Dear readers, I returned to office today and it was the first day of a brand new year that I returned to office having work from home or was on leaves for the past few days.
I take public transport to work and when I tapped my MRT card after exiting from the train, I was shocked! A single-way trip to office now costs around $1.75! It used to be just $1.30 some years back.
I understand that transport fees has increased this year.
I understand that the transport fee hike was gradual, little increments over the years.
But when I compared the current transport price that I pay today, it was not against the $1.60 some time back, nor the $1.50 or $1.40 further back.
It was really against the $1.30 transport price which was the price before the cost of many things went up.
This is reasonable, explainable, psychological and logical in my view.
Hence seen in light, I find my transport fee has really gone up quite a fair bit. Don’t get me wrong! My benchmark is always the aforementioned $1.30 and it was only till the increase was to $1.75 that I really feel that the transport price has gone too high.
I am always of the view that compared with those luxury items or wants, transport is really a basic need. Transport provides people with opportunities and more options for the daily lives.
For example, some may prevent having to pay more and limited going out from their housing estates for better and nicer food they like and places in other places of Singapore that they may want to visit in our limited life.
Hence, I will encourage transport prices to be kept low so that more Singaporeans can venture out without the baggage of paying more for transport fees to places they like on an already small and highly urbanized country and to add more vibrancy and recreation to an already hectic lifestyle for many.
With many people going out, local businesses in all parts of Singapore may experience a boom in their businesses too.