April 1st: Lower fares for your bus and train rides

Oh yeah! Lower fares for your bus and train rides. Let's hope this is not an April Fools joke.

So much lower is it going to be?

If you are using an Adult Ez-link card:
2 cents reduced per trip

If you are using a child/student concession:
1 cent reduced per trip

And.....

"EZ-Link fares for adult and senior citizen concession journeys for instance could see a fare reduction of 2 cents for a direct journey with no transfer, to a reduction of 14 cents for a journey with 1 transfer. " - Channelnewsasia

But....

the reduction of fares does not apply to cash fares and single-trip tickets for trains, so you better get your Ez-Link. Just take it as an additional 'must have' card in your bag/wallet. Without it, you'll be spending more on your bus/train fares and you might not even be able to buy that Big Mac you have always wanted...... unless you have cash in hand of course.

So the more you use, the more you 'save'. I am just wondering if a glitch might happen for such changes especially with the old Ez-Link cards still being used.

There's more info in the link found at the bottom.


"Singapore: EZ-Link bus and train fares will be lowered from April 1.

The Public Transport Council (PTC) announced Thursday that there will be an overall 4.6% reduction in fares, comprising both a fare rebate and an increase in transfer rebate. " - Channelnewsasia

Click here to read more.

COE drops to S$2?

Woah! Anyone wants to buy a car?

Excerpt from Channelnewsasia:

"SINGAPORE: The COE price for small cars, 1,600cc and below, fell by S$10,453 to a historic low of S$2 in the latest bidding exercise.

The next biggest fall was seen in the Open Category COE, which dropped S$3,601 to S$6,889. Open Category COEs are used mainly for cars. "

Click here to read more.

Body of dead man found in Bedok Reservoir

Excerpt from Channelnewsasia:

"SINGAPORE : The body of a dead man was found floating near a jetty at Bedok Reservoir Road on Wednesday evening.

Singapore Civil Defence Force pulled his body out of the reservoir after receiving a call from a member of the public at about 8:20pm."

Click here to read more.


Another death in a reservoir, maybe it is about time we put a barrier around the reservoir?

2 boys found motionless at Bedok

Excerpt from Channelnewsasia:

" Police received a call at about 5.20am alerting them to the boys, both 16-years-old.

One of them was pronounced dead at the scene.

The other was sent to Changi General Hospital, but died later at about 8am. "


16 years of age? What were those boys doing out so late? Was this some kind of gang fight or something? The news are pretty vague at present, but this incident is near to a couple of schools around the area. I hope the police found out what happened and step up the patrols there.

Click here to read more.

Singapore has fewer policemen per 100,000 people but lower crime rate than some cities

News excerpt (Channelnewsasia):

"SINGAPORE: Cities like Hong Kong and New York have more police officers per 100,000 people of its population compared to Singapore.

Yet the Republic fared better when it comes to keeping crime rate down last year, said Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng at a community event.

And that's because Singaporeans have played their part to deter criminals."

Click here to read more.


Such a positive report. For one thing, we don't have much riots or people going on strike. Such things are illegal. So, again, the govt of Singapore are lucky that Singaporeans are a harmonious lot.

But let's get back to the facts here. The way I see it, Singapore's police force is under-staffed and we have had a high jump in population over the past years. The amount of foreigners have increased, surpassing a million. We have a lot of events going on every year, with the National Day coming in a few days time, with quite a considerable amount of security being deployed. Not to mention the armed forces marching during the parade and also those helping out with the National Day event.

I remember reading about how our policemen and women are working over time. I even heard of a friend's friend who couldn't get leave for his engagement this year. Rumours or not, this problem has to addressed. With the upcoming IR in the works, I wonder if we have enough police to patrol our streets.