Assessing Practicality of feedback

Today, we go through my second core value - Practicality.

So, what is Practicality and how does that compare to another similarly used word, Practicability? In the 1st Edition of the SMRT Strategic Outlook, I detailed that Practicality is never about an idea working or not. Rather, it's about whether it works in a certain context, and if it doesn't, what can we do to mitigate problems that arise from the attempt of implementing something.

Over the past few weeks, I maintained an online presence watching every move on SMRT's Facebook Community and Reviews tabs, doing my part to reach out to commuters whose concerns have not been addressed after months and months of endless complaining. I am continuing to do so today and intend to do so indefinitely, even after I see that commuters' concerns are being addressed much quicker than before. There's always S.P.A.C.E. for improvement, and that's what I'm here for.

Is this Practical? Some may find the effort to be petty (like how someone finds my enforcement of the correct route display to be petty) but who would do it anyway, right? Is this Practicable? At first I thought, no. Why would I visit the page everyday? Yet I do, everyday - yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Out of the many commuters I reached out to, I managed to get in touch with two - one bringing up his concerns of errant bicycle parking at a MRT station and another, the service performance of a bus service - both under SMRT.

Errant Bicycle Parking at NS13 Yishun

Meeting the commuter who raised concerns regarding the issue on Monday, 21 February 2022, I learned that despite the close proximity of the bicycle racks and parking facilities to the MRT station, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) had a bigger role to play in dealing with the issue. I also got a chance to understand from the station staff on how they respond to the concern but they needed support from the LTA as there was only so much that they could do and I empathised with them. So what does this have to do with Practicality?

Initially, the commuter suggested to me that a staff from SMRT be stationed at the bicycle racks permanently but knowing the operational constraints of a station, I raised a counter-proposal that the existing staff could instead perform checks during their Daily Station Inspection (DSI) so that humanpower can be balanced throughout the station as this entire bicycle issue should have never been SMRT's problem but is, because of the proximity.

An email has since been sent to the LTA, copying SMRT in and I look forward to the situation being resolved, with assistance and appropriate support from the former.

High Capacity Buses for Bus Service 904

As some of you may know, I don't actually live anywhere near any of the "territories" currently held by SMRT Buses - Woodlands and Choa Chu Kang-Bukit Panjang. However, with people knowing who I am, I took the opportunity to visit just last Friday, on the 25th of February as I also had a medical appointment nearby. That is also why if you are familiar with local bus stop codes, 46771 is opp Admiralty Stn.

Before visiting to observe the situation in-person, I exchanged several ideas with the commuter. He hoped that a minimum of 2 bendy (articulated) buses be deployed to bus service 904 to deal with the high demand along the route from the looping point at Woodlands Crescent up to Admiralty MRT station. Even though I visited during off-peak hours (again as seen in the picture), the demand was still relatively high with a significant amount of load coming from students and accompanying parents/guardians. If this is the off-peak load, imagine the peak period load!

While the commuter's primary concern is 904, he also raised that 912 had too many of these bendy buses which could be transferred to the former. As a result, this other bus service came under my observation as well. Despite his constant calls for his primary concern to be addressed, I decided to look at the entire situation - at the bigger picture. Observing the demand for 912 and always keeping a lookout for any 'bunching' (where buses from the same service arrive at the same stop at the same time) as well as the appearance of route variants 912A and 912B, I noticed that the entire service needed an overhaul.

Leading up to 'D-Day', I discussed with my group members on which services needed reviewing and they only made mention of 912 as well as 912A, never talking about 912B or 912M. However, my observations on the day told me otherwise - 912B and 912M were now also on my agenda. In the email which I have drafted and have since sent, I called for the frequency and overall deployments of bus services 912, 912A and 912B to be reviewed and optimised to minimise occurrences of bunching as this bunching is the reason why the services are often underutilised. Even when single decker buses were observed to be relatively empty, let alone double decker buses or even bendy buses.

