Bus operators to pay higher fines for service lapses

Penalties increased by as much as 20 times for failing to meet standards
By Royston Sim, The Straits Times, 5 Mar 2013

BUS operators SBS Transit and SMRT will face much bigger fines if they fall short of standards from next month.

The Public Transport Council (PTC), which had previously been criticised for having too light a touch, yesterday increased fines by as much as 20 times.

The changes affect the two types of operating standards that have to be met - daily and monthly ones.

The penalty for not meeting a daily requirement, such as exceeding the number of passengers allowed on a vehicle, goes up from $100 a day for each bus service not up to par, to $2,000.

For monthly standards - such as keeping the breakdown rate on all services lower than 1.5 per cent - the fine has been raised from $10,000 to $100,000 per failure.

The PTC said it decided to enhance the fines to "communicate that it takes a serious view of non-compliance with the QOS (Quality of Service) standards and expects the public bus operators to keep service lapses to a minimum".

The move, which comes in the wake of changes to fines for MRT disruptions, was hailed by observers.

Member of Parliament Lim Biow Chuan, who sits on the Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport, said the bigger penalties send a message to operators that there are serious consequences for not being up to scratch.

"Previously, the signal seems to be, if you don't obey, I will tap you lightly on the wrist," he said.

Transport economist Michael Li of the Nanyang Business School said the existing fines were probably not very effective, but the higher penalties would prompt operators to take measures to minimise the risk of punishment.

"The purpose of raising the penalty is deterrence," he said.

SBS Transit could not be reached for comment yesterday, while SMRT declined to respond to queries about the stiffer fines.

The penalty framework for failing to comply with service standards was implemented in October 2007. Under it, bus operators are assessed over six-month periods on performance standards such as scheduled trips operated, breakdown rate, loading and safety.

For instance, buses cannot be more than 95 per cent full during weekday peak periods.

Since then, SBS Transit has been fined six times. Its highest fine was $9,300, for the period between December 2007 and May 2008.

SMRT has been fined nine times, with its highest fine being $1,000 for the same period.

In the most recent review period, SBS Transit's record was clean, while SMRT was fined $100 for an instance of overcrowding.

Mr Lim noted that over the past year, the operators' record had not been satisfactory in other areas.

For example, there were too many MRT breakdowns, he said, adding: "We should send a message to the transport operators to do anything necessary to improve the reliability of service."

In January, the Land Transport Authority said that the maximum fine for an MRT disruption would be pegged to a percentage of an operator's annual fare revenue for the affected line, although that percentage has yet to be determined.

The new penalty framework will take effect later this year. The current cap is $1 million per incident.