No to fare hike? Get a bike then

Lately we've been hearing so much about public transport company contemplating on raising fares, primary reason being they have not done so for the past 2 years -- NOT because they are running at a loss. In fact they are rolling in profits in the millions! Why is there still a need for a fare hike then?

Of course every commercial organisation expects a raise in profit annually but should that be the case for a public transport module that is supposed to be of the lowest cost to the general public?

Let's take a closer look at which class of people will suffer the most. The unemployed definitely will be screaming their hearts out. Before they can even secure a job the transport cost is already bleeding them dry.

Then there is the blue collar working class. This working class belongs to paid enough only to make ends meet and not forgetting the hard labour & long hours put in for that extra over time pay. Owning a transport of their own is something beyond most's reach so the next alternative is the public transport again. So this class is another leech on for the fare hike.

Up the ladder is the white collar category. These people spend most of their time cocooned in an air-conditioned office, in a chair with a desk & a desktop computer in front of them. Surprisingly, some of these people are paid ridiculous salaries. Personally, I used to know a few who make astronomical figures annually. Now these smug assholes high profile people generally have their own mode of transport. Why? Because they can afford it, simply that. Obviously the fare hike isn't going to affect them one bit. So the rich will only get richer while the poor is slowly being sucked dry. Well, life is so that no one said it's fair.

There was a 7 years lapse in my life which I had to depend on public transport. Over that period of time I've witness a fare of $0.15 for a feeder bus service raised to $0.60 abt 3 years back. Then there is the transition from farecard to ezlink card. Now that's when the money REALLY started rolling in for the big guys. Ok, I admit that I used to purchase the cheapest fare even when I was taking the longest ride on the bus. But who doesn't do that? Now that the new ezlink system is in place, the tables have been turned. The big guys are the ones cheating fare prices on the public. We've seen it all in the papers. Consumers complaining that they were overcharged 10 or 20 cents more for the same journey. It will take 3 or 4 working days to get a refund of that amount if you decide to make the trip down to some specific location to lodge a complain. All that hassle & more travelling expenses just to retrieve 10 cents. Hmm, that seems to be a hell of a strategic growth plan for the big guys. I take 10 cents more from you & i'm willing to give it back to you only if you spend more money on me. Smart move!

It cost me about $5.00 a day to travel to work & back. $5.00 for 2 single rides on a bus to the train station & another 2 rides on the North-East line. I was working 24 days a month so that addes up to $120.00 a month on transport alone! I'm not sure about other people but that is 1 hell of a price to pay for supposedly the cheapest form of transport!

Now that I'm riding again, let's do some simple calculation yet again. My ride travels 26km per litre of petrol. That's about $1.70 for every 26km travelled (No complains about that since I chose to pump the most expensive petrol - V Power!). The distance from home to workplace is only about 12km so it actually cost me less than $1.70 per day to & fro. Let's just take it at $1.70 per day multiply by 24 working days, my monthly transport fee is only $40.80!!

What is wrong with this country's transportation system?

Lady Rain

Rain rain go away, little children want to play.

Lady Rain put me under house arrest today. She started pouring down on me from morning till now & somehow I feel that she has no intention of stopping till sunset.

There goes my plan of getting the name cards printed.

Maybe tomorrow will be a better sun shine day. I wish myself goodluck once again.

Erm... What's Bitmap?

Just finalised the design for my namecard & I saved it in Bitmap format. I brought the design down to my partner's shop & showed it to him. He was quite pleased with it & we decided to get it done at a newly opened print design shop nearby.

A man of approximately 40 years old or so attended to us & enlightened us on the prices & quality of their work. $48/= for 300 cards on dual sides. Damn! We had intended to print on single side only to cut cost but since we'll still be charged the same amount, what the heck? We went back to my partner's shop & I started work on the design.

20 minutes later I was done & we proceeded back to the print design shop. The 40+ man attended to us again & this time, he asked what format is my design in & I said Bitmap. He gave me the clueless look & I started sweating from my forehead. Another lady approached the counter at this precise moment & I repeated the same word "Bitmap". Another lost face. What kinda print design shop is this? Who the hell doesn't know Bitmap format? She even had the audacity to ask me what program did I used to create my design! But I kept my cool & I said Microsoft Paint. Again, both of them had no idea what program that is.

Erm... excuse me but what kind of computer literate people don't know what is Microsoft Paint?

Anyway both of them were really lost & I asked what format do they want it to be in & the lady said preferrably to be done using Macromedia Freehand. Ok, if I could afford to buy Macromedia Freehand I don't think I would have done it using Microsoft Paint. Nonetheless, I told them they could use their version of Freehand to open my Bitmap design & save it under Freehand format. That sounds easy right? No! Not to them! The 40+ man said they don't provide this service & insist that I get it done myself. Marvellous! I said I'll come back when I get it done & I said I'll bring the laptop over the next time in case there's anymore changes to be made.

But of course I had no intention of patronising them anymore. I seriously doubt their knowledge in design & their prices are not exactly that cheap too.

I'm going to check out other print design shops tomorrow. Hope I don't meet anymore of such crappy people. I wish myself goodluck.