I was pleasantly surprised! I could even read papers there! The ride was a short 30 minute ride from my home. I could check the bus arrival times rather accurately using my iphone from the SBS website. Meanwhile, I could even have a cup of coffee and noodles for breakfast while waiting for the bus.
The dedicated bus lanes also narrowed the time savings between public and private transport. I felt sorry for the cars beside me having to pay hefty $4 ERPs (accumulated), $150 season parking while being stuck in jams daily.
My daily transport cost? $2.20. Of course I hate to leave my car at home, but it just doesn't make sense to pay 100 times more and spend more time travelling.
As LTA races to tender out railway network in Singapore, I seriously doubt the marginal increase in ridership will increase the profits of SMRT. The circle line is already operating at a loss, major lines running at full capacity, what kind of growth are we looking at? A PE ratio of above 20 doesn't justify its growth rate ahead.
Though the bus business seems to be a dying trade, I would prefer to take the bus anytime now, considering the current situation of MRT rides. Due to training purposes, public transport for me will only be a temporary measure, but I am quite sure I will research the bus routes instead of MRT whenever I take public transport.
Well done SBS!
7 comments:
Buses are definitely less crowded than trains; which is why I take a bus to work daily! It's also cheaper....haha.
Hi SBC,
I had a terrible experience taking the MRT not too long ago. I would like to share my experience with you:
http://singaporeanstocksinvestor.blogspot.com/2010/05/tea-with-ak71-nightmare-at-bugis.html
It takes too long for me to take the bus to work but the train is quite fast. However, I think I will stick to driving. ;p
taking public transport without these smart phones can be pretty stressful in the past. i used to 'feedback' quite frequently to the bus companies and public transport authorities between 2005 - 2009 on long waiting times. the feedback get pushed around and juz eventually ignored. once u know the next bus arrival times, time can be better utilized while waiting (no matter how long) for the bus to come.
nevertheless, there are still many cases of overcrowding on some routes, esp during peak hours and it's not uncommon to see buses packed to the rim. i notice the overcrowding situation in the last one year is very much worst than in 2005 when i started working. no doubt this is a result of our population increase.
another thing to note is that with the distance based fare, the public transport companies maybe seeing lesser revenues. so will this in turn result in lesser earnings for SMRT and SBSTransit/ComfortDelgro (?).
haha, staying around telok blangah/bukit purmei area?
hallo! i am very curious about something - was the 350k saved from your earnings? i am trying to have enough capital to derive good passive income gains.. and its been a good 3 years of work, and no matter how i save, i can't even reach 100k....
I recently bought SMRT stock at about $2. Not because I'm optimistic about its train operations, but more because I think their rental revenue is going to increase from all the shops at the MRT lines.
What do you think?
FBB, based on fundamentals, SMRT is overpriced now. But $2 is still likely to make you some decent profits down the road.
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