If you are getting the feeling that the trains are getting more packed, it’s not an issue of personal perception, it’s real! Just take a look at the chart below.
All you need to do is take a look at the figure ‘Growth in car kilometers operated (%)’ figure, and you will noticed that it has only increased 2%. But compared that to ‘Growth in passenger-trip numbers (%)’ and ‘Growth in weekday passengers (%)’ and you will notice that there’s an increase of 5.1% and 5.5% respectively.
The figures would suggest that SMRT has not adjusted their train frequencies according to the rise in demand. Apparently, the lessons of SARS have been forgotten and that means, if you get a flu, you can logically blame SMRT because they the chances of more sick people in the same cabin on the same train has increased.
Anyway, I would also suggest you buy some SMRT shares when the price is right. Then at least you can earn some money back from all that fare increments and misery you and your fellow commuters are suffering from SMRT’s lack of concern for the people they claimed to serve.
In simpler terms, if you can’t beat them, join them. Above which, you can also turn up at the AGM and ask some tough questions… make sure their CEO don’t laugh all the way to the bank thinking that her job is done because it doesn’t matter what the commuters think as long as ‘shareholders are happy’ .
xtrocious> that’s why I have told some of my friends, take the KPI and shove it up their arse. Our system may beat most of the other city rail systems in the world, but KPI often do not include customer satisfaction. Either way, who know if the customer satisfaction figures are true when they are published on the local papers? After all, we more often than not hear about the gripes than the bells and whistles, but the papers always say otherwise.
Well, what to do when their KPI is measured in terms of throughput i.e. the number of passengers carried divided by the number of trains…
Obviously the higher the number, the more “efficient” they would look…
But all of us on the ground know that this is the worst form of efficiency if it could even be counted as efficient!
In my case, I used to be able to walk myself into a train at 6.50am but over the last three months, I need to wait for at least 3 trains before I can get on…
And even then, we are packed like sardines…
Aaron> Unfortunately, that isn’t what the SMRT claims. It claims the trains are not getting more packed because each trip isn’t pack more than 85% even during peak hours. But now they have revealed the figures and slap themselves on the face. Now we KNOW for a fact, the trains are getting more packed and they aren’t really doing very much to improve the situation.
TUW> LOL!! The space above our heads… Maybe they should allow people to climb ON TOP of the MRT too. Just like in the movie Gandhi where they climb on top of the trains. 😛
Anyway, I wonder what’s SMRT’s definition of peak hour. Cabs says 5pm – 8pm, but I see trains coming at 4 mins at 7pm. @#@#$#%!
Tianhong> That’s why I always say, they can stop treating us like goods or dead sardines and reserve for us a minimum amount of human dignity. And I personally tell SMRT (and the LTA and PTC for the matter), to take their KPI justifying it as a
World‘Worse Class’ system to shove it up their arse… the reason being that even when the trains in Shanghai can be more packed than Singapore’s, they have a massive turnover of passengers every few stations which means the prospect of seats becoming available is always there. In Singapore, just do your own ‘survey’… there is always a nett increase every station until some of the core stations – for e.g. Jurong East, Yishun, Bedok?haiz… everyday traveling back home is a chore. especially the wait at jurong east mrt is pretty obvious to see that they are waiting for more passenger to board before going off 🙁
I can hardly get into the train during peak hours. Oh if they take into account the space above our heads, it is certainly less than 85% no matter how pack it is.
Well, i didn’t “Think” that the train was getting packed.
I know it was.
But thanks to recent figures, i have confirmed that it is.
As long as they can make money, everything works for them mah.
The country IS run in an economical view after all.
$ is power.. and everything.