I REFER to yesterday's newspaper reports that results from the 2008 Household Interview Travel Survey revealed that the total number of trips made on public transport during the morning peak period shrank to 59 per cent last year from 63 per cent in 2004.

I am a public-transport user and the decline is commensurate with the reliability and quality of public transport in Singapore.

None of our public-transport modes are reliable or comfortable, although waiting times for public buses are much better compared to those of some Western countries.

Take SBS Transit buses.

Waiting times for buses can be as short as three minutes or as long as 27 minutes for certain services. Buses are also cramped.

As for the MRT, since 2007, trains running at peak and off-peak hours are overcrowded, and it is impossible to get a seat easily.

There is also a lot of noise when trains pass through tunnels.

Additional noise is produced by incessant announcements in trains.

Commuters waiting at station platforms are also not spared, as announcements are made every minute. Why can't they get some peace and quiet?

Lastly, there are also issues with taxis. The taxi-booking system in Singapore is efficient compared to those in many parts of the world, but trying to book a taxi during peak hour on a rainy day is almost impossible.

Some taxi drivers are also choosy about their customers.

Many cabbies refuse to pick up passengers from the CBD fringe during peak hours, opting instead for customers in the CBD as a surcharge is levied upon them.

The Land Transport Authority has an uphill task in getting public-transport operators to improve the quality of their services.

Mr Raymund Koh Joo Guan

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