If I were the Transport Minister

Raymond Lim is inviting you to try to fit into his big shoes by playing "The Great Transport Challenge 2020" game. This is similar to an earlier game with similar title to help explain the Budget 2007.

The game gives a quick comprehensive view of the issues that are currently being discussed or debated in tandem with the White Paper review. It is a good guide for starters and a good summary for those who are familiar.

Do play the game and learn a thing or two from it. There are prizes to be won too!

Resignation of SBS Transit's Executive Director

SBS Transit has announced the resignation of Executive Director Mr Ong Boon Leong, who has only been appointed as executive director in 2005. This should be a sudden news for most people. His departure could also be sensitive in view of the ongoing public transport industry review and the rumoured merger between the two land transport rivals, ComfortDelGro and SMRT.

However, the news should be less shocking to investors, as there were already some telling signs about a month earlier. Ong Boon Leong is one of the top 20 shareholders of SBS Transit Ltd, ranked 16th with 289,500 shares (0.1%). In the past month, many non-executive directors of the company exercised their share options and buy in substantial shares. Other investors are also showing strong interest in the company's stock, which explains why the share prices went up 20% within the past month. However, the only blip amidst the flurry of buying action is the sale of Ong Boon Leong's share, which he reduced from 289,500 shares to a mere 500 shares in end March through sales in the open market at his own discretion.

SBS Transit Ltd regrets to announce the resignation of Mr Ong Boon Leong, Executive Director with effect from 27 April 2007. Mr Ong will be leaving to pursue a Masters in Divinity in Vancouver, Canada. The Company is grateful to Mr Ong for his invaluable contributions and the good stewardship that he provided as Executive Director.

Source: SBS Transit

SBS Transit will lose a key driving force for the company. From my understanding, he was the one who pushed for the aggressive expansion of the bus network, which saw SBS Transit introducing a record number of 21 new services in year 2005. Under his leadership, he has pushed for an all-out-attack strategy that challenge every front of SMRT bus and train services, so much so that they are pressed to introduce more bus services at the expense of their profitability to counter the negative publicity they received for their laggard bus services initiatives.

The press release on Mr Ong Boon Leong's departure was clear and definitive in pointing out that he left the company for a higher calling -- he will be pursuing Masters in Divinity in Vancouver. For those who are unaware, a Masters in Divinity is a prerequisite for full time church ministry, and one of the best seminary, Regent College, happens to be in Vancouver.

Mr Gan Juay Kiat will be appointed as the Chief Operating Officer a day after Mr Ong Boon Leong departs. Godspeed, Mr Ong Boon Leong!

Mr Ong Boon Leong
Executive Director, SBS Transit

Mr Ong Boon Leong was appointed Executive Director of SBS Transit Ltd in 2005. Mr Ong first joined DelGro Corporation Limited in 1994 as Senior Manager, Corporate Development where he was responsible for business development, corporate planning and corporate communications. From 1998, he was concurrently appointed Group Chief Financial Officer.

On his promotion to Executive Vice President in 2000, Mr Ong assumed the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Europe Business, a position which oversees the DelGro Corporation Limited’s operations in United Kingdom and Ireland. Subsequently, in 2001, he was concurrently appointed as Deputy CEO of SBS Transit Ltd. In 2003, Mr Ong assumed the position of Chief Operating Officer. He oversees the day-to-day operations of both the bus and rail businesses.

Prior to joining the ComfortDelGro Group, Mr Ong served in the Administrative Service with stints in the Ministry of Communications and Ministry of Home Affairs. He also worked as an Investment Analyst at Standard Chartered Securities Pte Ltd.

Mr Ong was a Monbusho scholar and holds a degree in Economics from Hitosubashi University, Japan.

Mr Ong was last re-elected a Director of the Company pursuant to Article 103 of the Company’s Articles of Association at the Annual General Meeting held on 27 April 2006. He is a non-independent Director of the Company.

A tale of two companies

Yesterday, Singapore’s exchange market was rife with speculation about a possible merger of the two land transport giants: ComfortDelGro and SMRT. As a result, their share prices skyrocketed between 5.9% and 6.6% at closing.

