WP Has Done It Again! They Have Claimed Credit For The Change In Policy In Transport!

It's a case of the sun rises because the cock crows.

WP has done it again.

Mr Low Thia Khiang has just claimed credit for the new transport model being implemented.

Appareantly it's because WP had called for the building of infrastructure and for the government to pay for initial operating equipment of public transport service - in 2011.

Under the new Bus Contracting Model, the government owns all bus operating assets and infrastructure.

BUT - the world did not begin in 2011 and the policy change in transport did not begin with Workers' Party in 2011. 

It started in 2008.

The idea for the contracting of bus services was first mooted in 2008 in LTA Masterplan.

Why bus contracting?

We first mooted the idea of contracting for bus services in the Land Transport Master Plan in 2008.
Since then, LTA has been studying this carefully, visiting cities with bus contracting models such as London and Australia. I’d also visited London and been briefed by officials at Transport for London and Metroline, one of many bus operators in London. I could see that the commuters there enjoy enhanced bus services over time under this bus contracting model because the operators need to compete for the right to run the bus services. This has kept them on their toes.
When I took over in 2011, my immediate priority was to expand bus capacity as quickly as possible. Hence the BSEP funded by the Government, which was introduced in 2012 and subsequently expanded to 1000 buses operated by the incumbent PTOs.

- Mr Lui Tuck Yew