From: eoahmad@ntuix.ntu.ac.sg (Othman Ahmad)
Subject: Re: MA: Fare Price Increase
Organization: Nanyang Technological University - Singapore
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL4
Date: Sat, 3 Oct 1992 01:31:28 GMT

ustai@memstvx1.memst.edu writes:
: In article <1992Oct2.023823.23268@ntuix.ntu.ac.sg>, eoahmad@ntuix.ntu.ac.sg (Othman Ahmad) writes:
: > Starting from yesterday, 1st Oct, fares in Malaysia increased.
: > Taxis in KL is allowed to charge 50c extra for the first 2 kms. I cannot
: > catch the fares for buses.
: > 	I support this move. In fact this increase is too little and too
: > late. It should be as high as singapore. Imagine a fare of M$1 for minibuses
: > in KL.
: [munched]

Why don't you quote my pharase,
"provided there is competition"
: 
: 	I do not support the move to increase the bus fares.  This is based
: upon my own experiences with Sri Jaya buses and also what I have read in the
: newspapers.

When was this? Was it during the days before the mini-buses? I rarely take the
big buses when in KL?
: way too much profits.  He said 30% profits were normal, however, these

gross or net. Was it sufficient to allow them to buy more buses and recoup their
former investments?
	30% profit is reasonable profit without taking into account depreciation
and cost of finance.
	My cousin has a mini bus. They usually have operating profits of
100%, at least in Sandakan. 30% operating profit is just survival, and rembember
that this is only after using old buses and overpacking.
	Imagine what the profit margin will be if you suddenly buy 2 times the
number of buses? You may not break even.
	I just can't understand why KL people like to use these buses to
save 10c while tolerating the overpacking. I was caught in one with my wife
and 2 young children who were sleeping at that time. Taxis cannot be called,
they refuse to drive through the traffic jams, because of the low profit margin.

: companies were making more than that, and never bothered to improve their
: services or the buses themselves.

	If there is competition, it will be disastrous not to improve services
if they can afford it. As to the decision whether the profit margin is 
sufficient or not, leave it to the entrepreneurs. They know best.
	If you think that you can make more, why don't you try to set up 
a competitive bus company. As to the cost of getting the license, that is part
of the game.
	As to kow-towing(is that right), and kick-backs(commissiions and 
consultation fees), the costs must be taken into account as well.

: 	I think, from the above, one must come to the conclusion that any
: increase in bus fares (in Peninsular at least) will only increase the profits
: of the SJ owners and nothing else.  I can think of no reason to justify the
: increase.  At least the Singaporean buses are clean and regular and no
: overloading.  Do any of the KL/PJ buses fulfil that requirement?

What is their fare? What is their profit margin? No overloading?
Fare is singapore 50c for half a mile. For 3 miles it become 90c which is the
maximum. For feeder routes you pay 25c.
	The 199 service to NTU is certainly overcrouded, early in the morning.
So is the 178 to woodlands most of the time, at least the time I go to
Johor which is weekends.
	The worst is the 170 to Johor, paying 50c just to cross the causeway.
It is the worst packing that I know.
	Incidentally, the best service in the world is the SJ service from
Subang airport to KL. The 15 mile journey cost M$1.20 , air conditioned, and
used to have seats with head rests. The latest buses use the hard plastic
beam for some part of your head to rest, like in Singapore air-con buses.
	I've never experienced any problem with SJ in KL, always spacious, but
the among the worst, as bad as the 170, is the other service in KL, the red
buses, mostly manned by chinese. The SJ service is mostly manned by malays.

: 	Has anyone ever tried to take bus 328 by SJ in PJ?  It is always
: overloaded.  I have asked conductors, and also the people at the bus station in
: Old Town and everyone tells me that the every 20 minutes, a 328 will leave the
: station.  I wonder where does it go, because I have waited more than 2 hours
: for it before...
: 	I live in Taman Tun Dr Ismail.  My Form 6 was in SEA Park School.  I
: had to take 328 from the front of Tropicana.  However, I was forced to walk to
: school every morning because of the irregular service.  Once, I waited from 6
: am (the time the bus starts from the station, so they say) to 7:30 am.  For the
: *FIRST* bus!!!  I guess the bus drivers have had a difficult night.

Why don't you take the mini buses? They are smaller and can make more regular
rounds, and yet it is still not good enough to me, not to our Sandakan standard.

: 	With this kinds of service, and they want to increase their fares?? 
: This is a sick joke!

This is the standard argument against any fare increase. Increase service 
before fare increase. The fare had not increased for ages which inflations
creeps up, even without taking into account the depreciation of ringgit. The
funny thing was that they tolerate the excessive fare in the olden days when
the buses were new. Was it because of better service since there were less 
people?
	When I was in KL in 1981, the mini bus fare was 50c, wasn't it?

: 	I offer no opinions on taxis and buses not in KL/PJ tho, cos I don't
: know anything about them.  I seriously hope the govt will revise their decision
: (like they are going to listen to me....)
You have a very good supported in Dr. Mahathir, our prime minister. He has
"advised" that the prices not be increased for so long.

--
Othman bin Ahmad, School of EEE,
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 2263.
Internet Email: eoahmad@ntuix.ntu.ac.sg
Bitnet Email: eoahmad@ntuvax.bitnet

Newsgroups: soc.culture.asean