The life of a diamond: Explosively transported by Earth’s “pipes” to the surface, discovered by an astute prospector, and then chiseled to perfection before being purchased by the consumer. It differs little with organised public transport. From the very first bus service in Nantes, France , thousands (if not more) have been challenged to perfect one of the most important discoveries in the modern world.

Akin to the lasers that labor upon the rigidity of a rough, unrefined diamond, we ponder upon the increasingly tricky issues regarding Singapore’s public transportation. Today, perhaps the most exigent of these is the issue of convenience of public transport against its cost of implementation and maintainance, as Singapore strives towards fully integrated public transport – a system that provides door-to-door public transport services .

As always, perception comes into play. To public transport providers, many forms of convenience have always had some direct relation to costs, more specifically to investment and maintainance cost. With high supply-side costs, sustainable social welfare maximization then necessitates the transfer of a portion of this high cost to the end-user. However, with the Public Transport Council (PTC) managing end-user cost through two variables completely unrelated to convenience – Inflation and Consumer Average Monthly Earnings – end-users do not directly experience the cost incurred by suppliers in providing such convenience. Passengers have little reason to see a positive relationship between convenience and cost.

Yet, while unseen, increasing the number of operational buses and taxis to ensure high availability and frequency definitely necessitates substantial investment and higher running costs. Hidden social costs in the form of air pollution from additional vehicles also cannot be discounted . Moreover, the accompanying facilities are not exempted. The five-station MRT extension line to be built in the Marina South area is expected to cost S$1.4 billion . However, with the government funding such infrastructure development, the public again finds little need to consider the supply cost of wider networks (although taxpayer money is the main source of government funds).
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Singapore is a small island city state in South East Asia with an area of approximately 648 km2. Despite the inherent disadvantages of a small domestic economy and lack of natural resources, Singapore has established itself as one of the top trading nations in the world, and is consistently voted as one of the best business destinations. It is also recognized as one of the most competitive economies in the world, supported by an increasingly competitive workforce.

However, will this trend continue?
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