ComfortDelGro is the “world’s second largest public listed land transport company with a fleet of more than 40,000 vehicles”. It is the parent company for Comfort and SBS Transit which are the market leaders in taxi and bus industry in Singapore respectively. SMRT, the market leader for train services, is a multi-modal public transport company offering train, bus and taxi services, as well as expertise in consultancy and project management in railway systems. Both companies have advertising arms.

In a newspaper report by The Straits Times (attached below), it was reported that ComfortDelGro has submitted a position paper to the Ministry of Transport, giving their two-cent worth on how the public transport industry should be structured. Two specific suggestions are given: to merge with rival SMRT to create one big giant transport company, or to have two separate companies with different areas of expertise – one running buses while another operating trains. (Note: It should be quite obvious that SBS Transit will be the natural bus company and SMRT will be the train company).

It is not hard to fathom why ComfortDelGro is keen to push for the two scenarios because they will have the upper hand in both scenarios. For the first scenario, if they were to merge with SMRT, it would most likely to be a take-over exercise rather than merger. With a market capitalisation of S$4.8 million over SMRT’s S$2.6 million and a ferocious appetite for aggressive acquisition, it would be quite unthinkable that they are willing to “merge” with SMRT. I speculate that they would have said something like this in their position paper:

Having a one giant company would create a company that can offer a holistic transport solution to Singapore with economy of scale. Also, by taking over merging with SMRT, we will hasten the process of achieving our mission of creating the world’s number one land transport operator. This would be Singapore’s pride: the largest land transport operator which is profitable.”

For the second scenario, though left with buses only, they will be able to use buses to compete with the trains by offering point-to-point services and direct bus services which are what the passengers wanted – faster and more direct services without the hassle of transfers.

Hitherto, SMRT has not yet put forth any position paper. Judging by their rival’s move, I would think they would be forced to come out with one. Already, they are managing shareholder and market’s expectation by responding to media about the position paper submitted by ComfortDelGro. A day after the news was reported, SMRT responded:

“(SMRT) Having operated trains and buses for over five years, we have grown to understand the synergistic benefits of a multimodal model. This is our preferred mode.”

What could we read from this statement? It could mean that they are supportive of the merger to create one big giant company, but this is quite unlikely as they will be a takeover subject. Another possibility is that they are against the one-bus-one-rail industry structure advocated by their rival. It is not hard to think why they are against bus-rail competition because the bus company could employ a bus network strategy that degrade the attractiveness of feeder buses to train stations while offering direct trunk services that offer door-step services or point-to-point services to compete with the trains (which SBS Transit is already doing so by replacing feeder services with passing through trunk services). Without the support of feeder buses, the trains will be left with pockets of small catchments area around the train stations.

What then is the government preferred industry structure? Minister for Transport Raymond Lim had previously state that there is no sacred cow that cannot be slaughtered, but they would not be slayed for the sake of doing so. Ultimately, with a pragmatic government, what is more important is to find solutions that achieve the outcome they want, rather than be engaged in an academic argument that debate which theoretical model best fit Singapore.

So far, the Ministry has made clear that in the next 10 to 15 years, the key solution to land transportation is to make public transport more attractive. It can no longer act as a captive market which attracts users who are unable to afford a car. As part of the land transport industry review, Ministry of Transport and Land Transport Authority have lately engaged the public in first of the many focus groups. One issue touched on is the possibility of bus route-tendering system, where bus routes are centrally planned by an independent body while the operation of the routes is being awarded to bus transport companies through competitive bidding.

In light of this, you might want to add one more possible industry structure to ComfortDelGro’s list: one rail company with multiple bus companies with route tendering.

Let us continue to wait in anticipation for the final outcome of the public transport industry review.

ComfortDelGro shares climb on SMRT merger whispers

Shares in ComfortDelGro, operator of the world's second-largest fleet of buses, taxis and rental vehicles, gained as much as 6.8 per cent after a report said chairman Lim Jit Poh suggested a merger with rival SMRT Corp.

Mr Lim's other proposal reportedly was for one company to operate bus services and the other to run Singapore's subway system to boost the use of public transport. The company does not comment on market speculation, spokeswoman Tammy Tan said.

