SBS Transit and SMRT Losing $9m Yearly to Fare Cheats?
Let’s not talk about the $20 fine, and the fact that when the bus companies have problems with their fare calculation systems, they don’t get fined. An authority has given more powers to bus companies to fine passengers. Most people have an opinion that this is unfair.
As reported in ST 3 July 2008:
The new fines are designed to stem the tide of fare evaders, who cost bus companies about $9 million every year, according to 2005 statistics. Before the penalties were imposed, SBS Transit and SMRT caught about 300 bus commuters cheating each day.
Let’s be generous and assume each commuter is paying $3 per trip.
$9m ÷ $3 = $3m commuters a year
$3m ÷ 365 days = 8,219 commuters a day
That’s 27 times more than 300 a day who are presumed to be cheating.
This is the same kind of “mathematics” that the recording and software industry have used to claim that they are bleeding billions based on how many people they think are not buying their products. Such numbers are prone to bias and there is no way to prove them.
Some questions…
Is the situation as bad as claimed, thus requiring such extreme measures?
Or is it because “we’ll do it simply because we are now allowed to” and conveniently profit from it?
Are they appealing to the moral high ground of “fighting cheats” to make this seem legitimate?
With the higher revenue collected from such fines, will the bus companies go all out and hire more men-in-white? Will they irritate commuters even more with their rude and unwelcomed presence?
Why are people evading fares in the first place? Are prices that high? If so, then offer consumers a product that they think is fair. Less people would feel the need to cheat.
