‘Time to provide transport fare concessions to the disabled’

By Andrew Loh

Why, Mr Lui?

It's been 13 years since the first call was made by the disabled community for concessionary travel on the public transport system. They have sent letters to the transport operators and the Ministry for Transport, held events at Speakers' Corner and gone online to gather support.

Members of Parliament, such as the Workers' Party's (WP) Sylvia Lim, lent their voices to the call. "The government has often said that we should build an inclusive society," Lim said in Parliament in March 2010. "It therefore should not take a back seat on this issue."

She added, "The government cannot wash its hands off the matter by saying that the public transport system is operated commercially and it is up to the public transport operators (PTOs) to decide. The disabled have no bargaining power against the big companies."

In February 2011, finally a light seemed to have appeared at the end of the tunnel on the issue. The government unveiled its "Enabling Masterplan 2012-2016" which aims "to better integrate and enable people with disabilities." Among the 41 recommendations in its 5-year plan was for "operators to provide transport concessions as part of corporate social responsibility."

The disabled community and supporters cheered the move.

Barely their weeks later, however, their hopes were dashed.

At least seven MPs "rose to badger" -- according to the Straits Times -- Minister for Transport, Mr Lui Tuck Yew on "how he should force the PTOs to extend concessionary fares to polytechnic students."

Non-constituency MP (NCMP) Yee Jenn Jong said "[it] will be a good gesture by the public transport operators to reciprocate our government's generosity by granting this request to these two groups who [sic] truly need better concessions." Yee was referring to the government's injection of S$1.1b to help the operators purchase 550 new buses.

In his reply, Minister for Transport Lui Tuck Yew put paid to any expectations that concessions would be given. He said "he is 'sympathetic' to both groups but that it is not possible to address all these requests immediately or entirely in a single fare revision exercise." Lui added that since any fare adjustment for this year has been postponed, there will thus be no concessions either.

'Looking into' it

If the disabled community feels let down, it is entirely justified in feeling so.
Back in May 2009, bus operator Singapore Bus Service (SBS) was reported to be "looking into offering concession fares to commuters with physical disabilities" and that it was "considering doing this on its buses first, and on its trains later."

The possibility of having concessionary travel was naturally welcomed by the disabled community. "We appreciate that they are looking into this," Singapore Disabled People's Association secretary Judy Wee said then. "It will cut down on our transport costs and enable the handicapped to travel more frequently."

However, this was not to be and there had been no word of any such concessions from 2009 until Lui's remarks on Wednesday in Parliament.

One would ask the PTOs and the Ministry about what took place between 2009 and 2012, between SBS and the government with regards to the proposed concessions for bus travel for the disabled.

In June 2010, The Straits Times tried to find out where the matter stood. It reported that a check with the ministry drew this reply: "All concession fares are decided by the operators based on their business considerations. There is nothing beyond that which we can share with you on the subject right now."

A spokesman for the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS), said then: "We have checked with the Ministry of Transport and understand that transport concessions are decided by the transport operators."

The community has been calling for concessions for 13 years. Lui's reason that no concessions will be given since there are no fare adjustments this year smacks of a convenient side-stepping of the issue. After all, it's been more than a decade and the matter is not something which emerged only recently. How much time do the PTOs and the authorities need?

This year's Budget is touted as an "inclusive" one and in many ways it is. The government even dipped into its purse to lend the PTOs a big hand with its S$1.1b handout to them, despite the operators making good profits each year for the last decade.

It is thus perplexing why something so simple and compassionate as fare concessions for the disabled — a practice which other countries have implemented — has to be delayed or denied each time it is brought up here in Singapore.

The disabled community is not asking for entitlements but for a necessity. Members of the community do not earn as much as an able-bodied person and transport costs eat into their earnings much more substantially than it does for an average person.

Perhaps it is time, nah, indeed it is time, for the PTOs themselves — in spite of what Lui has said — to step up and show some responsibility. Now that it has been given a big hand by the government in the purchase of hundreds of buses, it should — as Yee said — reciprocate, and show that it is not devoid of a heart when it serves the public.

Andrew helms publichouse.sg as Editor-in-Chief. His writings have been reproduced in other publications, including the Australian Housing Journal in 2010. He was nominated by Yahoo! Singapore as one of Singapore's most influential media persons in 2011.