Singapore is encouraging more people to use public transport to ease road congestion. The Ministry of Transport is reviewing the public transport sector.

“This piece of news could lead to more analysts factoring in the possibility of Singapore having one operator for rail and one operator for the bus system,” UOB Kay Hian analyst Leng Seng Choon said.

Shares of ComfortDelGro gained 13 cents (5.9 per cent), to $2.33 at the close of trading, while SMRT shares jumped 11 cents, (6.6 per cent), to $1.77.

SMRT, Singapore's biggest subway operator, also provides bus, taxi and charter services.

“Having operated trains and buses for over five years, we have grown to understand the synergistic benefits of a multimodal model,” SMRT said in an emailed statement. “This is our preferred mode.” — Bloomberg

Source: TODAY, 21 April 2007

Mega-merger of transport operators or separate all-bus, all-train entities
By Christopher Tan, Senior Correspondent

TRANSPORT giant ComfortDelGro's chairman, Mr Lim Jit Poh, has made a formal proposal to the Government on restructuring the public transport industry.

The Straits Times understands he is suggesting two options:

• A mega-merger with rival SMRT to create a single public transport group, or
• Have one operator run the buses and the other, trains.

Mr Lim has in the past mooted 'inter-modal' competition between separate all-bus and all-train operators.

He submitted his paper to Transport Minister Raymond Lim, following the ministry's call six months ago for an industry review to raise public transport ridership sizeably.

The paper was mentioned in the latest annual reports of ComfortDelGro and its subsidiary SBS Transit, although its contents were not revealed.

The Transport Ministry would not say what ComfortDelGro has proposed, but its spokesman said: 'We treat these as useful inputs coming from a key stakeholder and will give due consideration as part of the ongoing land transport review.'

The ministry is expected to release results of its review by year-end.

Currently, the two key stakeholders - SBS Transit and SMRT - have bus and train operations. SBS Transit does not make much money from rail and SMRT does not make much from buses.

Caught in the middle are commuters who complain that travel in many parts of the island is far from 'seamless'.

In the present set-up, commuters find they require more transfers to get to their destinations because too many bus services were removed to avoid duplicating MRT services.

In his chairman's statement, Mr Lim said: 'I note the public calls for more competition. I also note the cry for centralised and integrated services. These are extreme positions.'

In its General Household Survey 2005, the Department of Statistics found that although buses were the public transport network's fastest way to get around, the proportion of commuters who could take a straight bus to work had fallen from 25 per cent in 2000 to 21.9 in 2005.

The proportion who had to take both bus and train went up from 13.9 to 15.1 per cent.

Asked for her comments on the two options, SMRT president Saw Phaik Hwa said it was unnecessary to overhaul the industry, but improvements could be made.

Ms Saw said a bus-versus-train set-up could mean duplication of resources and, as a result, higher fares. She also said it may not be environmentally sound.

'That's what's happening in Hong Kong, where you see buses occupying five lanes in Causeway Bay. The pollution is bad,' she told The Straits Times yesterday.

The suggestion for one operator to run all the trains was made in 2003 by former transport minister Yeo Cheow Tong, who said 'a lot of the overheads can be saved'.

He even said SMRT would be allowed to operate all future lines if it took over SBS Transit's North-East Line (NEL), which was loss-making then.

Ms Saw said she would not acquire a loss-maker.

But last year, the NEL became profitable. Asked if she would now reconsider her position, Ms Saw said: 'I don't have a problem running the NEL, but the price must make sense. It's a business deal.'

Source: The Straits Times, 20 April 2007

Google Map showing car park rates

Lately, the Esplande car park rate shot up by up to 50%. If you're a regular visitor, you're likely to look out for other cheaper alternatives nearby. Although there is a comprehensive compilation of car park rates available at One.Motoring, you have to know the names of nearby car parks and search through the list. Wouldn't it be easier if the information can be presented graphically?

Here comes the answer. Someone has made use of Google Map and created a graphical version of the list -- Parking Maps Singapore. The idea is similar to the display of bus stop timing which I've blogged earlier. By mapping the car parks onto the map, you can easily focus on a specific area where you want to park to find out parking rates. Results are available almost immediately. This is especially useful if you wish to find alternative car parks nearby without searching through the long list.

