a deterioration in lifestyle. Running parallel buses may not work due to the constant traffic jam. i think it's time for me to dump my SMRT shares.; July 03, 2010 11:55 AM
Anonymous said...: I give out my lovely car and take MRT.However,I am not happy with MRT.
1.Foreign worker take up most of the seat.
2.Very noisy in the cabin.( must learn from Japan,all train passenger mobile phone is in silent mode )
3.Differential pricing into, senior citizen.citizen ( student),PR,foreigner.by way of rebate.Why should foreigner enjoy the same price.Always remember tax payer must have some advantage.; July 04, 2010 12:17 AM
Unknown said...: Transport minister, Raymond Lim, said the REGULATORY limiti for the train is 1600. Why did the CEO of SMRT talk about 2000? She is above the law?; July 23, 2010 7:46 AM

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Crowded MRT trains

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