Transport fare changes for the social good

THE public transport fare changes announced in Parliament earlier this week should cause many Singaporeans to sit up and take notice as they were influenced by social factors as much as, if not more than, economic considerations.

For one thing, there was a strong direction that the next fare review exercise, in the first half of 2014, would probably result in an increase in fares for most public transport commuters in Singapore. After a two-year pause in fare adjustments, commuters will have to get used to higher fares. Moreover, it was revealed in Parliamen…