Caution: the car park listed in the Google Map is not exhaustive, and the information is only as updated as what One.Motoring provides.

Screenshot of map showing car park rates

Google Map showing bus arrival times

SBS Transit recently launched iris NextBus service -- an online enquiry that tells when the next bus is arriving at a bus stop. It is a good initiative, but the website is cumbersome to use as you have to click through drop-down menus to search for your bus number and bus stop. Also, only one service is available at any one time.

Singeo has overcome the limitations by using Google Map. It displays all the bus stops on an easy to read map. From the map, just click on any bus stop to show a pop-up window that lists all the services available from the bus stop, and click on the service number will link you to SBS website for the next bus timing.

This is a demonstration so only bus services along East Coast Road and Marine Parade Road are available for this demonstration copy. Try it -- it's pretty cool!

Screenshot of Google Map showing bus stops

Screenshot of iris NextBus

Welcome aboard SMRT

Lately I've been thinking of going on a getaway to anywhere that's accessible by flight. I missed the Changi experience (which strangely was pipped by KLIA in airport ranking lately), the experience of flying at a mile above ground, and also the pilot greeting which usually goes like this:

"A very good afternoon to you ladies and gentlemen. From the flightdeck, this is your captain speaking. I would like to welcome you onboard this flight SQ2 to Hong Kong. Our flight time this afternoon is about 3 hours and 20 minutes. [...] On behalf of the crew onboard this aircraft, we wish you a pleasant flight."

My wish came sooner than expected.

Today while I transferring at Jurong East MRT station, I heard the following announcement while I was seated in the train waiting for it to depart:

"Good afternoon passengers. Welcome aboard SMRT. We hope you have an enjoyable journey with us. Thank you."

I was pleasantly surprised by the friendly greeting made by the train officer (i.e. the person driving the train). It sure perked up the otherwise boring train ride. Since when did SMRT upgrade their train officers to train pilots? [Post note: I read in a forum that another person heard a similar announcement on 9 Apr which goes like this: "Good evening passengers, the train is about to leave towards Marina Bay shortly. On behalf of my colleagues, I wish you a safe and pleasant ride on SMRT. Thank you."]

Some digression. As it is not a pre-recorded announcement, I am sure this is an isolated incident of an overenthusiastic train officer trying to go the extra mile in customer service -- which is perfectly fine as the message is pleasant. However, imagine how the same train officer would react if the pre-recorded message could not be played due to technical error? I cannot fathom how he will replace the "Doors closing... dooo....dooo....doooo..........". (By the way, do let me know how many "doos" are there if you manage to count.)

Upon alighting at my terminal station, I noticed that gone are the lines and lines of advertising messages promoting their failed Dhoby Xchange and SMRT Link shuttle. Instead, the junk messages are replaced by a simple static statement of "Welcome to Woodlands station".

Without having to pay attention to the junk messages, travelling by MRT is a better experience. It would be better if they also stop playing the free shuttle bus announcement during weekdays (because it's not operating!). And to SBS Transit, please give us back the quiet environment by muting the TV Mobile. That's all I ask of you...

Text (take) me to LTA II: They do return......

Nope. Not the ghosts. It’s LTA’s newly launched SMS channel (77-LTA).

I sent in a SMS query in the morning – just to test the new system. True enough, I got an automated reply acknowledging my feedback. But what followed wasn’t what I expected.

I got a return call from LTA – on a Sunday morning! Also, they clearly demonstrated the spirit of going-the-extra-mile by repeatedly trying to reach me on my phone when I was unable to pick up the call. I’ve lost count, but I think I got at least 7 missed calls from them within two hours. I thought a SMS reply is more than enough for my simple query.

I managed to ask the staff who called me whether this channel will be manned 24/7, which he replied yes. But, he called again later to correct that it will be manned during office hours only, and that today (a Sunday) is an exception due to the first day of launching. I must say I'm impressed with the effort they put in.

In case you're wondering, this is what I text to them:

“Are there any additional telco charges for this SMS channel?”