Our Wonderful Transport System

Singapore has a world class public transport system. We also have a world class fleece-money-from-people system.

We must be one of the top users of "pre-paid" systems in the world. I mean, almost everything.

Granted, you have some systems that are pre-paid in many countries. Like mobile phone calling cards. That is because you actually save some money when using pre-paid services.

But here, nooooo....

Hmm. Lets see. HDB and URA parking are done by a coupon system. You pay before you use. And I don't mean it is similar to those parking meters in other countries. In those system, you actually park your car first, then you pay for how long you intend to leave it there. Or those parking in shopping centres, where you collect a ticket upon entry, and pay the appropriate amount when you leave. Now that is a reasonable transaction.

Our parking coupons are bought days, weeks or even months ahead. If you lose it, its your own fault. If it is destroy, it is your own fault. If you tear the tabs wrongly, its is your own fault. What kind of "savings" are we talking about ? Nothing. What benefits for paying in advance ? Nothing.

And yet, when they decided to raise the parking rates from 90 cents per hour to $1 per hour. What happens to the pre-paid 90-cents coupons ? You can't use it. You have to "top-up" and buy new coupons ! I mean, the SALE has already taken place. It is a done deal.

Recent trip to Malaysia showed that our neighbour has definitely caught on very fast to our efficient government in collecting money. They took down parking meters and now sell parking coupons, just like Singapore. Wow. I think pretty soon, having a holiday trip into Malaysia will be very much just like Singapore.

Now, "top-up" is something that is very common to Singaporeans. I mean, if we have to pay for goods/services AFTER we use them, we find it amusing. We tan-dio (earned).

And how about Cashcard ? Since when is CASH itself not acceptable ? Ask our dear National Library. Cashcard is supposed to be treated like cash. You have to take care of it. Make sure it doesn't get stolen, etc ,etc. If you lose it, it is as good as losing cash.

Yeah, sure. So where is the "Choice" ? ERP uses cash cards. Many parking uses cash cards. Without it, you are just inconvenienced. Look at other road users abroad. Even our neighbouring malaysia, has lanes for "pre-paid" and "cash only" users. No doubt the pre-paid "Touch-n-Go" has no discount, but it provides convenience for users who choose to use them, providing a faster lane, without having to wait too long in queue. There is choice.

I recently drove through an ERP gantry without a cashcard. Why ? Because I don't usually drive through the PIE towards Changi at the peak hour. When I see that it was in operation, I had no time to slot in my cash card. Results ? $10 admin charge, and $1 for the fare.

Everything is about penalty. We prepay way before we use the services, forgoing bank interests (even if it is pathetic) and other benefits, yet we suffer heavy penalty for not being smart enough to use the system in their weird way.

Take the EZ-Link card on Buses. How many people have innocently forgot to tap at the exit and thus had full-fare being deducted ? I mean, excuse me for spending my whole life getting used to not need to tap at the exit. Now, you change the system and it suddenly becomes my fault ?

Oh, you can claim the fare back if you forgot. Yeah, spend more money writing in, going to their office to fill in forms, wait for hours to get a refund of 60-cents ? It just makes it not economical to appeal. So smart. What is the results ? People can't be bothered to seek refund.

So who wins ? It is never about the consumer or the good of the people. It is always about making it easier to fleece money off us.

Welcome to our wonderful world of Singapore.