Singapore
SMRT says that 60 cents out of every dollar collected in fares is being spent on maintenance.
File photo of an SMRT train. (Photo: AFP/Roslan Rahman)
SINGAPORE: SMRT has increased the amount of fare revenue collected from passengers that it directs towards maintenance-related expenditure, said the company’s president and Group CEO Desmond Kuek in a press conference on Wednesday (Mar 28).
Last year, 50 cents of every fare dollar was used for maintenance, but this has gone up to 60 cents in 2018.
“This is the kind of level we are seeing as we ramp up towards even higher reliability, and of course we have to work with all our partners and stakeholders to make sure that this is sustainable going forward,” said Mr Kuek.
“I think more than 60 per cent is already very, very high in terms of the proportion of the amount of revenue that we are able to generate that goes into maintenance-related expenditures,” he added.
Mr Kuek also said that the portion of fare income used for maintenance is not expected to go higher.
“We don’t expect that this can go to 100 per cent, it will not be a sustainable way for us to manage so we will have to find the right balance,” he said.
To get more out of each fare dollar, Mr Kuek said that the company will explore productivity extraction in the future, but remains focused on its operational and maintenance regimes for now amid a 68 per cent drop in profit last year.