For those familiar with bus services to Woodlands Checkpoint, 912 and 912B are some of a number of services that call there. However, as a result of the pandemic, the once 650,000+ passengers (as per Bus Passenger Volume by Node, LTA DataMall December 2019 data) at the stop is simply no more. This meant that supplementary bus service 912M can be suspended if the headways of 912 and 912B are optimised well.

The screenshot seen above details my ride on bus services 904, 911 and 912. I even observed a malfunctioned Passenger Information System (PIS) on one of the buses! And due to my unfamiliarity with the area, I also had to remind myself to not alight at Woodlands Bus Interchange until the bus service has reached its last stop as bus services like 911 and 912 are some of many in the country which have two loops, with both loops calling at the bus interchange in the centre. With the intention to observe the entire route, I certainly should not alight halfway. I may be unfamiliar, but I am more than happy to learn!

I will be reviewing other Woodlands bus services as well as parts of Choa Chu Kang-Bukit Panjang in the coming months. So far, I only have these two places and the entirety of SMRT's rail network to work with but hopefully, after doing my best to improve SMRT Buses, we can see it expanding under the Bus Contracting Model (BCM), instead of ceding yet another bus package. I would absolutely be welcoming you with open arms to come to Serangoon-Eunos and Sengkang-Hougang, where I can definitely guide you on a daily basis. So, when the time comes, draft your best proposal to win these packages and I guarantee you, with my lead, there is no chance of you losing these two packages so long as you remain receptive to feedback.

I continue to observe and to spring into action (usually only when SMRT has not addressed a particular concern for sometime) when needed. And I am absolutely looking forward to addressing other concerns - I have so far reached out to commuters complaining specifically about the cleanliness of certain SMRT buses, of one SMRT MRT station toilet and one commuter who complained rather vaguely about the company.

Speaking of the toilet, I also sought assistance from my mum (she's an awesome lady!) to help me check on the ladies toilet of that station, which the aforementioned commuter complained about. She reported that the toilet was in a relatively acceptable condition, sending pictures and describing said pictures as we discussed about the issue. As a result, I do not see this as a pressing issue though I would be happy to follow up with the commuter who originally raised this issue.

For those who might be curious: Yes, I am spending my own money to do this. The $10.38 and the $9.43 is my ez-link card balance. I started with $12.14 and ended the day with $6.25 (if we don't consider that I topped-up $10 at the end). Some may suggest that I buy a concession pass but how frequently do I travel nowadays? Perhaps I might be able to do this more during my free time when I receive complimentary rides an employee benefit but this is the most that I can do now. I don't mention about money much usually but at times, I do feel that I have to actually pay the industry (in the form of fares) to push recommendations for it to improve - which is ironic.

I may be a scholar, but I was never in it for the money. I may be a scholar, but it is not why I have already done so much for the industry and more specifically, for SMRT in particular. Scholars usually come up with new ideas because they are pushed to do so, either by their school or by their workplace. I don't. When I see a problem, I fix that problem - scholar, or not. Besides, my school? I will be addressing that issue a few months later - after I graduate. I will just leave this here: It's not the school that pushes me and whatever I do, even when an official recognition from the school is required for certain things to move forward, I will never associate it with the school for they play no part in what I do and should never deserve recognition for my ideas.

***Disclaimer: I am sorry if the terms used may seem like a reference to the ongoing war but to me, the BCM has always been something like a war with territories being lost and people being unhappy with the instability thereafter.

If this is not war, I don't know what is. Despite the open secret that Woodlands will most definitely stay with SMRT Buses, I do not believe we should be complacent. Both bus packages under SMRT Buses is slated to be tendered out next year and my intervention is hardly a desperate attempt to stop this from happening.

Bus Contracting Model, New Rail Financing Framework or whatever, we should always strive towards public transport excellence and inclusiveness, my personal motto which spurs me to encourage others to do so as well and not coming up with desperate measures to "improve performance" only when being threatened by the expiration of bus and train service operating licences (BSOL/TSOL) and subsequently tenders. If you do well, who dares threaten you with competition? You should only fear competition when you're not doing your very best in "peacetime" when no one has to worry about tendering and bidding.

Ultimately, it's about being receptive to feedback.